Mark 15:34 · Bible study
Mark 15:34 Commentary: The Cry of Dereliction
Greek · 7 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
An in-depth study of Jesus' cry from the cross, exploring the Aramaic words, the quotation of Psalm 22, and the theological meaning of His sense of abandonment.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Jesus quotes Psalm 22:1, expressing his experience of being forsaken by the Father as he bears the weight of human sin.
- Key words: eloï (Aramaic “my God”), sabachthani (“you have forsaken me”), eboesen (“cried out”, aorist, forceful shout).
- Main debate: Whether the “forsaking” was a real break in the Trinity or a felt withdrawal of the Father's comforting presence; both views affirm Christ's genuine suffering and his reliance on God.
- Theological theme: Substitutionary atonement and the identification of Christ with the suffering of humanity.
- Best use: Good Friday meditation, sermons on Christ's humanity, and pastoral care for those experiencing spiritual abandonment.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
WEB World English Bible 2000
At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
KJV King James Version 1769
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
and at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a great voice, saying, `Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabachthani?' which is, being interpreted, `My God, my God, why didst Thou forsake me?'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
and at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, [saying], Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying: Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabacthani? Which is, being interpreted: My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me?
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y á la hora de nona, exclamó Jesús á gran voz, diciendo: Eloi, Eloi, ¿ lama sabachthani? que declarado, quiere decir: Dios mío, Dios mío, ¿ por qué me has desamparado?
E na hora nona, Jesus exclamou em alta voz: ELOÍ, ELOÍ, LAMÁ SABACTÂNI, que traduzido é: Deus meu, Deus meu, por que me desamparaste?
Et à la neuvième heure, Jésus s’écria d’ une voix forte: Éloï, Éloï, lama sabachthani? ce qui signifie: Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, pourquoi m’ as-tu abandonné?
Und um die neunte Stunde rief Jesus laut und sprach: “ Eli, Eli lama asabthani? das ist verdolmetscht: Mein Gott, mein Gott, warum hast du mich verlassen?
En ter negender ure, riep Jezus met een grote stem, zeggende: ELOI, ELOI, LAMMA SABACHTANI, hetwelk is, overgezet zijnde: Mijn God, Mijn God, waarom hebt Gij Mij verlaten?
Ed all’ora nona, Gesù gridò con gran voce: Eloì, Eloì, lamà sabactanì? il che, interpretato, vuol dire: Dio mio, Dio mio, perché mi hai abbandonato?
A o godzinie dziewiątej zawołał Jezus głosem wielkim, mówiąc: Eloi! Eloi! Lamma sabachtani, co się wykłada: Boże mój! Boże mój! czemuś mię opuścił?
В девятом часу возопил Иисус громким голосом: Элои! Элои! ламма савахфани? — что значит: Боже Мой! Боже Мой! для чего Ты Меня оставил?
申初 的時候，耶穌 大 聲 喊著說：「以羅伊！以羅伊！拉馬 撒巴各大尼？」（翻出來 就 是：我的 神！我的 神！為甚麼 離棄 我？）
And at the ninth hour, Jesus said in a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, My God, my God, why are you turned away from me?
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Mark 15:34
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Mark 15:34 records the only saying from the cross found in this Gospel, and it is a direct quotation of Psalm 22:1. The Cambridge Bible notes that Jesus “gives utterance to the words of the first verse of the xxii nd Psalm, in which, in the bitterness of his soul, David had complained of the desertion of his God.” Wesley's Explanatory Notes observes that Jesus “thereby claims God as his God; and yet lamenteth his Father's withdrawing the tokens of his love, and treating him as an enemy, while he bare our sins.” The darkness from the sixth to the ninth hour (v. 33) frames this cry as the climactic moment of Christ's suffering. The Aramaic original, preserved by Mark, underscores the stark reality of the cry: Jesus does not retreat into philosophical abstraction but voices his anguish in the language of home. The verb eboēsen (ἐβόησεν, aorist indicative active) indicates a forceful, intentional cry, not a whimper but a shout of distress.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: High
Main views:
- Withdrawal of consolatory presence: Wesley: Jesus lamented the Father's withdrawing the tokens of his love while still claiming God as his God.
- Penal substitution: Wesley: The Father treated him as an enemy, while he bare our sins; the darkness and the cry show the penalty of separation from God.
- Cry of identification with Psalm 22: Cambridge Bible: Jesus used the words of David complaining of desertion, entering fully into the lament of God's suffering people.
What is clear: Jesus experienced genuine, anguished suffering, he quoted Scripture to express it, and he maintained his relationship with the Father even in the cry.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The relation of the cry to the Trinity | There was no actual breach of the eternal love between Father and Son. | Some Christians understand the forsakenness as a real experience of separation in Christ's human nature acting as the sin-bearer; others see it as the withdrawal of the comfort of the Father's presence, not of the hypostatic union itself. |
| The meaning of the quotation of Psalm 22 | Jesus intentionally quotes the opening words of the psalm, acknowledging its relevance to his situation. | Some emphasize the lament and the sense of divine abandonment as the primary point; others also point to the way the psalm ends in hope and vindication, seeing the cry as already part of a victory. |
| The bystanders' misunderstanding | The crowd wrongly thought Jesus was calling Elijah. | No debate, the text is straightforward about the misunderstanding. |
| Jesus' emotional state | Jesus experienced genuine human anguish, not pretense. | Some see it as the fullest expression of his identification with sinful humanity; others as the specific penalty of divine wrath against sin. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Mark marks the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.) as the time of the evening sacrifice in the Temple (Exodus 29:39). The previous three hours of darkness over the whole land (v. 33) had already signaled divine judgment and distress. At this precise hour, when the lamb was being offered, Jesus cries out. The crowd nearby, hearing the Aramaic “Eloi, Eloi,” mistakes the words for a call to Elijah (v. 35), a popular figure in Jewish eschatology. This misunderstanding highlights the irony of the moment: the true deliverer is calling out in agony, yet bystanders think he summons a prophet.
The cry itself is not a statement of lost faith. Psalm 22, which Jesus quotes, begins in lament but moves to a confession of trust and ends in vindication. The words “My God, my God” maintain a relationship even in the question “why have you forsaken me?” The Greek preposition eis (εἰς) with the interrogative ti (τί) builds a Hebraic construction that asks “to what purpose?” rather than a merely factual “why.” Jesus is not doubting the Father's existence or goodness; he is expressing the depth of his alienation from the felt experience of the Father's presence. The loud voice (phōnēi megalēi) shows that this cry was not a passive resignation but an active confrontation with the full weight of abandonment. Mark's preservation of the original Aramaic vocabulary (elōi, sabachthani) roots the event in the actual sounds and texture of the crucifixion, inviting readers to hear the raw humanity of the Son of God.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Mark 15:34. The parallel in Matthew 27:46 uses the Hebrew form “Eli, Eli” whereas Mark preserves the Aramaic “Eloi, Eloi.” This difference is almost certainly original to each evangelist; there is no manuscript evidence of scribes harmonizing the two. The spelling of lema (λεμα) vs. lamma (λαμμα) varies slightly in some witnesses (e.g., the difference between Mark and Matthew), but the meaning is unchanged. No significant theological variants affect interpretation.
Reception History
Throughout church history, this cry has been a central text for understanding the suffering of Christ. Early church fathers, such as Athanasius and Augustine, saw it as the voice of Christ's humanity expressing distress while his divinity remained united to the Father. Medieval devotional works used the cry to emphasize the cost of redemption. During the Reformation, the verse was read through the lens of penal substitution. Martin Luther is said to have spent hours in reflection on this cry, seeing it as the deepest point of Christ's humiliation. In modern times, the cry has been reclaimed in liberation and pastoral theologies as a sign that God is present even in the experience of abandonment. The verse is traditionally read during the Passion narratives of Holy Week and has been set to music by composers like Heinrich Schütz in settings of the Seven Words of Christ.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Hour of Sacrifice. The ninth hour was the time of the evening offering. Jesus, the Lamb of God, fulfills what the Temple sacrifices merely foreshadowed. The darkness before declares that this sacrifice is for the whole world.
- The Cry of Identification. By quoting Psalm 22:1, Jesus makes his suffering part of the long story of God's people crying out from anguish. He is not above the psalms of lament; he enters them fully.
- The Hope Beneath the Lament. Psalm 22 does not end in despair; it ends with the declaration that God has not hidden his face from the afflicted. Jesus' cry, though wrenching, is held within the same psalm that proclaims deliverance.
Five-point outline
- The darkness over the land (v. 33), judgment and hiddenness of God.
- The ninth hour, the time of sacrifice and prayer.
- The cry itself, real, raw, relational.
- The bystanders' misinterpretation, the world misunderstands the cross.
- The immediate aftermath, Jesus' final cry and the torn veil (vv. 37-38).
Illustration hooks
- Psalm 22 as a lifeline. When someone is drowning in grief, they often recite familiar words. Jesus, exhausted and in agony, reaches for the words of Scripture that have carried God's people through the deepest darkness.
- The unanswered question. Parents sometimes hear their child cry “why?” when nothing seems right. God does not silence the question; he enters it himself. Jesus says the same question that many of us cannot stop asking.
- Misheard in the crowd. A person in crisis says something true, but those around hear it wrong. The crowd thought Jesus was calling Elijah; they missed that he was praying to his God.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Did God the Father actually turn away from Jesus at that moment, or was it merely a feeling of abandonment?
- If Jesus felt forsaken, does that mean it is acceptable for me to feel forsaken by God when I suffer?
- Why did Jesus quote a psalm instead of speaking in his own words? What does that tell us about the role of Scripture in suffering?
Leading a Discussion
This verse stops us short. Jesus, the Son of God, cries out in the language of his people, quoting a psalm that has given voice to anguish for generations. As you read the passage together, notice the details Mark includes: the time, the darkness, the words themselves. Let the rawness of this moment shape your conversation.
Discussion questions
- What does the timing, “the ninth hour” and the preceding darkness, tell you about this moment?
- Read Psalm 22:1-5, 22-31. How does the context of the full psalm affect the way you hear Jesus' cry?
- The bystanders misunderstand Jesus and think he is calling Elijah. In what ways do people today misunderstand the meaning of the cross?
- What does it mean that Jesus uses the personal words “my God, my God” while also asking “why have you forsaken me”?
- Wesley notes that Jesus “lamenteth his Father's withdrawing the tokens of his love.” How can you still claim God as “my God” in a season where you feel that withdrawal?
- How does this verse shape your understanding of Jesus' humanity and his role as the substitute for sinners?
- What hope does this passage offer when you or someone you love feels abandoned by God?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Psalms 22:1 | For the Chief Musician; set to “The Doe of the Morning.” A Psalm by David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? |
| Psalms 27:9 | Don’t hide your face from me. Don’t put your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Don’t abandon me, neither forsake me, God of my salvation. |
| Psalms 42:9 | I will ask God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” |
| Psalms 71:11 | saying, “God has forsaken him. Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.” |
| Isaiah 41:17 | The poor and needy seek water, and there is none. Their tongue fails for thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. |
| Lamentations 1:12 | “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look, and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which is brought on me, with which Yahweh has afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. |
| Lamentations 5:20 | Why do you forget us forever, and forsake us for so long a time? |
| Daniel 9:21 | yes, while I was speaking in prayer—the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening offering. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
6 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke does not elaborate here but directs the reader to his note on the parallel passage in Matthew, where he provides a fuller discussion. His approach is to compare the Gospel accounts rather than repeat the same explanation.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Jesus cried at the ninth hour, the time of the evening sacrifice, and this is the only saying Mark records, preserving the original Aramaic. The seven words from the cross divide into three groups: first about others, then about His own agony, finally His commitment to the Father.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
And at the ninth houre Iesus cryed with a loude voyce, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lamma-sabachthani? which is by interpretation, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill observes that the cry from the cross appears in two slightly different forms across the Gospels because both "Eli" and "Eloi" are valid Hebrew renderings of the same word from Psalm 22. Both mean "My God," and Jesus quoted directly from that Psalm.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry reads the unnatural darkness at Christ's crucifixion as a direct fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy announcing judgment on the Jewish nation. For him, this sign from heaven answered the Jews' repeated demand for a sign but came as a darkening of their eyes, signaling the spiritual blindness about to overtake them.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley highlights the paradox: even in crying out as forsaken, Christ still claims God as his own God. His lament is not unbelief but grief over the Father withdrawing love's tokens, treating him as an enemy while he carried our sins.