Stations of the Cross

As we have reflected on nine of ten “Stations of the Cross” today, we recognise that every aspect of Jesus’ suffering, every interaction with his accusers, every conversation with his friends, and every other aspect of those final hours meant something and had a purpose in mind. Every moment was carefully crafted to fulfil Scripture, to undo the work of evil in the world, and to complete the work of salvation for all people.

The institution of the Lord’s Supper renewed and replaced the Passover, saving not just a nation from slavery, but the whole world from sin.

His arrest, physical punishment, and condemnation fulfilled the prophecies of a suffering Messiah who would willingly and silently go to the cross.

There is plenty that Jesus’ death on a cross, of all ways to die, fulfils Scripture. The example of the serpent on the pole to save the Israelites from death, the statement that anyone dies on a tree is cursed and isolated from God, and many other things are made complete and ended by Jesus’ death on a cross.

And of course, to bear the weight of sin for the world, he could not just suffer the physical punishment and then be released—he had to be humbled to the point of death. By breathing his last and committing his spirit to the Father, his humiliation is completed.

This meticulous saving work of God goes far beyond just these final hours. The further we zoom out, the more we realise that everything has led to this point—the Son of God, hanging breathless and lifeless on a cross outside Jerusalem.

Isaiah prophesied a suffering servant, a silent lamb being led to the slaughter, centuries before Jesus walked on the earth. Even right back at the start, when God said to the serpent in the garden, “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel,” God had a plan to restore his creation to its original, perfect state.

At his death, Jesus did say, “It is finished.” His humiliation is finished, his suffering is over, and his death is imminent, but his work is not over.

We anticipate what is to come on Sunday, but we wait until then to celebrate with the church around the world. Until then, we sit in awe and thankfulness for what Christ was willing to endure for us and for all people.