Having read excerpts, particularly on Jesus utterances while on the cross, of several top rated commentaries on the book of Matthew and Mark (Google Books is a great tool for 'substantial' previews), I have a perception that most of the commentators tend to focus on the layer of meaning which I would label as the third layer i.e. the layer of meaning as understood by us as modern readers cum believers who have already build an understanding based on the tradition that we have received. What I feel lacking is the second layer i.e. the layer of meaning that speaks of the purpose of the author in writing the text that implies his perception of the audiences that he is speaking or writing for. It is of course difficult if not impossible to actually deduce objectively or with certainty what is going on in the author's mind as meanings are always in a state of flux as we construct it over time, but I do believe that evidences from the text itself could allow us to build a probable understanding of what the author had in mind. I found this exercise lacking in the excerpts that I read on the Lord's cry, "My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?". To my surprise, some of the commentaries even use the meanings from the third layer to develop the first i.e. the layer of meaning as understood by the people involved in the events. Some of the commentators write with an air of certainty that they could peep into Jesus' mind and understand what he was actually thinking or feeling. Caution should be reflected in the language of our writing when doing this. Having said that, I do not deny that I have benefited quite a bit from the commentaries especially the social-historical aspect and on how they are written.
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