My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me: Psalm 22 and Messianic Suffering

The Cry of Dereliction and Its Interpretive History

Psalm 22 opens with a cry that has echoed through the centuries with undiminished force: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (ʾēlî ʾēlî lāmâ ʿăzabtānî, 22:1). The psalm's opening verse is quoted verbatim by Jesus from the cross in both Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, making it one of the most theologically charged texts in the entire biblical canon. The interpretive question — whether Jesus was expressing genuine abandonment or citing the psalm as a whole, with its movement from lament to praise — has occupied Christian theologians from the patristic period to the present. Augustine of Hippo, writing in the early fifth century, argued that Christ spoke these words not for himself but as the voice of his body, the church, suffering in history. John Calvin, in his 1557 commentary on the Psalms, took a different approach, insisting that Christ experienced real forsakenness on the cross, bearing the full weight of divine wrath against sin.

This study argues that the psalm's structure itself provides the key to its christological interpretation. Psalm 22 moves from the depths of abandonment (vv. 1–21) to a declaration of praise and universal proclamation (vv. 22–31). The movement is not a resolution of the problem of suffering but a transformation of it: the one who cried out in desolation becomes the one who proclaims God's faithfulness to "a people yet unborn" (22:31). When Jesus cites the psalm's opening verse, he is not merely expressing despair; he is invoking the entire psalm as the interpretive framework for his death and its aftermath. Derek Kidner, in his 1973 Tyndale commentary, observes that the psalm's movement from individual lament to universal praise anticipates the pattern of Christ's death and resurrection: "The sufferer's vindication becomes the world's salvation."

The Hebrew text of Psalm 22:1 employs the divine name ʾēlî ("my God"), a personal form of ʾēl that emphasizes covenant relationship. The repetition — "my God, my God" — intensifies the cry, expressing both intimacy and anguish. The verb ʿăzabtānî ("you have forsaken me") carries the semantic range of abandonment, desertion, and leaving behind. In the Old Testament, this verb is used to describe Israel's abandonment of YHWH (Judges 10:13; Jeremiah 1:16), making its application to God's abandonment of the psalmist theologically jarring. How can the covenant God abandon his faithful one?

The Anatomy of Lament: Abandonment, Mockery, and Physical Suffering

The lament section of Psalm 22 (vv. 1–21) is remarkable for its specificity. The psalmist describes being surrounded by enemies who mock him: "All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 'He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!'" (22:7–8). The verbal parallels with the passion narrative are striking: Matthew 27:39–43 describes the crowd wagging their heads and saying, "He trusts in God; let God deliver him now." Whether these parallels reflect direct literary dependence or the fulfillment of a typological pattern is debated, but their cumulative effect is to present Jesus's passion as the actualization of the psalm's suffering. Peter Craigie, in his 1983 Word Biblical Commentary, notes that the mockery described in verses 7–8 follows a pattern common in ancient Near Eastern lament literature, where the sufferer's enemies interpret his affliction as evidence of divine disfavor. The taunt "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him" is particularly cruel because it attacks the sufferer's faith precisely at the moment when that faith is most tested.

The physical descriptions in verses 14–17 are equally striking: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet." The imagery here is visceral and unsparing. The metaphor of being "poured out like water" (v. 14) suggests complete exhaustion and the loss of bodily integrity. The reference to bones out of joint may describe the physical effects of crucifixion, though the psalm predates this Roman method of execution by centuries. John Goldingay, in his 2006 Baker commentary, argues that the language is deliberately hyperbolic, designed to express the extremity of suffering rather than to provide a medical description. Yet the specificity of the imagery — the melted heart, the dried strength, the parched tongue — creates a portrait of suffering that is both universal and intensely particular.

The reference to pierced hands and feet (22:16) has been a central text in Christian apologetics for the messianic interpretation of the psalm, though the Hebrew text is disputed. The Masoretic text reads kāʾărî ("like a lion"), yielding the translation "like a lion, my hands and feet," which is grammatically awkward. The Septuagint, translated in Alexandria around 250 BC, reads ōryxan ("they have pierced"), suggesting that the translators had a Hebrew text reading kāʾărû. A Hebrew manuscript from Nahal Hever, discovered in 1952 among the Dead Sea Scrolls, supports the reading "they have pierced," providing textual evidence that predates the Christian era. Martin Hengel, in his 1981 study The Atonement, argues that regardless of the original reading, the early Christian community understood the verse as a prophetic description of crucifixion, and this interpretation shaped the Gospel writers' presentation of the passion. The textual debate, while important for establishing the original meaning, does not diminish the theological significance of the Christian reading, which sees in the psalm a divinely ordained pattern that finds its fulfillment in Christ.

The psalm's description of enemies as "dogs" (v. 16) is particularly significant. In ancient Israel, dogs were not domesticated pets but scavengers that roamed in packs, feeding on refuse and carrion. To be surrounded by dogs is to be treated as something already dead, fit only for consumption. The term "company of evildoers" (ʿădat mĕrēʿîm) suggests an organized group, not random attackers. The psalmist is not suffering from natural causes or accident; he is the victim of deliberate, coordinated hostility. This detail anticipates the Gospel accounts of Jesus's trial and execution, where religious and political authorities conspire to bring about his death.

The Turn to Praise and the Theology of Vindication

The psalm's dramatic turn at verse 22 — "I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you" — is one of the most theologically significant transitions in the Psalter. The shift from lament to praise is not explained; it simply happens, as if the act of crying out to God has itself become the occasion for trust. As Walter Brueggemann argues in The Message of the Psalms (1984), the lament psalms do not resolve suffering by explaining it but by transforming the sufferer's relationship to God through the act of honest complaint. The movement from disorientation to new orientation is not a logical progression but a gift of grace. The psalmist does not say, "God answered me, therefore I will praise him." Rather, he says, "I will praise him," and in that act of praise, the relationship is restored.

The language of verse 22 is significant: "I will tell of your name to my brothers." In Hebrew thought, the "name" of God represents his character, his revealed nature, his covenant faithfulness. To "tell" or "declare" (ʾăsappĕrâ) the name is to bear witness to what God has done. The term "brothers" (ʾeḥay) suggests a community of fellow sufferers or fellow worshipers. The psalmist's vindication is not a private experience; it becomes the basis for communal worship. This pattern is precisely what the New Testament sees fulfilled in the resurrection: Jesus, vindicated by God, gathers his "brothers" (Hebrews 2:11–12 quotes Psalm 22:22 in this context) and leads them in praise.

The psalm's conclusion (vv. 27–31) expands the scope of the psalmist's praise to cosmic dimensions: "All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you" (22:27). This universal vision — the nations turning to YHWH because of the vindication of the suffering one — is precisely the pattern that the New Testament sees fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus. The one who was forsaken becomes the one through whom the nations are gathered. James Mays, in his 1994 Interpretation commentary, observes that the psalm's movement from individual lament to universal praise reflects the Old Testament's broader theology of election: Israel's suffering and vindication serve the purpose of bringing the nations to the knowledge of YHWH.

Verse 29 introduces a striking note: "All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive." The phrase "all who go down to the dust" (yōrĕdê ʿāpār) refers to the dead or those on the verge of death. The psalmist envisions a worship that transcends the boundary between life and death. This is not a clear statement of resurrection — the Old Testament's theology of the afterlife develops gradually — but it gestures toward a vindication that extends beyond the grave. In Christian interpretation, this verse anticipates the resurrection of Christ and the gathering of the dead into the worship of God.

The psalm's final verse (v. 31) looks to the future: "They shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it." The phrase "he has done it" (kî ʿāśâ) is terse and emphatic. What has God done? He has vindicated the suffering one. He has turned lament into praise. He has gathered the nations. The proclamation to "a people yet unborn" suggests that the psalmist's experience of suffering and vindication will become a testimony for future generations. In the Christian reading, this points to the ongoing proclamation of the gospel: the story of Jesus's death and resurrection is told to every generation as the definitive act of God's righteousness.

Psalm 22 in Early Christian Interpretation

The early church fathers read Psalm 22 as a prophetic text that found its fulfillment in the crucifixion of Jesus. Justin Martyr, writing around AD 155 in his Dialogue with Trypho, argued that the psalm's detailed description of suffering — the pierced hands and feet, the casting of lots for garments (22:18), the mockery of enemies — could only be explained as a divinely inspired prophecy of Christ's passion. Justin's argument reflects the apologetic concerns of second-century Christianity: how could Jesus be the Messiah if he died a shameful death? The answer, for Justin and other early Christian apologists, was that the Messiah's suffering was foretold in Scripture, and Psalm 22 provided the most detailed prophetic account. Justin's interpretation became foundational for Christian apologetics, influencing later writers such as Tertullian and Cyprian.

Origen of Alexandria, writing in the mid-third century, took a more allegorical approach. In his Commentary on Matthew, Origen argued that the cry of dereliction expressed Christ's identification with sinful humanity. Christ was not personally forsaken by the Father, but he experienced forsakenness on behalf of those he came to save. This interpretation allowed Origen to maintain the unity of the Trinity while affirming the reality of Christ's suffering. The tension between these two readings — Christ's real abandonment versus his representative suffering — has persisted throughout Christian history. Origen's approach influenced the Alexandrian school of interpretation, which emphasized the spiritual and allegorical dimensions of Scripture.

Augustine, in his Expositions on the Psalms (completed around AD 420), developed a corporate interpretation. For Augustine, the "I" of the psalm is not only Christ the head but also the church, his body. The cry "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" is the voice of Christians suffering persecution in history. Christ speaks these words not for himself but as the representative of his people. This interpretation had profound implications for Augustine's theology of the church: the church's suffering is a participation in Christ's suffering, and the church's vindication is assured because Christ has already been vindicated in the resurrection. Augustine's corporate reading became influential in Western Christianity, shaping medieval and Reformation interpretations of the Psalms.

The Reformation brought renewed attention to the literal and historical sense of the psalm. Martin Luther, in his lectures on the Psalms delivered at Wittenberg between 1513 and 1515, emphasized the psalm's prophetic character while also reading it as a description of the believer's experience of spiritual trial. Luther saw in the psalm a pattern of Anfechtung — the experience of being assaulted by doubt, despair, and the sense of God's absence. For Luther, the psalm was both a prophecy of Christ's passion and a mirror of the Christian's own struggle with faith. This dual reading — christological and existential — became characteristic of Protestant interpretation.

Psalm 22 in Christian Worship and Preaching

The liturgical use of Psalm 22 in Christian worship has been shaped primarily by its association with the passion narrative. It is appointed for Good Friday in most lectionary traditions, and its opening cry has become a touchstone for Christian reflection on the experience of divine absence. The Revised Common Lectionary assigns Psalm 22:1–11 to Good Friday in Year A, while the full psalm (22:1–31 or 22:23–31) appears on the Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year B. This liturgical placement reflects the church's recognition that the psalm speaks both to the darkness of the cross and to the light of resurrection.

Yet the psalm's full arc — from desolation to universal praise — makes it equally appropriate for Easter reflection. The resurrection is the ultimate answer to the cry of dereliction: the God who seemed absent in the darkness of the cross is revealed as the God who vindicates the suffering one and gathers the nations. In the Easter Vigil liturgy of many traditions, Psalm 22 is read alongside the passion narrative, and the congregation's response shifts from lament to praise as the vigil progresses toward the proclamation of the resurrection.

For preachers, Psalm 22 offers a rich resource for addressing the problem of suffering and the experience of divine absence. The psalm does not offer easy answers or cheap comfort. Instead, it models a way of speaking to God in the midst of suffering that is both brutally honest and ultimately hopeful. The psalmist does not pretend that everything is fine; he describes his suffering in graphic detail. But he also does not abandon his relationship with God. He continues to address God as "my God," even in the moment of feeling forsaken. This combination of honesty and trust is the heart of biblical lament, and it provides a model for Christian prayer in times of darkness. The psalm also challenges triumphalist readings of the Christian faith that skip too quickly from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. We do not celebrate Easter without first observing Good Friday. We do not proclaim resurrection without first acknowledging the reality of death. Psalm 22 teaches us to honor the full arc of the Christian story, from suffering to vindication, from death to life.

Implications for Ministry and Credentialing

Psalm 22's movement from desolation to praise offers a framework for pastoral ministry with those experiencing profound suffering and divine absence. For those seeking to develop their capacity for biblical theology and pastoral care, Abide University offers graduate programs that integrate scholarly rigor with genuine pastoral concern.

For ministry professionals seeking to formalize their expertise, the Abide University Retroactive Assessment Program offers a pathway to academic credentialing that recognizes prior learning and pastoral experience.