Way of the Cross
Trinity’s Way of the Cross is a series of twelve paintings created by Trinity artists, which portray Jesus’ journey to the cross. The original paintings hang in the main sanctuary during the season of Lent and provide a way to enter into Jesus’ journey in an act of devotion and worship. This online version of the Way of the Cross contains the same devotional guide found in the sanctuary. Through this devotional practice, we join our journeys with Christ’s journey for us.
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• Opening Prayer •
Lord Jesus Christ,
take me along that holy way
you once took to your death.
Take my mind, my memory,
above all my reluctant heart,
and let me see what once you did
for the love of me and all the world.
I. Jesus in Gethsemane • Luke 22:39-46
And he came out, and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Jesus struggled to know and do the will of the Father, just like us. He knows what it is to be tested, to be uncertain. When we come before God, we can do so with complete honesty, pouring out our confusion, anguish and pain knowing that Jesus prays with us and for us. With Him may we be able to say, “Father, your will be done.”
PRAYER: Lord, you did not withhold yourself from any part of our lives. You entered fully into our temptations. You know our struggles. Thank you for praying with us and for us in our hour of testing.
II. Peter Denies Jesus • Luke 22:54-62
Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. Peter followed at a distance; and when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a maid, seeing him as he sat in the light and gazing at him, said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” And a little later some one else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
Why did Peter deny Jesus? Fear. The one who promised to follow to the end, scurries to protect himself. Fear, we all know it. Fear that can cripple our souls and bind our hearts, preventing us from doing what we know is right. Fear even of claiming the name of Christ. But for Peter, fear was not final. In the end faith won. “Feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. And he did.
PRAYER: Forgive my denials, O Lord. Instill within me that faith which trusts in you whenever I am tempted to deny you in word or deed. May my whole life honor you.
III. Jesus is Judged by Pilate • Matthew 27:11-24
Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge; so that the governor wondered greatly. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner, called Barab’bas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Barab’bas or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much over him today in a dream.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the people to ask for Barab’bas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barab’bas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified.” And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?”
But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified.” So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.”
Expediancy. Pilate knew better. He had seen enough criminals and revolutionaries to know that Jesus was not one of them. Yet, he gave into the cries of the crowd because it was expedient. It would keep the crowd compliant. And then, he tried to wash his hands of the whole affair – refusing to take responsibility.
Facing up to our sins and failure is never easy. It is easier to deny, skirt the blame, pretend to be innocent, make others pay. But there is another way: The way of forgiveness - being honest with ourselves, asking God to forgive us. Only forgiveness frees us.
PRAYER: Lord, forgive me when I try to escape responsibility. Help me to be honest about my life, so that you can free me of all that would keep me from the loving relationship you want with me.
IV. Jesus is Scourged and Crowned With Thorns • John 19:1-2
Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple robe.
A crown! Some of Jesus’ followers had been trying to crown Him all along – make Him into King – a Savior to their own liking. But Jesus refused any crown except the thorny crown of suffering. The humiliation. The pain. Why?
He was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,
and with his stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5
PRAYER: Lord, thank you for walking the path of suffering and shame for my sake. Help me to honor you as King so that my words and deeds may reflect your glory.
V. Jesus Takes Up His Cross • Mark 15:20
And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
It was a deliberately cruel, painful and public way to die. Jesus had chances to escape. Yet He chose the cross. Only this way could we know the costliness of our sin, and the depth of God’s love for us. We can deny Him, beat Him and nail Him to a tree, and still He loves us. There is nothing God won’t do to save and heal us.
“What wondrous love is that that caused the Lord of bliss, to bear the dreadful cross for my soul.”
PRAYER: Dear Lord, you chose the shame of the cross so that I might know the depth of your love for me. In my darkest moments, help me to see the light of your love that shines from your cross. Forgive my refusals to love.
VI. Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus to Carry His Cross • Luke 23:26
And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.
A stranger in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pulled by soldiers from the crowd and made to carry the cross. In Jesus’ hour of greatest need, this stranger helped to bear His burden. “Take up your cross and follow,” You told us. Simon was the first to do so. Jesus calls us to serve Him by serving others - even strangers.
PRAYER: I ask you, dear Jesus, to teach me to come forward whenever someone is crushed under the burden of life. Help me be a voice for those who cannot speak, an eye for those who cannot see, and ear for those who cannot hear. But above all, let me be a heart for those who cannot find love and care in a world so full of prejudice. Let me be a source of light for those who are burdened by a senseless dark life. Dear Jesus, let me share with you the weight as Simon of Cyrene did.
VII. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem • Luke 23:27-31
And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck!’ 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?”
How could they not grieve? Jesus stepped over the line to reach out to women: Mary and Martha, the woman caught in adultery, the Samaritan woman by the well. For Him there were no boundaries on God’s love. They weep because the only one who ever told them they counted is being led away to die. But even now, Jesus tells them not to weep for Him, but for the world which continues to erect walls that divide and destroy.
If we weep, let it be for ourselves – our broken world. Let us weep tears of contrition.
PRAYER: Lord, who wept over the city, there is so much in our world that causes you sorrow. The world tried to get rid of you so it could go about it’s business without your interference. But you will not leave us alone. May we shed the tears that you shed - when we see the world as it is, and as it could be in your love.
VIII. Jesus is Crucified • Luke 23:33-38
And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
The place of the Skull, this is what it has come to. All of our efforts to live our lives without Him, have led at last to this place of torture and death. We led You here. And yet, even here His love doesn’t end, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” But we do know what we are doing, or at least we like to think that we do. Until, we see the end of our doing - here - in death and destruction. “Father, forgive…” even here there is hope.
PRAYER: Lord, thank you for bearing the cross for me. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for loving me in spite of all my denials.
IX. Jesus Promises the Kingdom to the Thief • Luke 23:39-43
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? 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 justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
A thief! Paradise? He doesn’t deserve it. Not here. Not now. He had his chance and blew it, and now he must pay the price. But neither do we deserve it. Not now, not ever. God loves us in spite of the fact that we don’t deserve it. Jesus promises us the kingdom, even though we break our promises to Him. We are all penitent thieves when it comes to God.
“Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
PRAYER: Lord, I thank you for your mercy – your undeserved, unmerited love. Thank you for remembering me when I forget you. Thank you that my sin does not have the last word, you do.
X. Jesus with His Mother and His Disciple • John 19:25-27
So the soldiers did this. But standing by 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 near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
The pain must have been so intense as to block out thoughts of anything else. But through the pain, Jesus sees his mother, and understands her pain is as great or greater. Fighting through the pain, gasping for breath, Jesus commends her to His disciple. “Behold your son, behold your mother.” It was what His whole life had been about. Giving us to each other. Teaching us to love and care for each other.
PRAYER: Lord, you were the son of Mary, the boy whom she loved. In your final moments, you cared for her as you care for me. Thank you Lord, for giving us to each other.
XI. Jesus Dies on the Cross • Luke 23:44-47
It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 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 thy hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last breath. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, and said, “Certainly this man was innocent!”
Final. The world has pronounced its final verdict on Jesus. The one who was innocent is declared guilty. He who dared to love, died to angry taunts. The principalities and powers have had their way with Him as they always do. Might makes right. It’s over. Finished. Done. And yet, even the centurion saw it: “Innocent,” he said. Maybe it is sin and evil that are finished. Maybe death is done.
Tis’ finished the Messiah dies, cut off for sins,
But not his own.
Accomplished is the sacrifice,
the great redeeming work is done.
The reign of sin and death is o’er,
and all may live from sin set free.
Satan hath lost his mortal power,
tis’ swallow up in victory. (Charles Wesley)
PRAYER: Lord, thank you for living and dying for me. Thank you that you have taken my sin and brokenness upon yourself and given me back my life.
XII. Jesus is Placed in the Tomb • Luke 23:50-54
Now there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish town of Arimathe’a. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their purpose and deed, and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud, and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning.
Silence now. It has all been said and done. The stone seals Jesus away and with Him any hope that life has meaning beyond today. We have stood here, beside a grave and looked into the darkness. If it ends this way, then why bother. Eat, drink, be merry for tomorrow we die. Life is futile and empty.
But wait...it’s only Friday, and Sunday is coming.
PRAYER: Lord, at last your pain is over. But even in the darkness of your tomb, we feel you present with us in our deepest darkness, whispering to us. “It’s not over.” Lord, give us hope beyond our despair, life beyond our many deaths. Thank you for going before us in life and in death.
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