The Eschatological Cry: Jesus, Elijah, and the Restoration of Israel in Matthew 27:45–49

• Tekalign Duguma Negewo Stellenbosch University; Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9788-621X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7833/125-1-2226

Keywords:

Jesus’s Cry of Abandonment, Psalm 22, Elijah Tradition, Matthean Narrative, Elijah’s Eschatological Mission, Israel’s Restoration, Apocalyptic Restoration

Abstract

This article argues that Jesus’s cry in Matthew 27:45–49 should be interpreted within Matthew’s broader eschatological narrative rather than merely as an expression of abandonment or a citation of Psalm 22:1. Employing a multidimensional intertextual and narrative-critical methodology, the study integrates literary analysis, Second-Temple historical contextualisation, phonetic correspondence, and apocalyptic referentiality. It contends that Matthew deliberately employs the term Ἠλί to evoke Elijah traditions, transforming the bystanders’ response into a narrative strategy through which readers are directed toward Jesus as the fulfilment of Elijah’s anticipated eschatological mission. Drawing particularly on Sirach 48:10–11 and the Dead Sea Scrolls, the article demonstrates that Elijah was expected not only as a messianic forerunner but also as an eschatological agent who would avert divine wrath, restore Israel, inaugurate a new exodus, and participate in resurrection hope. Within the literary unit of Matthew 27:27–54, Jesus’s cry functions as the theological pivot of the passion narrative, revealing that through his sacrificial death the eschatological restoration of Israel and the inauguration of God’s new age have begun.