Cry of Dereliction or Cry of Judgment? Mark 15:34 in Context

Abstract

The trinitarian theological implications of Jesus' cry from the cross have sidetracked scholars from the context. The theme of judgment against the Jews is strong in the surrounding verses, and the Gospel repeatedly follows rejection on the part of the Jews with reception on the part of Gentiles. Psalm 22, to which allusion is common elsewhere in chapter 15, expresses judgment issuing in universality. The centurion confirms this, functioning as a symbolic recipient of the gospel following the judgment sign of the veil-rending. In the cry from the cross, Jesus the sufferer prophesies as the representative of the Jews, pronouncing their rejection and the hope of the gospel for all people.