Today is a time to slow down, to leave the busyness of your life as you read this, to focus on Jesus.
Take your time as you go through the stations of Jesus' Journey to the Cross. You don't need to rush. Read slowly. Let the words of reflection sink in.
Spend as long as you want at each station. If you're drawn to stay at a particular spot for a long time, you're free to stay. Move to the next station whenever you're ready.
You may respond to God by writing down your own thoughts if you would like. You can write a word, write a prayer, draw a picture...whatever you want to do. You may write at some stations and not others. That's okay.
This Journey to the Cross is not about an agenda or meeting anyone's expectations. It's simply a time and a place for you to draw close to Jesus.
Station 1
Outer Noise
Psalm 46:10
This TV represents the noise and distractions of our lives.
Sometimes we're so caught up with the busyness of life that we tune out God.
Even today as you come in, you have many thoughts going through your mind.
Take a moment to acknowledge the static in your mind.
Turn off the TV.
Look at the blank screen.
Use its stillness as a reminder to quiet your spirit before God.
Take a moment to be still and know that he is God.
Ask God to quiet your thoughts and put aside distractions so you can focus on him and hear his voice through this journey.
Station 2
God in the Flesh
John 1:14
Today you're invited on a journey through the last days and hours of Jesus' life.
In front of you is a pair a sandals, the kind that any ordinary man would wear.
As you begin this journey...
Focus on what it means for the
eternal God to become a man.
Think about what it means that Jesus once stood
in sandals like these, just like any of us might.
Station 3
Mary Anoints Jesus
John 12:1-8
Mary poured out expensive perfume onto Jesus' feet as an act of worship.
Place a drop or two of oil on a cotton ball.
Smell its fragrance.
The fragrance may not be strong at first, but you will smell it for hours.
It's long-lasting. Mary's act of worship was pure... passionate... real... expensive... extravagant.
And it touched the heart of Jesus.
Jesus knew he was headed to the cross, and Mary’s act of worship was a blessing to him.
How can you pour out your love to Jesus, extravagantly, in a way that will spread the beautiful fragrance of Jesus where you are?
When you leave, take the cotton ball with you. Let its fragrance remind you that we are called to live every moment of our lives in fragrant worship of Jesus.
Station 4
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
Matthew 26:14-16
Judas was one of Jesus' closest friends, one of the twelve disciples who had been with him for three years.
He agreed to betray Jesus for just thirty silver coins.
Hold one or two of the coins in your hand.
How could Judas betray Jesus, his friend, for money?
How do you think Judas felt when he looked at the coins in his hand and realized what he had traded for them?
Is your own heart tempted to betray Jesus over material things?
Take this time to talk with him about it.
Station 5
The Last Supper
John 13:21-30
Jesus was celebrating the Passover feast with his disciples.
Tear off a piece of bread, dip it into the oil,
and eat it as Jesus did.
As you're eating, think of the heartbreak he must have been feeling at the betrayal of one of his own disciples.
He knew his disciples would soon face confusion and fear.
Contemplate his sorrow and compassion for them.
Station 6
Gethsemane
Matthew 26:36-46
This scene reveals the sorrow in Jesus' heart that night.
He prayed to his Father that he would not have to go to the cross if there were any other way.
Yes he prayed the hardest prayer any of us can pray: "Yes not as I will, but as you will."
When Jesus said, "May this cup be taken from me," he was referring to the difficult thing his Father was asking him to bear.
Yes he chose to drink the cup, even though it was painful.
Pour a cup of grape juice and drink it.
As you do, remember that Jesus chose to bear the agony of the cross - to drink the cup - to save you.
Is there a cup that the Father is asking you to drink--something about which you need to pray the prayer of Gethsemane: "Yes not as I will, but as you will."
Station 7
Jesus' Arrest
John 18:1-11
Even though Jesus could have given the word and overpowered all the guards, he let himself be bound and led away.
Pick up the rope and hold it in your hands.
Remember that Jesus was bound with a rope like this one. He chose to submit to the difficult way of the cross with every step that he took.
Station 8
Jesus' Trial
Matthew 26:57-60, 27:27-31
Imagine yourself in Peter's shoes.
You are looking out over the courtyard where Jesus is being tried and mocked.
You know that he is being unjustly accused.
As you stand here, you see men telling lies about him.
You watch him being beaten and mocked.
Here is the man you have followed for three years, the man you had put all your hope in, being sentenced to death.
In your heart you have believed he is God, the promised Messiah to the Jewish people.
Your whole world is crashing around you, and worst of all, you have denied that you even know him.
Look at the scarlet rob and the crown of thorns used by angry soldiers to wound and humiliate Jesus.
What do you want to tell Jesus right now?
Station 9
The Crucifixion
Matthew 27:32-44
Here is Jesus, dying a brutal death on a Roman cross, an instrument of torture. Kneel in front of the cross. Imagine yourself there at the scene. What is going through your mind?
Don't rush this part.
The sin of all human beings made Jesus go to the cross.
Think of a sin in your life, possibly something terrible you have done in the past of something you should have don but did not, possibly an attitude your heart tells you is disappointing to God.
Write it down on a piece of paper.
No one else will read it, but you can write in code if you want to.
Fold the paper in half.
Pick up a hammer and a nail.
Nail your sin to the cross of Jesus.
As you nail it, think about how your sins were nailed to the cross that day in history.
With each stroke, remember Jesus' words: "It is finished." He bore the pain of the cross so you could be forgiven.
Station 10
Jesus' Death
Matthew 27:45-54
When Jesus dies that day, so many people watching must have thought that their hopes had died as well.
Darkness came over all the land that day.
Choose a candle and extinguish it.
Remember the darkness that the whole world--and heaven itself--must have felt that day.
Station 11
Jesus' Death
Matthew 27:57-61
The rock you see here is a fraction of the size of the rock that sealed Jesus' tomb.
Imagine the heaviness of it.
Touch this rock. Feel its weight.
Can you send the heavy weight the disciples and those who loved Jesus must have felt as Jesus' tomb was sealed?
In their eyes, death had won.
This was a stone that no one could move.
It was final. Jesus was gone and buried.
Station 12
Jesus' Resurrection
Matthew 28:1-10
Imagine the cold, heavy, anxious fear and sorrow that these women must have felt as they journeyed to the tomb that day.
Imagine them arriving at the tomb and finding the stone rolled away, the empty grave clothes in the place where Jesus' body was supposed to be.
Imagine the shock and the overwhelming joy they felt as they met the risen Jesus in the garden.
Their Lord was alive! Imagine how these women were transformed in that one moment.
How do you think the risen Jesus wants to transform you today?
Station 13
Crossroads: What Will You Do With Jesus?
Matthew 16:24
You are at a crossroads.
Look over the Journey you have just taken through the final days of Jesus to the cross and beyond.
His was no accidental journey.
Every step Jesus took was purposeful, deliberate, by plan.
Every moment of pain, betrayal, and agony was borne by him out of love for you.
You were--and still are--a part of his journey.
What will you do with Jesus?
You can, in your heart, choose to hold on to your sin, bear the guilt yourself, and take it with you as you leave this room.
Or you can leave clinging to the extravagant love and forgiveness of the one who died for you.
You've already nailed your sins to his cross.
You can leave knowing that all is forgiven.
It's your choice. You choose by asking his forgiveness and receiving it.
You have experienced some of the emotions that Jesus, the Son of God, experienced for you.
You can leave here the same as you were coming in.
Or you can leave having chosen to pursue Jesus Christ, the God who pursued you all the way to the cross.
It's your choice. You choose by telling him that your life is his.
You experienced the agony of surrender and obedience that Jesus Christ experienced. You can leave here still holding on to parts of your life, the parts you don't want to surrender.
Or you can leave choosing to surrender everything to him.
It's your choice. You choose by praying the prayer of Gethsemane: "Yes not as I will, but as you will."
What is Jesus saying to you tonight?
If you'd like to, write your response to him on the journal.
