Journey to the Cross
Station 9: The Crucifixion

As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).

There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
—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, not the Roman soldiers who arrested and beat him. His love for sinful human beings held him there. He could have answered the taunts by calling the angels of heaven to bring him down, but he didn’t. He chose to stay.

Near you are several pieces of paper and pens. Think of a sin in your life, possibly something terrible you have done in the past or something you should have done 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 and set free from slavery to your sin.