भाष्य सध्या फक्त इंग्रजीत उपलब्ध आहे. मराठी भाषांतर प्रगतीपथावर आहे.
Matthew 27 — My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?
Jesus is bound and delivered to Pilate. Judas, remorseful, hangs himself. Pilate examines Him — finds no fault. Barabbas released; Pilate washes his hands. The soldiers mock — the crown of thorns, the scarlet robe, the reed. Simon of Cyrene compelled to bear the cross. At Golgotha they crucify Him. He saved others; himself he cannot save. Darkness from the sixth to the ninth hour. Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani. He yields up the ghost. The veil torn; rocks rent; tombs opened. The centurion — Truly this was the Son of God. Joseph of Arimathaea lays Him in his own new tomb.
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
— Matthew 27:46
- v.1-10 Judas's end
- v.11-26 Before Pilate; Barabbas
- v.27-31 The mocking
- v.32-44 The crucifixion
- v.45-56 Darkness, cry, death, signs
- v.57-66 The burial and the watch
The opening verse of Psalm 22, prayed at the cross. He bore the forsakenness Psalm 22 began to describe, and went through to the Psalm's vindication (vv.22ff). Christ prayed the whole Psalm even by quoting its first line.
The forsaking is real and substitutionary. The Son who had known unbroken communion bore the curse in our place. He was forsaken so that we never would be (Hebrews 13:5).
From the top to the bottom — God's hand, not man's. The thick curtain dividing the holy place from the most holy was torn at the moment Christ died. The way into the presence of God is opened by His death.
The system of priests, sacrifices, and approach-by-proxy is finished. The Christian comes directly through the torn flesh of Christ (Hebrews 10:19-22), the new and living way.
The Gentile centurion confesses what the chief priests refused. The cross convinces those whom polished argument could not.
Matthew's Christology comes home — the Son of God of chapter 3 is confessed at the cross by the executioner. The pattern Mark sets is honored: Christ is most visible as the Son of God when dying.
Verse 46 should never be read quickly. Let it settle. Christ was forsaken so that you would not be. That is the gospel in one sentence. When the lonely fear rises in your heart, return here: He has not abandoned you — because of this verse. Answer the next desolation with Hebrews 13:5 and remember the cross that bought you that word.
Matthew 27 is the Saviour's deepest moment. The mockery, the nails, the darkness, the cry, the veil — every detail is the saving work. The Son of God forsaken so His people will never be; the veil torn so the way is opened; the centurion converted so the door to the Gentiles is visible. The cross is finished here; the resurrection comes in the next chapter.
A futile gesture. No water washes responsibility off a judge who hands over the innocent. Pilate would be remembered every Sunday in the creed for what he could not rinse off.
The cowardice of crowd-pleasing is set on permanent display. The man who could have stopped it managed his image instead. The hand-washing was the most stained act of the day.