STATION 9: JESUS FALLS FOR THE THIRD TIME

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
— Hebrews 4:14-16 (New Living Translation)

Station 9

In Jesus’ time, the city walls would have ended before this station number 9. Jesus would now have carried the cross, with brief help from Simon of Cyrene, all the way from the Antonia Fortress, through the city streets, and is now facing the area called Golgotha outside the city gate.

It was the Passover, so this road would have been very busy, with people coming and going through the gate, congested and noisy. What impact did these prisoners make in the commotion? It was almost noon by this point, and the afternoon was about to begin. When the sun went down on that Friday, the Jewish people would begin their Sabbath. No work, of any kind, was allowed from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. So many of those people on the road, passing by the Golgotha hill, would have been in a hurry to get to their destination, to finish up those last minute chores before the sun went down.

In the midst of this indifferent bustle, tradition says that Jesus falls a third time. The plaque at the top of this page illustrates the complete and utter exhaustion of our Savior at this moment.

Let us pray.

Gracious God,

We pray for all those who are overwhelmed and who have lost all hope. We pray for those who see no way out of their current struggles. We pray for those who have reached the end of their strength, their energy, their patience. We pray for those who have lost their faith, who have deep-seated doubts, who feel that there are no answers to be found.

We pray that each person would know that all those feelings are completely normal. We pray that they would know that the experience of spiritual, mental, emotional, or physical exhaustion is not shameful. We pray that they would find comfort in the knowledge that the God who created them and who loves them knows full well how that kind of exhaustion feels, because you have experienced it yourself. We pray that they would be able to cry out to you in their disillusionment, in their anger, in their uncertainty, and know that you can take it all. We pray that they would be able to be completely honest with you and with themselves, and that they would know that in the midst of it all, your love for them never changes, never alters. We pray that they would know at the core of their being that you will never abandon them, and that they are loved by a God who understands.

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