stations of the cross

The Stations of the Cross is a Christian tradition that was brought home by Crusaders.  The knights of the Crusades had a marvelous opportunity to walk the final steps of Jesus, from the room of the Last Supper to the Garden of Gethsemane, from the court of the Sanhedrin to Pilate’s palace, from the flogging to Golgotha.

Praying through the Stations is particularly appropriate during Lent, especially during Holy Week, when we intentionally remember these last days of our Christ, in anticipation of his resurrection at Easter.  During the last 14 days of Lent in 2009, I blogged a reflection on the Stations, taking one each day to explore and live with.  Because these blog posts continue to bring a number of people here each day, I wanted to collect the links in one place, so that anyone can walk the 14 Stations with me.

Station 1: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

Olives in Gethsemane-2, by Ian W Scott

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’ Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’

Station 2: Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested

Betrayed with a Kiss, by Lawrence OP

Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.’ So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him. Then they laid hands on him and arrested him.

Station 3: Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin

Via Crucis III - Gesù è condannato dal sinedrio, by brtsergio

When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council. They said, ‘If you are the Messiah, tell us.’ He replied, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I question you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.’ All of them asked, ‘Are you, then, the Son of God?’ He said to them, ‘You say that I am.’ Then they said, ‘What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!’

Station 4: Jesus is denied by Peter

Three Times, by callmetim

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus the Galilean.’ But he denied it before all of them, saying, ‘I do not know what you are talking about.’ When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ Again he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’ After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.’ Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know the man!’ At that moment the cock crowed. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: ‘Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.

Station 5: Jesus is judged by Pontius Pilate

Barcelona, Sagrada Familia, Passion Facade H Pontius Pilate Washing His Hands 02, by that james

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ He answered him, ‘You say so.’ Then the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, ‘Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.’ But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed. So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Station 6: Jesus is scourged at the pillar and crowned with thorns

Sagrada Familia (Scourging at the Pillar), by Fergal OP

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and striking him on the face.

Station 7: Jesus bears the cross

Take Up Your Cross, by auntjojo

When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.’ They cried out, ‘Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but the emperor.’ Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.

Station 8: Jesus is helped by Simon the Cyrenian to bear the cross

Simon of Cyrene carries the cross, by kiltbear

They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.

Station 9: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

VIII - Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem, by .:Axle:.

A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.” Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us”; and to the hills, “Cover us.” For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’

Station 10: Jesus is crucified

Musée national du Moyen Age - Crucifixion et panneaux décoratifs, by wallyg

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [[ Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’]] And they cast lots to divide his clothing.

Station 11: Jesus promises his kingdom to the good thief

The Good Thief on his Cross at Calvary, by Grufnik

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’

Station 12: Jesus speaks to his mother and the beloved disciple

Calvary, by Andy Coan

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

Station 13: Jesus dies on the cross

'Jesus Dies on the Cross' by gloskeith

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last.

Station 14:  Jesus is placed in the tomb

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away.

Christ laid in the tomb, by Lawrence OP

As a small note, I chose a set of Stations that is completely based on events that are documented in canonical Scripture.  In a typical Roman Catholic church, you may see differences in the Stations, with some based on events and stories that do not appear in the canonical bible.  This does not mean that those stories never took place, and I want to be very clear about that.  The sole reason I chose scriptural Stations over the traditional Stations is so that we can all go back to the same source material.

All scripture quotations on this page are from the New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.