STATIONS OF THE CROSS
1. JESUS IS TEMPTED
“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Matthew 26:38
MEDITATION
Jesus is compelled to desperate prayer.
Think of Jesus’ complete honesty in prayer.
Jesus calls together his friends in his most desperate time of prayer. What drives you to such a desperate time of prayer?
PRAYER
Jesus, You lived a life without sin, and yet you were not separate from it or immune to it. You felt its temptations and sufferings, and you fell to your knees before the Father for it. Show us how to feel pain and anguish in honesty before our trusted Heavenly Father and your people around us. Help us remember how deeply you groaned, and to pray in remembrance of this.
(Sing or Read as you move towards the next station)
ABIDE WITH ME
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, abide with me.
2. JESUS IS BETRAYED
“Friend, do what you came here to do.” Matthew 26:50
“The son of man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him and after three days he will rise.” Mark 9:31
MEDITATION
The son of God was betrayed by a friend. The son of God was betrayed by his creation.
PRAYER
With a sign of friendship you were taken prisoner, O Jesus. A kiss to condemn. Your own creation rose up in hatred of you, and you bore it. Forgive us, for our many betrayals. Help us to forgive others for theirs. Help us remember the shame and betrayal you endured for our sakes.
(Sing or Read as you move towards the next station)
ABIDE WITH ME
Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, though I oft left Thee,
On to the close Lord, abide with me.
3. JESUS IS CONDEMNED
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.” John 19:15
“You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” John 19:11
“But this is your hour - when darkness reigns.” Luke 22:53 Luke 22:66-71
MEDITATION
Jesus submits quietly and peacefully.
Jesus is condemned by religious leaders. What was their fear?
PRAYER
Like a lamb, you did not protest. Jesus, you submitted to their false accusations, abuses of power, and you did not argue or resent them. You trusted your Father, and you loved your people. Help us remember this great act of love and self-control, in gratitude and humility.
(Sing or Read as you move towards the next station)
STRICKEN, SMITTEN AND AFFLICTED
Tell me, ye who hear Him groaning
Was there ever grief like His?
Friends through fear His cause disowning
Foes insulting His distress
Many hands were raised to wound Him
None would interpose to save
But the deepest stroke that pierced Him
Was the stroke that Justice gave
4. JESUS IS MOCKED
“But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” John 18:23
Matthew 27:28
MEDITATION
What brings on our mockery?
These soldiers brutalize Jesus. Possibly their common response to Jewish prisoners. Imagine the Son of God being brutalized by men.
PRAYER
The deep burning of shame is a fire we go to great lengths to avoid. But Jesus, you endured it willingly. Before your enemies and your own beloved, you were debased. Treated as less than human, though you were more. Help us remember, and weep for your humiliation.
(Sing or Read as you move towards the next station)
STRICKEN, SMITTEN AND AFFLICTED
Stricken, smitten, and afflicted
See Him dying on the tree!
'Tis the Christ by man rejected
Yes, my soul, 'tis He, 'tis He!
'Tis the long-expected Prophet
David's son, yet David's Lord
By His Son God now has spoken
'Tis the true and faithful Word
5. JESUS IS GIVEN HIS CROSS
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” John 3:14-15
MEDITATION
The cross was a public murder device for criminals. This is how Jesus was killed.
Imagine carrying the wood of the cross... up the hill to your eventual slow and public death.
PRAYER
The beginning of a torturous death, you were made to carry your own means of execution. O Jesus, how weary, how in pain you must have been! How fierce the battle in your mind and will to take one more step up the hill! Help us remember that every arduous step was an act of love and defiance of sin for our sakes.
(Sing or Read as you move towards the next station)
HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US
Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
6. JESUS FALLS
“Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 12:24
MEDITATION
This station, although not found in scripture, is traditionally in three stations. It symbolizes his humanity and his ever decreasing strength as he moves towards his public death.
Imagine Jesus experiencing weakness and distress in a public setting with nowhere to hide. Imagine the exhaustion of the last 24 hours.
PRAYER
Our beloved Lord, you were human. In pain, in weakness and exhaustion, you felt your coming death for many hours before. You were alone with your pain and anguish, feeling your human strength failing you, seeing the coming end approaching with agonizing slowness. Help us to remember how you experienced this in the fragility of your very human body.
(Sing or Read as you move towards the next station)
ALAS AND DID MY SAVIOR BLEED
Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness
And melt my eyes to tears
My God, why would You shed Your blood
So pure and undefiled
To make a sinful one like me
Your chosen, precious child?
7. SIMON CARRIES JESUS’ CROSS
Simon the Cyrene carries His cross - Luke 23:26
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24
MEDITATION
Imagine being pulled from the crowd and carrying this man’s device of death. What is it like to walk alongside Jesus in this?
PRAYER
Chosen to walk beside you, we now remember Simon with you. To carry your suffering, Jesus, he was both easing your pain and enabling it. Was it a relief, or did it hurt you to see your son Simon abused so, too? Help us to remember, and to be quick to bear one another’s burdens, and remember how you bore ours.
(Sing or Read as you move towards the next station)
WHEN I SURVEY
When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.
8. JESUS IS STRIPPED
“For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Luke 23:31
“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Luke 23:34
MEDITATION
Romans crucified criminals naked.
Reflect on the shame of nakedness in the Garden of Eden. And the shame of nakedness in this moment.
PRAYER
Suffering Servant, your body was beaten and bruised, and then exposed fully. Like Adam, you stood before the world in known nakedness, a sign of your shame and debasement. But unlike Adam, you knew no sin. And you asked forgiveness for your afflictors, knowing that theirs was the shame that needed true covering. Help us remember you gave all, without hesitation.
(Sing or Read as you move towards the next station)
HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US
How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
9. JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS
“When you have lifted up the Son of Man then you will know that I am the one i claim to be....” John 8:28
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all mankind to myself.” John 12:32
“My God My God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46
MEDITATION
The long physical pain of crucifixion was excruciating. In fact, the word excruciating is derived from crucifixion.
PRAYER
Lifted up, for all to see -- in bleeding agony. Wood and iron, thorns and ripped skin. Utterly alone, despite the jeering, watching crowd. Lamb of God, laid upon the altar, you still spoke hope to those around you, despite your ebbing life in agonized breath and dripping wounds. Help us to remember and to weep.
(Sing or Read as you move towards the next station)
WHEN I SURVEY
See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?
10. JESUS DIES
Isaiah 53:7
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13 “It is finished.” John 19:30
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46
MEDITATION
Jesus died. He died. Our greatest fear is death. And He was not insulated from that fear. His physical body stopped working.
His friends watched Him die.
PRAYER
You, Eternal Prince, the Promised One, you died. Your lungs failed, your heart ceased, your physical body was emptied of life. Were you afraid? But the curtain was torn, and You surrendered your spirit willingly, in absolute trust and obedience and love. O, Jesus, help us remember! No greater love, You said, and with that final breath, it is finished.
(Sing or Read as you move towards the next station)
HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
11. JESUS IS BURIED
“When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.” Matthew 26:12
Luke 23:50-56
MEDITATION
His friends buried Him.
Have you ever buried a loved one? Imagine doing that with the one you believed was going to change the world and bring ultimate justice and healing.
PRAYER
Laid inside the earth, Jesus, you were buried. Your friends thought you were ash to ash, dust to dust, you who said you were Resurrection and Life. Their hearts wrung with broken hopes, with the wordless agony of loss. They wept for you, and watched the door be shut. Help us remember the aching of grief, the inarticulate pain of seeing a loved one die.
(Sing or Read as you move towards the next station)
IN CHRIST ALONE
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain…
12. JESUS RISES
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays his life down for his sheep.” John 10:11
“Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the son of man has been raised from the dead.” Matthew 17:9
Revelation 1:17-18 “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
Matthew 20:18-19
Matthew 11:28
1 Peter 2:24-25
MEDITATION
Consider the other side of our greatest fear.
Jesus shows us that there is something beyond death.
PRAYER
O Jesus! You rose! Putting death to death, bringing Hope and Life back to the earth in one glorious heartbeat. Fulfillment of all your promises, all our hopes, are secured in your risen body, and we rejoice. You are King, living and reigning forever and ever. Help us remember and celebrate, in gratitude and great, great joy.
(Sing or Read in hope)
IN CHRIST ALONE
…Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ