The Second Station: Jesus Receives His Cross

Scripture

Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,  and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.  They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. (Matthew 27:27-31)

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.  Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). (John 19: 16,17)

Meditation

And so Jesus Barabbas, a condemned murderer and political zealot, walks away totally free. He is fully pardoned, never again having to face judgment for his crimes. He, guilty as sin itself, is now free to live. He is released from his prison cell and walks to freedom through a courtyard that is packed with an angry mob. In the midst of this mob he spies a man—a man perhaps about the same age as himself.

This man is worn, he is tired. Yet there is a look of peace in his eyes that perhaps worries Barabbas. Just who is this man, and why is he the object of such rage?

Barabbas does not yet know, but the man before him is the reason he is now free to leave his prison. This man’s life is about to be exchanged for the death that rightfully belongs to Barabbas.

This man before him is Jesus Barjoseph. Jesus BarJehovah. And he is in the hands of Pontius Pilate to be executed for crimes he did not commit.

Pilate is a weak leader. He will only last a few more years as the governor of Judea. And like many weak leaders, he covers his weaknesses with cruelty. Even though he believes Jesus to be innocent, he goes ahead with the death decree, beginning with the customary torture of the condemned. Jesus is stripped of his clothing, then whipped until most of the skin on his back has been shredded. This causes massive bleeding and shock. The soldiers proceed to pour emotional cruelty on top of the physical. They put a royal purple robe on him, give him a stick as a scepter, weave a crown of razor-sharp thorns and pierce it into his forehead.

“Hail, King of the Jews!” they mock. They spit on him, slapping his face and head with the scepter they had given him. And then … and then, in full mockery, they do what God desires all of us to do. These soldiers bow their knee to Jesus.

The men who had just hideously abused the very Son of Man bow their knees to the Son of God.

When they arise, they take the purple robe from Jesus (no sense wasting a good robe) and give him his own clothes back. Then they take the horizontal beam that would be the instrument of his death and force it onto Jesus’ shoulders. This beam weighs anywhere from 75 to 125 pounds and, compounded with the loss of blood and loss of strength, will cause the man to weave and stagger under the load, adding to his humility and shame. With the physical torture resulting in massive loss of blood, this cross is not easy to carry. Oh, it is not easy to carry in so many ways.

And still Jesus Barabbas stands and watches. Does he understand yet? Does he yet realize that all that this other Jesus is taking, is accepting, is for his freedom?

Do we?

Action

I am Barabbas. I am a criminal, condemned for my sins for which I am rightfully guilty. And yet for some reason I am being set free. The guards have opened the door and called me to come out. They tell me I am completely pardoned, that charges against me have been dismissed. I am free to now live my life. To live.

As I walk out of the prison, I see the man who is giving his life in exchange for mine. What do I say? What do I do? He is being mocked by the soldiers. They are treating him with utter disdain. In their mockery, they bow down to him as they would a king. And that is when I know what I must do.

I, a man condemned who has now been saved from my just punishment, must also bow. I bend my knee to the ground and lower my head. I surrender to this man who is about to die. I when I rise, I realize that he desires me to live, not die. I am now free. Free to at last live.

Prayer

Jesus, I see you there in the prison courtyard, being mocked and tortured. I see the whip ripping skin from your back. The crown of thorns pressed into the soft flesh of your forehead. I hear the jeers of the soldiers and I shudder each time the hit your face with a reed. I see the heavy, hard beam placed on your shoulders. And I weep knowing that you are enduring all of this for the sake of love.

Holy Spirit, let me not pass over this scene just because it is cruel. Let me not forget that this punishment was rightfully meant for me. For if I am to give great thanks, I must be reminded of the horrible torture my Savior bore for me.

Jesus, you are the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. I freely now bow my knee before you, my Savior, my King.

Chorus

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.