The Sorrowful Mysteries
Christ Crucified
1. The Agony in the Garden
When the Passover meal was finished, Jesus and his disciples entered the Garden of Gethsemane. There, and in great anguish Jesus confronts all the sins of humanity and prays that this burden be removed from him but accepts God’s will. “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Luke 22:42.
God’s love and the Garden of Gethsemane
Jesus knew how seemingly brutal God’s will can be. But this brutality is a mere passing illusion because God’s will, the perfection of the universe and the salvation of all souls to be with him in eternity is nothing but pure love. Our attainment of pure Love, accomplished by living in the presence of God is the fulfillment of God’s will. That’s what Jesus was telling us in the Garden. His prayer was for our salvation, and that should be the focus of our prayers.
In the Garden
We need to find our garden and search out and accept the will of God. Hopefully, it will be the same as ours, but don’t count on it. We don’t understand the big picture. In the Garden (YouTube search words: reeves garden) can provide inspiration.
Scriptural references
The Agony in the Garden is described in Luke 22:39-46; Mark 14:32-42:and Matthew 26:36-46.
2. The Scourging at the Pillar
“Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him.” John 19:1. It is believed that Jesus was lashed at least 39 times with whips tipped with iron balls or sheep bones that tore into his flesh and muscles, producing unrelenting and excruciating pain.
God’s Love and the Scourging at the Pillar
Think how much God must love us to send his only begotten Son into the teeth of Roman cruelty. What is it that Jesus could have done for us that he has not already done? Is there any pain or trouble that we may have that he would not understand? If he has done this for me, shouldn’t I do everything within my power for him?
Jesus was no stranger to suffering. The Scourging tells us that he knows how we feel when we experience acute physical pain and mental distress. We cannot fully understand his suffering and for the most part we can’t understand our suffering and the pain inflicted upon the world and the most innocent – even in the face of our most ardent prayers. Nevertheless, sorrow can be replaced by joy if we accept the fundamental truth of Christianity. We need to trust Jesus and his love for us, which he has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt.
Take My Hand, Precious Lord
Thomas Dorsey (not the band leader) was a composer and musician who wrote Take My Hand, Precious Lord (YouTube search words: precious lord reeves) in 1932 after his wife died while giving birth to their child. The baby died shortly thereafter. Mr. Dorsey suffered a grievous loss and from it came one of the most beloved gospel songs of all time. When you are in agony, physical or spiritual, ask the Lord to take your hand.
Scriptural references
See John 19:1; Matthew 27:26; and Mark 15:15.
3. The Crowning of Jesus
“And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe upon him, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand.” Matthew 27:28-29. Pilate presented the scourged, beaten, crowned and kingly robed Jesus to the crowd and they demanded his crucifixion.
The Crowning of Jesus and God’s love
In the beginning Adam opted to defy God’s commandment and was expelled from the Garden of Eden. The consequences of his disobedience (which we call sin) included painful thorns and thistles to penetrate his hands, feet and body. He and his progeny (all of us) paid the price. Centuries later, when God directed Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Abraham was prepared to comply. Unlike Adam, Abraham trusted God and brought his son to the altar. God intervened at the last minute and substituted a ram, caught in a thicket of thorns and thistles.
As Adam could attest, thorns represented and were the result of disobedience. Millennia later the powerful and sacrificial ram was caught in a thicket of thorns and was substituted for Abraham’s son. On that very first Good Friday Jesus was taking the sins of the world upon his head. He was caught in a thicket of thorns and substituted for all of Abraham’s sons, including us. God’s plan was being played out as the soldiers pressed a wreath of long sharp thorns on Jesus’ head.
These thorns pierced Jesus and are figures of our sins. The Jews conspired and the Romans (Gentiles) delivered, but all our sins, past present and future, produced the thorns.
Scarlet Purple Robe
Not many songs capture the Passion, but Scarlet Purple Robe (YouTube search words: purple robe Stanley) comes close.
Scriptural references
The Passion accounts are contained in Matthew 26:57 – 27:31; Mark 14:53 – 15:20; Luke 22:47 – 23:25; and John 18:12 – 19:16.
4. The Way of the Cross
Jesus had been scourged, crowned, mocked, spat upon and now is led away to be crucified. “So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha.” John 19:17. The ordeal and the injuries he suffers are so extensive that Simon is pressed into service to help Jesus carry the cross.
The Way of the Cross and God’s love
We can trust Jesus because he has demonstrated his love by his suffering. Read The Savior’s Incredible Love and join with him on his journey of pain and anticipation of its hellish conclusion of being nailed to the cross. Try to be with Mary as she stands near the way taken by Jesus as he agonizingly struggles on the road to Calvary. Be with her as she agonizingly touches her son, battered, bruised, unrecognizable and covered with blood and wounds from head to foot, a wreath of thorns piercing his head, and dragging the cross from which he would hang. He stumbles before her and she looks into the eyes of her tortured and dying son – and he looks into hers.
The Darkest Hour is Just Before Dawn
When Jesus was staggering towards Calvary it would seem the whole world and the entire history of sin had dropped upon his shoulders. And it had. He was in agonizing physical and spiritual pain. Although the darkest hour was upon him, the Resurrection was but three days away. Regardless of our present situation, we need to have faith that farther along everything will finally make sense. We shouldn’t become discouraged when we’re in the pit because, with faith, The Darkest Hour is Just before Dawn. (YouTube search words: darkest skaggs).
Scriptural references
See John 19:17; Matthew 27:31-34; Mark 15:20-23; and Luke 23:25-32.
5. The Crucifixion
At Golgotha (the place of the skull), “they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.” John 19:18. Nails are driven through his hands and feet and, already in agony from his scourging, crowning and beatings, he is raised on a cross.
God’s Love and the Crucifixion
Be with Jesus as the soldiers nail his hands and feet to the cross; be by his side and feel his horrendous pain as the cross is raised to an upright position and then dropped into the receptacle. Then watch him hang on the cross trying desperately to breathe, having to lift himself up by his heels (held in place by spikes) putting him through intense agony each time he drew air into his lungs. Then he would collapse as he expelled the air. The process would then be repeated over and over and over – for hours, and all the time the kingly crown of thorns was pressing upon his skull.
Listen to the Jews and soldiers laughing and jeering, and feel the anguish of his mother, John and Mary Magdalene. Listen to his words from the cross, and share his anguish as he looks down from the cross watching his beloved mother suffer. Witness his death and hear the crunch as the soldiers run a lance through his side. Finally, help the disciples and his mother remove him from the cross, and seal him shut in the tomb.
Our painting shows the twisted and bloody figure of Christ on the cross. To his right is his distressed mother being comforted by John the Apostle and the grieving and kneeling Mary Magdalene. On Jesus’ left is John the Baptist pointing to the dying Savior, as if to say that we need to follow Jesus, who leads us to salvation. At the feet of John the Baptist is a lamb pouring forth blood and holding a cross, symbolizing the Lamb of God who died for our sins.
This is God’s powerful and redemptive love.
The Old Rugged Cross
Whenever we think of the crucifixion a picture of three crosses standing on a hill comes to mind. The tree was an inanimate accomplice in the Garden of Eden leading to the fall of man. Now, at the birth of the New Covenant the rugged tree formed into a cross lifts our Savior high and we can see in no uncertain terms the love of God. Here is The Old Rugged Cross (YouTube search words: rugged o’donnell).
Scriptural references
The complete accounts of the crucifixion are contained in Matthew 27:33-66; Mark 15:22-47; Luke 23:33-56; and John 19:16-42.
Footnotes and Attributions
- Agony in the Garden retrieved from the Thomas More Singles website.
- Scourging at the Pillar by Rubens (1577-1640) retrieved from Wikipedia.
- Crowning of Jesus by Maarten van Heemskerck (1498-1574) retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
- Christ Carrying the Cross by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
- Crucifixion by Mathias Gothart Grünewald (1516) retrieved from Wikipedia Commons.
Last modified August 2, 2019