Neville Goddard on Psalms 22:1

Executive Summary

Neville Goddard identifies the phrase “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” as a quotation from Psalms 22:1, recorded as the last cry on the cross in the gospels of Matthew and Mark. He interprets this cry not as a performance or a moment of doubt, but as the genuine expression of God having fully become human. To be a true savior, God had to completely empty Himself of His divine wisdom and power, and in that state, the feeling of being forsaken is an authentic part of the human experience He embodied.

Key Concepts

• The cry “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” is a quote from Psalms 22:1.
• It is recorded as the final words on the cross in the gospels of Matthew and Mark.
• The cry is not a pretense; God is not an actor playing a part.
• It signifies that God completely emptied Himself of His divine wisdom and power to become human.
• This total embodiment was necessary for God to be a savior.

Detailed Explanation

Neville Goddard explains that the final cry from the cross recorded in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 is a direct quotation of Psalms 22:1: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” He notes that this differs from the accounts in other gospels, such as Luke, which substitutes a verse from the 31st Psalm, and John, which records the final words as “It is finished.”

The core of Neville's interpretation is that this cry is not theatrical but utterly genuine. For God to act as a savior for humanity, He could not simply pretend to be human. A mere actor, knowing he is God playing a part, could not fulfill the role. Instead, God had to completely and totally empty Himself of His divinity—His wisdom, His power, and His awareness of being God.

By becoming you, God undertakes a journey of complete self-forgetting. The cry of feeling forsaken is therefore the authentic expression of this state. It is the voice of God-as-man, fully experiencing the limitations and feelings of the human condition without the safety net of His divine consciousness. This act of becoming, rather than pretending, is what makes the role of savior possible.

Important Quotes

Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 gave the last cry on the cross as the quotation from Psalms 22:1 “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

— The Crucifixion

In other words, God is not pretending that He is you.

— Question And Answer

He had to completely empty Himself of His entire wisdom and His power and everything to become you!

— Question And Answer

Related Concepts

This interpretation directly relates to the concept of I AM. The teaching that God had to empty Himself to become you is the foundation of the principle that your own consciousness, your own sense of 'I AM', is God. The journey of feeling forsaken is part of the divine drama that God, as your own consciousness, undergoes.

Common Misunderstandings

A potential misunderstanding is to interpret the cry as a sign of failure, doubt, or that a separate God entity literally abandoned Jesus. Neville's teaching corrects this by framing the cry as a necessary and authentic expression of the human state that God willingly and completely assumed. It is not an abandonment, but a total embodiment.

Practical Applications

The practical application of this teaching is not a technique for manifestation but a profound shift in self-concept. Understanding that God had to become you—and in the process, forget His own divinity—reinforces the idea that your own consciousness is the ultimate reality. It encourages a deeper recognition that the creative power of God is not external to you but is, in fact, your own wonderful human imagination, which is God in action.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Neville Goddard believe God literally forsook Jesus?

No. He taught that the cry was the genuine expression of the human state that God had to fully assume, which involved emptying Himself of His divine awareness. It was not an act of abandonment by a separate God.

According to Neville, why do different gospels record different last words from the cross?

Neville points out the discrepancy, noting that Matthew and Mark use the quote from Psalms 22, while Luke and John record different phrases. The source material does not explain why the authors made these different choices, only that they did.

What does it mean that God is not 'pretending' to be human?

It means that for the divine plan to be fulfilled, God couldn't just act like a human while secretly retaining His divine power and awareness. He had to truly become human by completely divesting Himself of His divine nature, making the human experience, including the feeling of being forsaken, entirely real.