Why does the psalmist ask, “Why have you forsaken me” (Psalm 22:1)?

Answer

Psalm 22 is categorized as a “prayer for help” written by King David. Similar to many other prayers in the Psalms (see Psalm 2:1;see Psalm 10:1;see Psalm 13:1-2;52:1;74:1), it commences with a distressed cry and a sense of hopelessness, presented as an entreaty to God for assistance: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest” (Psalm 22:1-2).

David implores God for help but feels abandoned and in profound agony because God does not respond. The repeated questioning serves as a poetic device conveying the psalmist’s complete hopelessness and despair. David struggles to understand why God has deserted him. He is enduring both physical suffering (Psalm 22:14-15) and social challenges (verses 6–8). What troubles him the most is the apparent abandonment by God. David’s lifelong bond with God seems shattered.

Nevertheless, even in his desolation, David prays, “My God, my God,” affirming his faith in God and reliance on Him, despite feeling that the Lord is distant and silent. Later, David openly expresses his confidence in the Lord: “Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame” (Psalm 22:3-5;see also verses 9-10). David acknowledges that God never abandons His people (verses 22–24).

Throughout the ages, scholars have observed the psal

Psalm 22 has an intense tone, suggesting that it referred not only to a single instance of suffering in David’s life but was intended to cover all the mistreatments he endured under King Saul. Although Psalm 22 was clearly a personal plea for assistance by David, it also functioned as a communal prayer during the collective worship of the entire community.

The inquiry, “Why have you forsaken me?” was designed to pique the interest of the audience, who would have been curious about how the plea would be answered. The language of the psalm was crafted to provide individuals with a template for praying in times of severe suffering and need. Like numerous other psalms, it poignantly conveys the shared emotional ordeal of individuals who feel isolated and afflicted.

Centuries later, Jesus was crucified, enduring His most excruciating moments of agony. He earnestly sought His Father’s presence. With a loud voice, the Lord uttered the same words that Jews had prayed for generations, “‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’)” «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). After enduring unspeakable torture and being left to perish by wicked men, Christ recited Psalm 22:1. By joining the multitude of humans in their suffering, Jesus united with them in their pain and implored God for assistance.

Our Savior, who is fully God and fully human, empathizes with us in every aspect, even in our most vulnerable moments—especially when we sense that God has deserted us. Through Christ’s complete identification with us, He authorizes us, by His own example, to pour out our hearts to God. Jesus demonstrates that trusting God entails presenting the most challenging aspects of life to God in prayer: “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one.”

Who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission” «Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; », (Hebrews 5:7).

Likewise, when Jesus cited the opening words of Psalm 22, he employed a tradition of the time that identified the entire passage, like quoting a chapter heading or book title. Jesus’ cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” was analogous to a preacher today saying, “Remember the words of Psalm 22.” As Jesus took on Himself the sins of all humankind, He acknowledged feeling abandoned by the Father, yet, like David, He still trusted in God. He knew that He was fulfilling God’s purpose by laying down His life: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” «For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.», (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus believed that God would not forsake Him in that endeavor.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” With these words, Jesus also beckoned His followers to make the connection and recognize Psalm 22’s prophetic implications. David had seen down through history to vividly portray the Messiah’s crucifixion (see verses 7, 14–18). Thus, in calling attention to the psalm, Jesus showed once again that He Himself was the fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture.