In Matthew 27 and again in Mark 15, Jesus cried out these words before He died. In some manuscripts the words are written at “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani”, but the meaning is the same. Why did Jesus cry out this question? Was it out of despair? Was Jesus upset that God had abandoned Him? No. Jesus was beginning a prayer and this opening is followed by an expression of hope and joy in final victory. Since God mercifully took Jesus's spirit before He could finish the prayer, perhaps you'd like to help Him by saying it:
1 My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but
you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are enthroned as
the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
4 In you our ancestors put their
trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were
saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm, not a
human being;
I am scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the LORD,” they
say,
“let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of
the womb;
you made me feel secure on my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their
prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a
potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among
them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, LORD, do not be
far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of
the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name
to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise
him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him,
all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or
scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme
of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be
satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the
LORD
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth
will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his
righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!