The Way of the Cross
Resurrection West Prayer WalkRelive through Scripture, reflection and prayer the experience of suffering and sacrifice that our Lord went through on Good Friday some 2,000 years ago. The Way of the Cross brings forward the meaning of Holy Week to make it a truly significant time for all Christians.
This Way of the Cross is a modern adaptation of an old Christian tradition dating back to the fifth century. The fourteen traditional Stations of the Cross mark the passages from the moment Jesus was condemned to death until his burial in the tomb.
Protestant churches objected to this devotional form because some of the traditional stations include some “stations” that are not grounded in Scripture. Those used here all have a biblical basis. In any case, the “Way of the Cross” as a devotion went out of style for many, and it slowly lost its place as a form of prayer for the people. This resource seeks to make accessible again a rich experience of Christian prayer and participation in the moments of Christ’s passion.
This form of the Stations or Way of the Cross was adapted from a small-membership church in Pulaski, Tennessee, that made an effort to re-establish the tradition for its use. Bethel United Methodist Church found the Way of the Cross to be a means whereby the people of God could reflect on the meaning that our Lords sacrifice has in our daily lives. It is a means of grace and rededication of ourselves to Christ.
Station Guides
Station 1: Jesus Prays Alone
Scripture Luke 22:39-44: Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,...
read moreStation 2: Jesus Is Arrested
Scripture Matthew 26:47-56: While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I...
read moreStation 3: The Sanhedrin Tries Jesus
Scripture Mark 14:61-64: But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on...
read moreStation 4: Pilate Tries Jesus
Scripture John 18:33-37: Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?” “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests...
read moreStation 5: Pilate Sentences Jesus
Scripture Mark 15:6-15: Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them...
read moreStation 6: Jesus Wears a Crown
Scripture John 19:5: When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” Reflect He was stripped of his clothes and a purple robe was placed upon him signifying the color of royalty. Then a crown of thorns was...
read moreStation 7: Jesus Carries His Cross
Scripture John 19:17: Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Reflect Jesus receives his cross, living out the words he spoke to those who desire to be his disciples, and then begins the walk to his death. ...
read moreStation 8: Simon Carries the Cross
Scripture Luke 23:26: As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. Reflect A person from the crowd is ordered by the guards to take the cross of Jesus...
read moreStation 9: Jesus Speaks to the Women
Scripture Luke 23:27-31: A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will...
read moreStation 10: Jesus Is Crucified
Scripture John 19:19-24: And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew,...
read moreStation 11: Criminals Speak to Jesus
Scripture Luke 23:39-43: One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for...
read moreStation 12: Jesus Speaks to Mary and John
Scripture John 19:25b-27: Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the...
read moreStation 13: Jesus Dies on the Cross
Scripture John 19:28-34: Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and...
read moreStation 14: Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb
Scripture John 19:38-42: Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus,...
read moreStation 15: The Resurrection of the Christ
Scripture John 20:19-22: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands...
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