Chavurat Derekh HaMashiach

The moment Yeshua cried out, “Eli, Eli, lama azavtani?” has been misunderstood for centuries. Some use it to argue He was merely a man, separated from God, stripped of divinity in His final breath. But to hear His words the way His original audience heard them, you must step back into the world of first‑century Judaism—where Scripture was not divided into chapters and verses, and where quoting the first line of a passage was the standard way to call the entire text to mind.

Yeshua was not expressing divine abandonment. 
He was directing the crowd to Psalm 22.

And Psalm 22 is not a psalm of defeat. 
It is a psalm of suffering, revelation, and ultimate victory.

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The Jewish Method: Quoting the First Line to Invoke the Whole Psalm

In Yeshua’s day, rabbis didn’t say “Turn to Psalm 22.” They quoted the opening line, and every listener—trained from childhood to memorize Scripture—would immediately recall the entire passage.

So when Yeshua cried:

> “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

He was not describing His internal state. 
He was identifying Himself as the fulfillment of David’s prophecy.

He was saying:

“Look at Psalm 22. You are watching it unfold.”

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Psalm 22 Describes Crucifixion—Centuries Before Crucifixion Existed

David wrote Psalm 22 around 1000 BCE. 
Rome introduced crucifixion to Israel around 63 BCE.

Yet Psalm 22 contains details that match the crucifixion with eerie precision:

– “They pierce my hands and my feet.” 
– “All my bones are out of joint.” 
– “My tongue sticks to my jaws.” 
– “They divide my garments among them.” 
– “They cast lots for my clothing.” 
– “All who see me mock me.” 
– “He trusts in the LORD; let Him rescue him.”

Every one of these appears in the Gospel accounts.

This is not coincidence. 
This is prophecy.

And Yeshua, hanging on the execution stake, used the ancient rabbinic method to say:

“This is Me. This is now. This is the plan.”

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Psalm 22 Ends in Triumph, Not Abandonment

The psalm begins in agony but ends in glory:

– “You have answered me.” 
– “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD.” 
– “A future generation will be told about the Lord.” 
– “He has done it.”

That final phrase—asah—is the Hebrew equivalent of:

“It is finished.”

Yeshua’s final words echo the conclusion of Psalm 22. 
The psalm He began on the cross, He completed with His last breath.

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Genesis 3:15 — The First Gospel

The story doesn’t begin in the Gospels. 
It begins in the garden.

When HaShem said to the serpent:

> “I will put enmity between your seed and her seed; 
> He will crush your head, and you will bruise His heel.”

This is the first prophecy of Messiah’s suffering and victory.

– The bruised heel: the crucifixion. 
– The crushed head: the resurrection and ultimate defeat of the adversary.

The cross was not a tragedy. 
It was a strategy—written into creation from the beginning.

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Yeshua Was Not Killed by Jews or Romans

Both groups played their part, but neither group authored His death.

Yeshua said:

> “No one takes My life from Me. 
> I lay it down of My own accord.”

He is the Passover Lamb who chooses to be slain.

He is the High Priest who offers Himself.

He is the Word who became flesh for this very moment.

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John 1:1 — Yeshua Is Elohim

John removes all doubt:

> “In the beginning was the Word, 
> and the Word was with God, 
> and the Word was God. 
> All things were made through Him, 
> and without Him nothing was made that has been made.”

Yeshua is not a created being. 
Not a prophet elevated to divine status. 
Not a messenger who became Messiah.

He is Elohim in flesh, the Creator entering His own creation to redeem it.

Psalm 22 is not the cry of a man abandoned by God. 
It is the cry of God revealing Himself, fulfilling the Scriptures He authored, and completing the mission He declared from the beginning.

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The Cross Was Not the End—It Was the Revelation

When Yeshua invoked Psalm 22, He was not expressing despair. 
He was unveiling the prophecy. 
He was teaching from the cross. 
He was revealing the plan written before time began.

And He was declaring to every generation:

“This was always the way. 
This was always the plan. 
This was always for you.”

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