By Jonathan Parnell
It was an act of cruelty, not comfort. That is what we see in the last minutes of Jesus’s life, as described in the Gospel of Mark.
Customary of Mark, he gets straight to the point in Mark 15:33. The sixth hour had come and brought darkness. Now it was the ninth hour, three in the afternoon, darkness still smothering the landscape. And Jesus cries out with a loud voice,
Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?
Mark tells us the Aramaic because that is exactly what Jesus said. The details are important here. Jesus shouts toward heaven, which Mark translates for us, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Misunderstood, Again
Jesus has quoted from Psalm 22:1, identifying himself with the righteous sufferer from the Psalms of David. This is the most theologically rich moment in history. It should have overwhelmed those familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures. It should have made things click. Everything should have made sense. But actually, few, if anyone, heard Jesus right.
Read more at http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/see-through-the-sour-wine