Good Friday

Good Friday:  “As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women.” (Luke 23:26-27)

On our visit to Jerusalem in 2017 we had the opportunity to walk the Via Dolorosa, the way of suffering. It is the traditional route Jesus took from judgement before Pilate to the place of crucifixion, the place of his execution. No one knows the actual path he walked - the city of Jerusalem has been destroyed and rebuilt since then, changed hands in bloody wars, and archaeology has improved our understanding of how the city once looked when Jesus was there. And Luke’s brief description above of Jesus’ journey through the city is the most detailed one we have.

What did the streets look like on that day before the Sabbath, the day of the execution of the King of the Jews? Did it look like today’s lanes, crowded with markets, shoppers, pilgrims?  Luke said a crowd followed, but to those they passed by - what did they see? Just another execution procession that they may have seen before? Soldiers,  a man compelled to carry a cross, another beaten and barely able to carry himself along, weeping women and others following along. 

Did they understand what they were witnessing? The lamb of God was being led out past them, through their midst, to be a sacrifice for their sins, for the sins of the world. Did they look up, take notice, then return to their business briefly interrupted? 

I hope each day that I will not be unaware to the events surrounding me, events orchestrated by my Father to bring me closer to him.  I pray I will take notice to what in the world God is showing and doing for me.