Via Dolorosa

Our last full day in Israel, we walked the Via Dolorosa. Latin for sorrowful way or way of suffering, it's a route through the old city of Jerusalem believed to be the path Jesus walked to his crucifixion. Keep in mind that the route was established in the 1700s, marked by fourteen stations of the cross, and so it's not so much this was Jesus' actual path but rather a place pilgrims can came to pray and contemplate what their savior suffered en route to Calvary.

Passing through busy streets that tend to be more narrow than modern thoroughfares, each station of the cross is marked by a Roman numeral plaque. These spots coincide with an event mentioned in the New Testament. Not just Good Friday, but rather every Friday there is a procession that takes place on the Via Dolorosa.  

You can see my pics above and below from various stations that I had time to take a quick snap in the sea of humanity before we were on to the next one.

The station seen below at the top of the stairs is #10 outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus was stripped of his clothes before being nailed to the cross. I can hardly bear it when I think of the humiliation and pain he suffered for humanity as he took our sins so that we can be washed clean in God's sight.

Matthew 27:50 tells us, "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit." Judas, Herod, Pontius Pilate and the Roman soldiers didn't take his life - Jesus loved us so much that he suffered the horrors of crucifixion unto death that led to resurrection in order to assure our salvation. As I heard in a sermon recently, he reaped what we sowed. Hallelujah and amen!