Psalm 22:1 gives words to an apparently abandoned sufferer who nevertheless continues to call upon God as "my God." The psalm moves from intense anguish and mockery toward confidence, vindication, and worldwide praise. David's experience supplies the immediate setting, but the Gospel writers present Jesus' passion in language that repeatedly echoes this psalm.

Matthew 27:46 records Jesus crying from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" directly quoting Psalm 22:1. This is one of the clearest correspondences between the psalm and the crucifixion because Jesus Himself takes its words upon His lips. His quotation identifies His suffering with the righteous sufferer of Psalm 22 and, read in light of the psalm's movement toward vindication, also points beyond the agony of the cross toward God's ultimate triumph.