Imagine celebrating Passover in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus. The Romans rule with an iron fist, but per tradition, an official chooses to release one prisoner for the holiday. This year, he offers the crowd a choice between Barabbas, a convicted criminal with a taste for insurrection, or Jesus.
The crowd chooses Barabbas. Maybe they want the zealot, or perhaps they simply hate Jesus. When Pilate asks the crowd what to do with Jesus, they shout “Crucify him!”
Roman soldiers mock Jesus before taking him to be crucified. Mark 15:20 says, “and when they had mocked them, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they lead him out to crucify him.” The Via Dolorosa marks Jesus’ path from condemnation before Pilate to his crucifixion. The Via Dolorosa means “way of sorrow” or “way of suffering.”
The path is divided into 14 sections. Each section invites us to consider the suffering Jesus endured. Each station invites us to ponder what Jesus must have been feeling while making the ultimate sacrifice.
Station 1 represents Jesus’ condemnation before Pilate. Station 2 is when Jesus was given his cross – the piece of wood on which he would die and later became a symbol of hope and salvation for Christians around the world. Imagine the pain Jesus felt as he walked towards Golgotha with onlookers spitting and shouting insults at him. Station 3 represents when Jesus fell for the first time.
Station 4 remembers Mary. Some believe Mary encountered her son along the Via Dolorosa and this station invites us to consider her grief as she watched her son be crucified. Station 5 remembers when Simon of Cyrene carried Jesus’ cross. Luke 23:26 says, “As the soldiers carried him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene who was on his way in from the country and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.” Imagine the confusion and embarrassment Simon must have also felt as he walked past the scoffers.
Station 6 remembers Veronica, a woman living in Jerusalem who some believe wiped Jesus’ face as he journeyed along the path. As the crowd shouted insults at Jesus, Veronica bravely stepped forward to wipe his face. This station commemorates her act of service. Station 7 marks when Jesus fell a second time. Station 8 commemorates when Jesus saw the women of Jerusalem weeping. To which he responded in Luke 23:28 “Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”
Station 9 represents when Jesus fell a third time, and Station 10 marks when Jesus was stripped of his garments. Station 11 remembers when Jesus was nailed to the cross. This section of the Via Dolorosa invites us to consider the suffering and humiliation that Jesus endured. Imagine the pain Jesus felt as nails were driven into his hands and feet. Imagine the people jeering below not knowing that this was the very man who had come to save them. Somehow, Jesus resisted the crucifixion’s gradual effect of suffocation long enough to preach to that crowd, ministering until the very end.
The final sections of the Via Dolorosa are located at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the location where many believe Jesus died and was buried. Station 12-14 represents Jesus’ death, removal from the cross, and his burial in the tomb.
At this point in Jesus’ journey, he had traveled from Capernaum to Jericho, Jericho to Bethany, Bethany to the Temple, and now finally to the cross at Golgatha. He had journeyed over a hundred miles to complete his father’s will. Now, he could finally rest until raised from the dead three days later.
As Jesus breathed his final breath on the cross, it was at this point in his journey that he said, “it is finished.”
