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In the gospels of Matthew (27:46) and Mark (15:34) in the Bible, Jesus says

My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?

Is this a sign that Jesus is upset with God?

Tsundoku
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Thinking
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    It's not clear if you're asking why (as in the title) or whether (as in the body) Jesus is upset with God. Also you might replace "upset" with something more precise. Anyway, I think there are better Stack Exchange sites for this question, i.e., sites dealing specifically with the Bible or religion. – user14111 Jul 02 '19 at 03:45
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    @user14111 There might be a different set of experts on another site, but it's still on-topic here. – Rand al'Thor Jul 02 '19 at 06:49
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    @Randal'Thor If so, I think we might need to revisit what's on-topic. – Matt Thrower Jul 02 '19 at 09:39
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    @MattThrower We had an early meta about it, and a more recent dupe. – Rand al'Thor Jul 02 '19 at 09:45
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    There's not much confusion if you look at the quotes in context. This quote comes after he has been nailed to the cross and has spent several hours being tortured. Passersby are insulting him and saying "If you're really the son of God, get down off the cross yourself! Perform a miracle!" He can't. So he's shouting "God, why can't I perform a miracle and save myself? Why did you abandon me?" Seems pretty straightforward why he's "upset." https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+27&version=NIV and https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+15&version=NIV – Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum Jul 02 '19 at 09:49
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    @Randal'Thor from the meta: "Questions about such texts but not dealing with literary analysis of them should be directed to the appropriate site." - that would seem to cover my issue with this question. It is not literary analysis, and I feel it should be closed. – Matt Thrower Jul 02 '19 at 10:00
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    @ChristopheStrobbe I don't agree with this being off-topic. – EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine Jul 03 '19 at 20:40
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    @MattThrower I don't agree. We ask questions about the motivations of characters in books all the time; why should this be different just because it's historical narrative/religious text? I don't see why you can't use literary analysis to understand what the text is trying to communicate (as long as the question is focused on what can be understood from analysis of the text itself, which this is). – EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine Jul 03 '19 at 20:44
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    My sense is that any question involving textual analysis of the Bible on a Literary forum is literary, the same way it would be analyzed in a mythical context if it were asked on Mythology. The answer to the question, which now has 4 upvotes, is a valid literary analysis based on the motivation of the central character. – DukeZhou Jul 03 '19 at 21:22
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    And, being quite frank, it's counterproductive in terms of user engagement to nitpick over this kind of thing, based on fairly pedantic views of what constitutes a valid question. The bible is regarded as a religious, mythological, and literary text, and the framework in which the question is asked determines the nature of the answer, in this case, literary. – DukeZhou Jul 03 '19 at 21:32
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    @DukeZhou Agreed. If this was asking about the truth of an event in the Bible, or even its interpretation in religious communities, it might not fit here. But this question seems like a straightforward literary one, which could equally be asked about events in any book, quite separate from any issues of belief or faith. – Rand al'Thor Jul 04 '19 at 06:15

1 Answers1

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Any analysis of this line needs to begin with the understanding that "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" is a direct quotation of (and thus a reference to) Psalms 22. Psalm 22 begins by expressing doubt in god, but it ends with a renewed faith in God (e.g. "For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help."). So it's at the very least possible to read "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" as an expression of faith in God even during tough times, as opposed to expressing doubt or anger in God.

(Some Christians would point to similarities between Psalm 22 and Jesus' crucifixion as evidence that the old testament contains prophecies of the new testament; needless to say other religions would have a different view on this. However, the question of the prophetic relationship between Psalm 22 and Jesus' crucifixion is an example of a question where literary analysis probably doesn't have a lot to offer.)

As for what emotion Jesus was feeling at this time: my limited understanding of the history of emotion makes me wary of assigning specific emotions in this way. But I think it's worth doing a comparative analysis between Mark and Matthew (where Jesus says "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?") and Luke and John where Jesus says other things. In Mark and Matthew, Jesus is described as being silent until referencing Psalm 22, after which Jesus dies.

The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”

But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

Contrast that with Luke, where Jesus responds to many of the people talking to him during his crucifixion:

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

I think it's fair to say that Mark's narrative, compared to Luke's narrative, allow a much more robust argument that Jesus felt abandoned. I don't think any text supports an interpretation that Jesus was angry during his crucifixion. For example, Jesus isn't lashing out at anyone.

You might be interested in the article ‘My God, My God’: When Jesus felt abandoned. At the very least there are Christians who do feel that Jesus expressed abandonment in Mark, although not everyone would agree with this.

It's worth mentioning that I doubt this short answer has done justice to this complicated moment in a complicated work, but I doubt any answer could do this line justice.

Rand al'Thor
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ScholarlyFool
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