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how do new testament writers describe or deal with the perceived absence of god?

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The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Matthew 27:46

“About the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””

This verse is found in the Gospel of Matthew, written likely in the late first century CE. It describes one of the final moments of Jesus' life on the cross, as he faces death and utters these words in Aramaic, quoting from Psalm 22. It's a moment of profound suffering and apparent isolation.

When facing moments that feel like God's absence, what internal resources or external communities help you to endure?

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  • Psalm 22:1

    This is the Psalm Jesus quotes, expressing deep distress and a feeling of being forsaken by God.

  • Mark 15:34

    Mark's Gospel also records Jesus' cry from the cross, using a slightly different transcription of the Aramaic.

  • Hebrews 4:15

    This passage speaks of Jesus' ability to empathize with human weakness, having experienced suffering himself.

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