In order to understand the meaning of Jesus’ lament, we need to know the Old Testament background and the Jewish manner of praying. It is the first part of psalm 22 that Jesus uttered at the moment of his death.
 
 

Most of the prayers of the Jewish liturgy were from the psalms. The early Christians, too, learnt these psalms by heart and used them as the major part of their prayer. There is no doubt that Jesus, who grew up in the school of the psalms, made them the subject of his meditation and prayer. In the letter to the Hebrews we read, "In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission" (Heb 5:7).

The lament of Jesus from the cross must be seen as a prayer from psalm 22. It is not to be considered as a cry of despair because the Father has forsaken him. There are some people like the protestant Calvin who understand it as a cry of despair.

It is clear that Jesus, who dies forgiving his enemies (cf Lk 23:34), is certainly not experiencing a moment of despair.

Jesus recited loudly the beginning of the psalm and prayed the whole of it hanging on the cross. In John 12:15 we see a similar manner of praying. Here the words,"Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look here your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt," are quoted from Zechariah 9:9. In John the picture is that of a humble and peaceful King, but the glory and victory of the triumphant king depicted in Zechariah 9:9-15, is what is indicated. It is, therefore, certain that Jesus prayed the whole of psalm 22, a psalm of faith and hope, while hanging on the cross. Modern Bible scholars also conform to this opinion.

The root Greek word for "cried loudly" is "boao" (cf Mk 15:34). It is a word that denotes prayer. What is implied here is that Jesus prayed psalm 22 aloud. The hour when he prayed is also noteworthy. The ninth hour is 3 o'clock in the afternoon. This was the hour of the afternoon sacrifice and prayer in the Temple. At the time of the community prayer, it was the custom to blow the trumpet loudly to alert the whole town (cf Sir 50:16). There is a reference about this time of prayer in Acts 3:1. Jesus, who was dying at the hour of prayer, was praying aloud to the Father, reciting psalm 22, along with the community.
 
 

In psalm 22, which is a psalm of lamentation, what we see is the pain and hope of the rejected person. The theme is the cry of the guiltless one. In the psalms of lamentation, it is not so much the despair of having been abandoned by God, that we see; rather, it is the praise of God in grief and pain, prayer and celebration--all harmoniously blending together. Psalm 22 comes to an end proclaiming God's deliverance under the rule of God. Some see this psalm as a paradigm of all prayer. It has a significant place in the account of the passion. Jesus is viewing his passion, death and resurrection in the light of this psalm. The theme of tribulation and suffering leads to that of deliverance and salvation of the suffering person. It was through suffering that Jesus, too, attained glorification.

This psalm can be divided into two parts. The first part is 22:1-21 and the second 22:22-31. In the former, the righteous man is opening out his heart to God laying bare all his sufferings. To acknowledge oneself as one actually is before God, is fundamental, existential prayer. There is nothing wrong in pointing out that God is far away from him. This is not despair. It is sincerity. True prayer. If it is the spirit of lament and questioning that we see in the first part of the psalm, the latter part contains praise and glorification of God, surrender and hope. The main ideas in this psalm are given below.
 
 

While praying this psalm, Jesus is expressing his pain openly and, at the same time, acknowledging his strong faith in God.

Calling out, "My God" in the midst of his suffering indicates his deep relationship with God. It is a Jesus who dies praying that Luke and John present. In the Gospels we see Jesus praying throughout to the Father. "Into your hands I commend my spirit," says Jesus quoting psalm 31, at the moment of his death in the third Gospel (cf Lk 23:46). The essence of this prayer is the union with the Father and obedience to and faith in him. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, "It is finished'. Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit"(19:30). This prayer shows that Jesus had perfectly fulfilled the mandate given to him by the Father. Moreover, his union with and surrender to God are also expressed here. Both these prayers are not basically different from the prayers contained in Ps 22. In affliction and suffering, Jesus' faith in God and dependence on him did not grow less; on the contrary, he expressed them intensely. There was nothing wrong for the man Jesus, deep in the very abyss of pain, to feel that even God forsook him. Though God did not in reality forsake him, it is not to be taken as murmuring against almighty God. It is a man who bares his heart to God that we often find in the psalmist, for example, in psalms 21,37, 76 and 143. Since Jesus had a deep and close relationship with God, he had the freedom to express his affliction sincerely before him. This expression became an entreaty in the end. Jesus' cry was a cry of pain, of triumph and of power, not of failure.

In the prayer on the cross we should see Jesus who fulfils the will of his Father. It is his attitude of surrender that we see revealed in the expression, "He commended his spirit and breathed his last". In the Gospels we find that the entire life of Jesus was spent in fulfilling the Father’s will. This is very clear in the prayer in the garden of Gethsemane (cf Mk 14:33-36).

Jesus continues his prophetic role on the cross. In the life of all the prophets, suffering was an inevitable experience. Prophet Jeremiah’s experiences particularly point to this fact(cf Jer 20:7). A prophet has to shout aloud for justice, peace and love of God and sacrifice his life in the midst of injustice, terrorism and hatred. Jesus was the greatest of all prophets. In the cry of the prophet lies a firm and steadfast faith and a strong hope.
 
 

Jesus, the Suffering Servant (cf Is 53:4-5), is hanging on the cross and lamenting and praying in reparation for the sins of the human race. Just as the righteous man goes through suffering, Jesus, too, goes through suffering during his passion. Suffering is his strength. He never yields to despair in the midst of affliction. He accepts the chalice of suffering and death on his own accord (cf Mt 26:39-42). He also realises that after his suffering and death he will be enthroned at the right hand of the Father in glory (cf Mt 26:64).

Christ drank of the cup of suffering draining the last drop. He made our suffering his own. That is why the disciple says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us-for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" ( Gal 3:13). "Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed" ( (Is 53:4-5). He is the physician who entered deep into the midst of our illnesses. He inhaled the stench from our putrifying sores and healed us. He bore the sins of his prodigal children and brought us back to our Father’s house.Let us not forget that it is in Jesus, who has made our weakness, suffering and death in all their aspects, his own, that God has revealed himself. As this Jesus, who, as Emmanuel (God with us) is constantly with us, we must go forward to victory without loosing courage in loneliness, suffering or tribulation. Let us also die praying like Jesus.