What is the meaning of Matthew 27:46? About the ninth hour Roughly 3:00 p.m.—the time of the evening sacrifice in the temple (Exodus 29:39). Darkness had covered the land since noon (Matthew 27:45; Luke 23:44), emphasizing the weight of judgment. At the very moment the daily lamb was being prepared, the true Lamb was offering Himself (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus cried out in a loud voice His strength had not failed; He intentionally made Himself heard. • This was no faint whisper of defeat but a deliberate proclamation (Mark 15:34). • Hebrews 5:7 recalls that “He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears,” revealing both His humanity and His reverent submission. • The loud cry also fulfills Psalm 22:24, where God does not “hide His face but listens to the cry for help.” Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? Jesus quotes the opening line of Psalm 22:1. • By voicing the psalm, He signals that the entire psalm is being fulfilled in Him—suffering that ends in vindication (Psalm 22:16–18; 22:27–31). • The Aramaic words help onlookers recognize the quotation, connecting the cross to Scripture they knew well. • Though isolated, Jesus still addresses God personally, showing trust even in agony (John 20:17). My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Not despair, but revelation. • He experiences the judicial abandonment we deserved, bearing the full penalty of sin (Isaiah 53:4–6; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13). • The Father’s love for the Son never ceased (John 10:17–18), yet fellowship was veiled as our guilt was laid on Him. • The cry exposes the cost of redemption and fulfills prophecies of a suffering Messiah (Psalm 69:1–3; 88:14). • Even in forsakenness He clings to “My God,” modeling unwavering faith for believers (Hebrews 12:2). summary At the very hour of the evening sacrifice, Jesus deliberately lifts a loud, prophetic cry. Quoting Psalm 22, He reveals that He is the long-foretold Sufferer who bears our sin, endures the Father’s judicial abandonment, and still trusts Him completely. The verse showcases both the depths of His substitutionary suffering and the certainty of Scriptural fulfillment, inviting us to trust the finished work of the Lamb who was not ultimately forsaken but gloriously vindicated. |
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