Station 11: Jesus is nailed to the Cross

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [Luke 23.33] [John 19.18] It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. [Mark 15.25]

The crucifixion is of Persian origin and the victim would have been tied, sometimes nailed, to a cross beam that was then raised onto an upright stake, fixed by a wooden pin. In the Old English poem, ‘The Dream of the Rood’ the tree from which the cross was made remembers, “I was reared a cross. I raised a powerful King. The Lord of Heaven; I did not dare to bend. They pierced me with dark nails;” [translation by Elaine Treherne, ‘Old and Middle English Anthology’] This contradictory concept of Christ as a self-sacrificing victim, yet fearless warrior king, has something to teach us about the church today, about standing up courageously with Christ against evil. When we become like the Old English word ‘thane’ or servant of Jesus, according to God’s commission, then we will see our own suffering as a voluntary participation in the suffering of Christ.

Prayer:

Saviour Lord, in the quiet of this moment, as I come to this place, where you welcome me with outstretched arms, greet me in love, help me to understand the reality of this Good Friday and how I can make you visible in me.

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