STATION 10: JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS CLOTHING

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.” So that is what they did.
— John 19:23-24 (New Living Translation)

Station 10

For stations ten through fourteen, we leave the Via Dolorosa and enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The church was built in 326AD, after the mother of Emperor Constantine, Helena, visited the Holy Land and identified this site as the location of Jesus’ burial on Good Friday.

It was here that Jesus, already beaten and exhausted, is further humiliated by the removal of his clothing. Public nakedness was deeply shameful. But not a word do we hear of Jesus protesting or fighting back.

It would seem to the guards and the crowd of onlookers that Jesus’ degradation was complete. Stripped naked and exposed for all to see, he is utterly vulnerable and defenseless.

Think about that for a moment.

The Son of God, through whom all things were made, allowing himself to be stripped so bare, to become so helpless. In doing this, Jesus fully identifies with the humanity he came to save. Our powerlessness is known and understood, because our God has stood powerless before those who would do him harm. Our helplessness is known and understood, because our God has allowed himself to have his strength taken away and to be torn from all who would help or assist him. Our human fragility is known and understood, because our God stood naked in the cold of a Jerusalem morning, with nothing to protect him.

All this is known and understood.

As we are known and understood.

Let us pray.

Gracious God,

In the name of our Savior who was willing to be stripped of all things to save us — his friends, his power, his clothing, his life — we pray.

We pray for all those who suffer abuse at the hands of others, for all who experience shame and humiliation and violence. We pray that they might know how loved and valued they are by the God who created them. We pray that people around them might know and understand their situation, and would give them the support and encouragement they need to move forward and begin anew in safety.

We pray for those who abuse, who use their words and hands and bodies to do violence to the people around them. We pray that they would know and understand the depth of the harm they cause, and that they would repent and seek help to change. We pray that people around them might know and understand their situation also, and would hold them accountable to living in a way that would honor the life they have been given by you.

We pray for the ways that we have done harm to the people you have placed in our lives, by word or by deed. We ask your forgiveness. We ask for your guidance as we seek to live with your peace within our spirits. May your love so permeate our beings, that our thoughts, words, and actions would be transformed and made whole.

We finish this station by praying in silence, that you would open our spirits to you this day.