46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?' that is, 'MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?' 47 And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, [began] saying, 'This man is calling for Elijah.' 48 Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. 49 But the rest [of them] said, 'Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.' 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
34 At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, 'ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?' which is translated, 'MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?' 35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they [began] saying, 'Behold, He is calling for Elijah.' 36 Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, 'Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.' 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last.
Why Elijah Saving Him
Both words begin identically (אֵלִי (ʾĒlî)):
The bystanders thought Elijah might save Jesus because Jesus’ cry sounded like a call for Elijah, and because of Jewish expectations about Elijah’s return. When Jesus cried out, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34), the opening word “Eli” (meaning “my God” in Aramaic/Hebrew). When from a distance, in pain, shouted aloud, it sounded very similar to the name Elijah (’Eliyahu).
Many Jews believed Elijah would return before the day of the Lord and act as a rescuer or deliverer (Malachi 4:5), so the crowd mockingly said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save him” (Matthew 27:49). Their reaction reflects misunderstanding mixed with ridicule.
4 'Remember the law of Moses My servant, [even the] statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. 5 'Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. 6 'He will restore the hearts of the fathers to [their] children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.'
So the confusion is linguistic, Ironically, Elijah had already come in the form of John the Baptist.
Jesus Knew He Would Die
18 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify [Him], and on the third day He will be raised up.'
14 'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
46 and He said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 'You are witnesses of these things.