Self-Guided Tour • 7:00am – 9:00pm • Glenkirk Church Patio
Station One: Pilate Condemns Jesus to Die
Mark 15:1-15
In our first station, Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. The Jewish council has already tried and condemned Jesus as guilty of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God. The Roman charge against Jesus was sedition, inciting rebellion against Rome’s rule of Judea. Thus, Jesus is condemned by his own people as guilty of blasphemy and condemned by the government as guilty of sedition.
Station Two: Jesus Accepts His Cross
Matthew 27:27-31
After being condemned to die, Jesus is turned over to the Roman governor’s soldiers, soldiers whose only job was executing criminals. Stripped of his clothing and made to wear a kingly robe, Jesus is mocked and scorned by these soldiers. After being beaten and spit upon, Jesus is made to carry the wooden beams of his cross, the method of his execution.
Station Three: Simon Carries the Cross
Mark 15:21-23
Jerusalem is teeming with Jewish pilgrims who have traveled from around the world to celebrate the annual Passover feast. Already severely injured from beating, Jesus carries his cross through the city. Simon, a man from the Egyptian city of Cyrene, happens to be present as Jesus passes by. In our third station, Roman soldiers seize Simon, forcing him to carry the heavy wooden cross toward the place of execution, Golgotha.
Station Four: Jesus Speaks to the Women
Luke 23:27-31
As Jesus nears the place of his execution, a large number of people follow, including women from Jerusalem weeping for him. In the fourth station, Jesus turns to face the mourning women, urging them to weep for themselves and their children. He predicts a time when the city of Jerusalem will fall, its temple destroyed, and the entire region of Judea descending into violence and chaos. Before his arrest Jesus had already predicted this future destruction that would be fulfilled four decades later, when Roman armies would lay siege against Jerusalem and destroy the temple.
Station Five: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
Matthew 27:33-36
Jesus arrives at the site of his execution, Golgotha, which means “the place of the skull.” There his executioners offer him wine to dull the pain. Jesus tastes the wine mixed with gall, but then refuses to drink it. The soldiers cast lots to divide up his clothing, the only personal possession he has left.
Station Six: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
Matthew 27:37-44
In station six we come to the brutal and horrible task of crucifixion. Crucifixion was such a barbaric way to die that Romans considered it inappropriate to speak of in public It was a method of execution reserved for slaves, revolutionaries, false messiahs, and violent criminals. As Jesus is nailed to the cross and the cross is lifted for all to see, those watching hurl insults at him.
Station Seven: Jesus Cares for His Mother
John 19:25-27
Death by crucifixion was intended to terrify onlookers with its slow and tortuous suffocation. Among those witnessing Jesus die were his mother Mary and his apostle named John. In our seventh station, Jesus sees them watching him die, and entrusts the future care of his mother into the hands of John.
Station Eight: Jesus Dies on the Cross
Matthew 27:46-54
In our last station Jesus dies. He is one of about 30,000 Jewish men crucified by the Romans during this time period. These runaway slaves, murderers, would-be revolutionaries, and self-proclaimed messiahs have all faded into the pages of history. But when Jesus dies, those watching realize that he is different. Jesus cries out with the words of Scripture, the 22nd Psalm. As he dies, the curtain in the Jewish temple tears from top to bottom, the earth quakes, dead are raised, and one of the hardened, cruel Roman soldiers says, “Surely this was the Son of God!”