My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?
On this Good Friday, we explore the meaning behind some of Jesus' most famous words.
Note: This is a revised version of the article I originally posted last Good Friday. I have rewritten it for greater clarity.
“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
This powerful line from the Bible has always puzzled me. Jesus knew His divine mission. He foresaw His death and even predicted the apostles' reactions before His arrest. Given this foreknowledge, why would Jesus express feeling abandoned by the Father? In my moments of spiritual doubt, this cry seemed to challenge Jesus' divinity—it simply didn't align with what I understood about Christ's perfect knowledge and sacrifice.
One Tuesday during Eucharistic adoration, after praying the Sorrowful Mysteries, I decided to read the Passion narrative again. As always, I paused at Jesus' cry of abandonment, letting the words sink in during my contemplative time. Suddenly, my mind connected to the story of Job—a biblical account that had similarly confused me during my first reading. Throughout most of the Book of Job, we witness a man growing increasingly angry with God, even cursing Him for the calamities befalling him. Yet remarkably, God ultimately favors Job. After discussions with friends and deeper study, I realized Job's greatness lied in his unwavering faith despite his anger. Though questioning God's plan, Job never doubted God's existence or sovereignty. His faith remained intact even as his understanding faltered.
This reflection led me to C.S. Lewis' insights in "Mere Christianity." Lewis explores why God needed to become incarnate, concluding that Christ came partly to demonstrate proper suffering. Lewis explains that everything good we accomplish flows from God's assistance—like a parent guiding a child's hand to form letters. God helps us learn to love and care for others through this divine guidance. However, suffering and death exist outside God's natural realm. To teach us how to endure these human realities, God entered our world in Christ. Through His perfect suffering, Jesus provided the ultimate example of how to face pain and death with dignity and faith.
The connections suddenly became clear. Job's greatness lay in maintaining faith through suffering. Jesus, enduring history's most agonizing execution, cried out questioning His abandonment—yet did so while demonstrating perfect death. His perfection wasn't in stoic silence or denial of pain, but in expressing genuine human anguish without ever doubting the Father's existence or ultimate plan.
This realization transforms how we might approach our own suffering. It validates questioning why painful events occur in our lives. Unlike the author of 2 Maccabees, who characterized God's punishment as a "sign of kindness" deserving gratitude, Jesus shows us it's natural and acceptable to express anguish to God. We can bring our raw emotions—even anger—before our Creator. The key distinction lies in maintaining underlying faith that God remains in control, even when His purposes seem obscure.
When we ask God "why," we're essentially seeking to understand how our suffering integrates into His larger design for our lives. Such questioning doesn't reflect spiritual weakness—it demonstrates a relationship with God honest enough to bring our true feelings before Him. Jesus modeled this perfectly in His dying moments, showing that authentic emotion and unwavering faith can coexist even in our darkest hours.
