Good morning! I’m glad to welcome you to worship today at Hillcrest Baptist Church.

Last week we began our study with Matthew 27:35—” Then they crucified Him…”, as we looked at “THE CRUCIFIXION” of Jesus. If they had only crucified Jesus, that would have been horrible enough, but His pain and suffering was beyond any that man could even begin to imagine. We know that Jesus had been awake all night, underwent at least four trials, was beaten by the religious leaders and then the Romans, endured cursing and mockery, and then was made to carry His cross to Golgotha upon which He was crucified.

In Matthew 27:45-49 we find a mystery that we will never fully understand. Martin Luther studied this very passage for days, meditating upon it, fasting and praying over it, and it is said that when he walked out of his study and said, “God forsaken by God, who can understand that?” Of course, we can never fully understand what it means for God to be forsaken by God, but we can learn much about what Jesus did for each of us, as we see Him “FORSAKEN” on the cross.