If Jesus is God and not a prophet, why did he say to God, “My God, why have you forsaken me?”
Once I find the answers to the questions in my head, I’m thinking of converting to Christianity.
Around the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, saying “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
I’ll leave you with this brother, feel free to ask questions.
The statement occurs in…
Matthew 27:46
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
and in
Mark 15:34
Jesus is quoting verbatim from
Psalms 22:1
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
So the first thing to establish is that this is not a random cry. It is a deliberate citation of Psalm 22, a Messianic psalm describing suffering, mockery, pierced hands and feet, and eventual vindication.
Now the theological question: if Jesus is God, why does He address God as “My God”?
The answer requires three doctrinal distinctions.
First, the doctrine of the incarnation.
According to
John 1:1
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
and
John 1:14
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”Very important you take notice of this @Emre !
The eternal Son, who is fully divine, assumed a true human nature. He did not cease to be God. He added humanity. Therefore, in the incarnation, Jesus possesses two natures: fully divine and fully human.
As man, He prays.
As man, He obeys.
As man, He suffers.
Addressing the Father as “My God” is entirely appropriate to His true humanity.
Second, the doctrine of the Trinity.
The Son is not the Father. Christian orthodoxy teaches one divine essence, three distinct persons. When Jesus speaks to the Father, this is not God speaking to Himself in confusion. It is the eternal Son addressing the Father within the triune relationship.
Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly distinguishes Himself from the Father.
John 17:1
“Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son…”
Distinct personhood does not negate shared deity.
Third, the atoning context of the cross.
Psalm 22 begins in anguish but ends in vindication and triumph. By quoting the opening line, Jesus invokes the whole psalm. The psalm describes mockery, pierced hands and feet, casting lots for garments, and ultimate deliverance. All are fulfilled in the crucifixion narrative.
On the cross, Christ is bearing sin.
2 Corinthians 5:21
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin…”
Galatians 3:13
“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us…”
The cry of dereliction expresses the judicial experience of covenant curse. It does not mean the Trinity was ontologically divided. The divine nature cannot be separated. Rather, in His human nature, as the sin bearer, Christ experiences the forsakenness that belongs to sinners under judgment.
The Greek of Matthew 27:46 reads
Θεέ μου Θεέ μου ἱνατί με ἐγκατέλιπες
ἐγκατέλιπες is aorist active indicative meaning you abandoned or you forsook. It reflects relational abandonment in the context of suffering, not metaphysical dissolution of deity.
Important also is what happens next. Jesus does not die in despair. He commits His spirit to the Father.
Luke 23:46
“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit…”
And the resurrection vindicates Him.
Acts 2:24
“Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death…”
If Jesus were merely a prophet, His cry would simply be tragic. But because He is the incarnate Son, the cry reveals the depth of substitutionary atonement. He stands in the place of sinners, experiencing the covenant curse, and then is vindicated in resurrection.
So the statement “My God, why have you forsaken me?” does not deny His deity. It presupposes:
He is truly human and prays as man.
He is distinct from the Father as Son.
He is bearing sin under covenant judgment.
He fulfills Psalm 22 in both suffering and triumph.
The cross displays the cost of redemption. The resurrection proves that the forsakenness was not final. The Son is not less than God because He cries out. He is the obedient God-Man accomplishing salvation.
Can you read the Quran brother?
J.
My brother, I occasionally look at both the Bible and Quran documents online. What is presented to us is that Jesus was created from nothing, that Gabriel placed Jesus in Mary’s womb, and that God took Jesus to Himself so he would not suffer, because prophets are sacred to God. So we know that Jesus is in heaven with God, and on Judgment Day, God will recognize Jesus. I have heard that God will send Jesus back to the world.
@johann Alright, brother. Take care of yourself. I’ll be waiting impatiently for your good night reply.
Tasbiḥūna ʿalā khayr, wa-s-salāmu ʿalaykum wa ʿalā ahlikum. @Emre
J.
Do you know Sam Shamoun @Emre ?
Five Reasons Why Jesus is Not Merely a Prophet
Keith Thompson
This article will be posing questions and arguments to the Muslim readers who believe that the New Testament teaches that Jesus is not God but merely a prophet.
It is stated in the Quran that Jesus was merely a prophet. For example in S. 5:75 we read: “The Messiah the son of Mary is only a prophet…” (Palmer 5:75).
However, the first-century texts that were written by eye-witnesses and ear-witnesses of Jesus give us a different Jesus – namely the real Jesus. Hence, this article will demonstrate that the Jesus of the first-century was no mere prophet. It will be shown that although Jesus was a prophet, He was not a mere prophet. He is God. It is my hope that this material will clear up what the New Testament teaches about Jesus for those Muslims whom the Father is drawing to Christ.
#1 If Jesus is merely a prophet then why does John 5:23 state that, “… everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him” (John 5:23 ESV)?
Wouldn’t honoring Jesus just as, or in the same way we honor the Father be blasphemy if Jesus is merely a prophet? Would it be acceptable for a Muslim to honor Muhammad in the same way and to the same extent that they honor Allah?
The primary definition of Greek word for “just as” (kathōs) is “… according as, just as, even as, in proportion as, in the degree that.”1
Thus, there is no question that this verse is commanding believers to honor, revere, or venerate Jesus to the same degree as we honor, revere and venerate the Father.
Since the Father is to be honored as God and to the greatest extent, so is Jesus. Therefore, Jesus is not a mere prophet.
#2 If Jesus is merely a prophet then why in Revelation 5:8-14 does it say that in heaven every creature including angels and elders will worship Jesus saying He is worthy of praise, glory, honour and power forever and ever? If Jesus is a mere prophet and not God, doesn’t this derogate from worship that God alone deserves? If it is worship only due to God doesn’t this prove that the first-century texts are affirming that Jesus is more than just a prophet? Revelation 5:8-14 says:
And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5:8-14 NIV).
#3 If Jesus is a mere prophet who’s life began at conception like the rest of mankind then why does the NT teach that Jesus pre-existed with the Father in unique Glory? Philippians 2:6-11 states:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11 KJV)
Footnotes
1 Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament, [Harper, 1887], p. 315
2 “I Am” is a divine title that God gave himself in the Old Testament. For example in Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, ““I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14 ESV). The divine name “I Am,” when translated into the Greek version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint was rendered “egō eimi.” This is the exact same Greek phrase Jesus uses in John 8:58 of himself showing He is the great “I Am” – God himself.
Articles by Keith Thompson
Answering Islam Home Page
I’ll keep praying brother @Emre and will gladly share the Surah’s and Hadiths with you.
Sahih al-Bukhari
Sahih Muslim
Sunan Abu Dawud
Jami` at-Tirmidhi
Sunan an-Nasa’i
Sunan Ibn Majah
J.
Unfortunately, brother @Emre, now that this is public, you will receive a variety of conflicting answers.
Shalom.
Johann.
Actually in Greek, there are 2 spots in NT where 2 are called God or god in the same paragraph. (John 1:1–2Cor 4:4) Both the Word and satan( 2 Cor 4:4) got the same exact Greek word, while at both spots the true God is called a different Greek word-The reason why for the true God=God, for the other 2 = god. Small g god means-has godlike qualities. Greek scholars through the years put a god at John 1:1, 3 had was divine, 1 had was godlike. There is no translating rule to translate the same word to the Word and satan different as error translations have done with 0 proof. It was Catholicism who put capitol g God to the Word at John 1:1–all protestant translations were derived from Catholicism translating from 4th century. Nothing older existed but a very few minor fragments of NT when the protestants translated. All current Greek manuscripts done from the same 4th century translating of NT.