262
ears—Barabbas is a hardened
criminal, imprisoned for murder—
but the Jewish authorities had
been weaving through the crowd,
inciting them to ask for Barabbas
(M a rk 15:11).Sentenced by the mob
According to Matthew’s Gospel,
Pilate’s wife, who had a disturbed
night’s sleep, then sends her
husband a message. “Don’t have
anything to do with that innocent
man,” she says, worried by a dream
she has had (27:19). Once again,
Pilate asks the crowd: “Jesus
or Barabbas,” and together they
reply, “Barabbas.” Asking what he
should do with Jesus, the people
shout “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Pilate realizes there would be a riot
if he didn’t give the crowd what
they wanted, so, taking a bowl of
water, he washes his hands in full
view, saying, “I am innocent of this
man’s blood” (Matthew 27:24).THE CRUCIFIXION
The route of the crucifixion taken by pilgrims
Jesus is handed to the Roman
guards to be crucified. They know
the process, and are practiced
at inflicting suffering on their
prisoners. First, Jesus is flogged,
then they dress Him in another
royal robe, twisting thorny branches
together to make a crown. “Hail,
King of the Jews!” they cry in
mockery. Some spit, others prod
Him with sticks, and still others
hit Him across the head (Matthew
27:30). Humiliated and beaten,
Jesus then begins His painful
journey to the place where He will
be crucified, a publicly visible hill
called Golgotha (“place of the
skull”), also known by the Latin
translation Calvary, just outside
the city wall. Crucifixions serve as
prominent reminders to the Jews
that the Romans are in charge.
A heavy wooden beam, which
will become the cross on which
He is crucified, is then thrust upon
Jesus. Weakened from the flogging,Day of Preparation
Friday, the day before the
Sabbath, was known as
the Day of Preparation,
when Jews would prepare
themselves to keep the
Sabbath “holy,” as instructed
by the fourth of the Ten
Commandments. Food would
be prepared and cooked, and
errands completed so that
the Sabbath would be free
for the worship of God. As
Jesus was crucified on the
Day of Preparation, the Jewish
authorities requested that His
body be taken down from the
cross and buried. This was a
break from Roman custom,
which was to leave the body
on view as a deterrent. With
the Sabbath starting at sunset
(around 6 pm), Jesus’s body
was taken down after He
died (around 3 pm).This map of modern Jerusalem shows
the “stages of the cross”, where different
episodes on the road to Jesus’s crucifixion
are believed to have happened.Church of Our
Lady of the SpasmEthiopian
MonasteryChurch of
the RedeemerChurch of the
Holy SepulchreChurch of
St VeronicaConvent of the
Sisters of ZionVIA DOLOROSAChurch of
CondemnationEl-Omariye
School2 1346 57
8914131211 10- Pilate condemns Jesus to die.
- Jesus accepts His cross.
- Jesus falls for the first time.
- Jesus meets His mother, Mary.
- Simon helps carry the cross.
- A woman called Veronica is said
to have wiped the face of Jesus. - Jesus falls for a second time.
8. The women of Jerusalem weep
for Jesus.
9. Jesus falls for the third time. - Jesus is stripped of His clothes.
- Guards nail Jesus to the cross.
- Jesus dies on the cross.
- Jesus is taken down from the cross.
- Jesus’s body is placed in the tomb.
Key:US_258-265_Crucifixion.indd 262 27/09/17 2:54 pm
263
The Way to Calvary, by Marco
Palmezzano (c.1460–1539) shows
Jesus carrying His cross. Victims of
crucifixion were required to carry their
own cross to the place of execution.He stumbles under the weight,
prompting the soldiers who are
escorting Him to haul out of the
crowd an unsuspecting pilgrim
called Simon to help Jesus carry
the cross. While many look on,
jeering and shouting, others follow,
including women, who weep and
wail. The mournful procession
makes its way out to the hill.Three crosses
Along with Jesus, two criminals
are brought to be crucified. When
they arrive, the soldiers set to
work, nailing Jesus to the wooden
crossbeams by His wrists and to
the wooden upright through His
ankles, fulfilling a prophecy in
Zechariah 12:10: “They will look
on me, the one they have pierced.”
The three crosses are then hoisted
into position, with Jesus in the
center. The charge against Jesus
is nailed to the cross: “This is the
King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:37
and Luke 23:38). The chief priests
protest against the sign, saying it
implied that Pilate thought Jesus
was a king. It should say, they
said, “this man claimed to be the
King of the Jews” (John 19:21).
By retaining his description of
Jesus, Pilate implies that those
who demanded His death are the
ones truly guilty of treason.Twelve hours after His arrest, Jesus
looks down upon the crowd, who are
mocking Him and baying for His
blood. “Father, forgive them, for they
do not know what they are doing,”
He says (Luke 23:34). Taking no
notice, the soldiers gamble for the
clothes of the crucified men, again
fulfilling a prophecy in Psalm 22:
“They divide my clothes among
them and cast lots for my garment.”
A crowd gathers to watch, and
the Jewish authorities begin to
hurl insults at Jesus: “He saved
others; let Him save Himself if
He God’s Messiah, the Chosen
One” (Luke 23:35).Darkest hours
At midday, the sky grows dark,
the sun blotted out of sight. In the
darkness, Jesus calls to the few
followers who have remained with
Him to the end: a small huddle of
women and His disciple John.THE GOSPELS
Speaking to His mother Mary,
Jesus says “Dear woman, here is
your son,” indicating John. And in
turn, He says to John, “Here is your
mother.” Even in His own pain,
Jesus makes arrangements for John
to care for His grief-stricken mother.
The darkness lasts for three
hours, until the ninth hour of the
Jewish day, around 3 pm. As the ❯❯Michele da Verona’s Crucifixion
(c.1501) combines several scenes from
the event, including the centurion’s
conversion and the proffering of a
sponge soaked in vinegar.“Come down from the
cross, if you are
the Son of God!”
Matthew 27:40US_258-265_Crucifixion.indd 263 24/10/2017 16:01