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THE VIA CRUCIS / STATION 7 JESUS CARRIES THE CROSS
Rembrandt, Christ Carrying the Cross (c.1635)
John 19:16-17 (NIV) 16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).
Luke 9:23 (NIV) 23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
The walk to Golgotha starts right outside Pilate’s Courts and the Cross is not only picked up, it is tied on, across the shoulders with loops around your wrists. It is not coming off, if you fall it goes down with you, you can not drop it, can not toss it, can not hand it off. It is yours from now on. The only relief you may have is if someone comes alongside and helps you bear it. But for now, it is all yours and there is a crowd watching you, some mocking, some crying, some feeling your pain, some watching in silence and thinking “what a shame!”
The preliminaries are done with. The sham trials, the unjust and hollow verdicts, the beatings, the tearing of flesh, the mocking, the crown of thorns, the blood-soaked robe are behind Jesus, now comes the walk, the surprisingly short walk to Crucifixion, to death, to a borrowed tomb, but also to Glory. In the 16th century Dutch geographer and priest Christian van Adrichem studied the maps of Jerusalem and crafted an account of Jesus walking to the Golgotha – even measuring the steps:
The Way of the Cross which Christ, after he had been condemned to be crucified, followed with the most wretched suffering and bloody footsteps, to Mount Calvary. Beginning at Pilate’s Palace, he walked 26 paces, or 65 feet, to the place where the cross was placed upon his shoulders. Thence, while the whole city looked on, bearing the Cross on his pained shoulders he turned in a northwestern direction and walked towards the place where, according to tradition, he stumbled for the first time under the weight of the Cross; this is a distance of 80 paces,… 200 feet.
Thence he proceeded 63 paces – 153 feet – to the spot where he encountered Mary his mother and the disciple John. From that place he continued 71 ½ paces – 179 feet – to the fork in the road where Simon of Cyrene was forced to walk behind Jesus, carrying the Cross for him… Thence the 18 paces or 45 feet to the place where the executioners removed his clothing; and there he drank wine mixed with myrrh. After that, 12 paces or 30 feet to the place where he was nailed to the Cross.
Finally from that point the 14 paces or 35 feet to the place where, hanging upon the Cross, he was set in a hollow in the rocky ground of Calvary. Thus from the palace of Pilate to the place where the Cross was raised it was 1321 paces or according to the other calculation, 3303 feet. van Adrichem, Urbis Hierosolymae (City of Jerusalem)
I first read Christian van Adrichem’s description of Jesus’ walk with his cross only a short time ago. Only when I was typing it in, did it strike me that I was trying to type up a type of deed, like I have done dozens of times before. The descriptions of the distance and direction are known as the “Call” of the deed. To own a deed certifies that I possess the land, and close attention must be taken that the boundaries are clear.
When you own a deed, the only interference with your ownership are the liens that may get attached to it along the way. The most common is the Mortgage, to secure the purchase price. For us, the mortgage of our soul belongs to God, that is always unassignable, no one can purchase that, interfere with it or take it away from Him. What we must avoid are those other liens, the tax liens, judgment liens, second and third mortgages. These liens may often interfere with the primary ownership causing many troubles, but they will never replace it.
You see, my walk with Jesus is also the “Call” in my life, as is yours and so, and my walk with Jesus certifies that I belong to Him. Therefore I must be careful not to take on liens that muddle my journey, such as resentment, unconfessed sins, addictions, unholy habits and hatreds.. Keep a clean title on your soul, be free and walk the Call unhindered..
Lastly, whenever I had to type up a deed, I had to do so very carefully. You don’t want to mistype the “Call”, for the boundaries and paths at some point have to close and rejoin at the beginning. Otherwise,the poor surveyor or those following your path will wander off into oblivion. We want to end up back at our beginning as well, with the One who wonderfully made us and saved us, following our “Call” faithfully and plainly for all to see.
I Timothy 4:6-10 (the Message)
You’ve been raised on the Message of the faith and have followed sound teaching. Now pass on this counsel to the followers of Jesus there, and you’ll be a good servant of Jesus. Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart. This is why we’ve thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We’re banking on the living God, Savior of all men and women, especially believers.
Peace. Phil Parsons