Via Dolorosa: The Way of Suffering

As we draw to a conclusion our six week series Retracing the Steps of Jesus, I want to begin this morning, by thanking you for the opportunity to share with all of you some of my memorable reflections from my 15 day pilgrimage to Israel and bearing with me as I have shared some of my 3,000+ pictures that I took while in Israel.

This morning, we want to begin by describing more fully the picture that has been on the front of the bulletin the past six weeks (and seen above).

These steps are outside of the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu.



We believe that this was the location of the home of the Jewish High Priest, Caiaphas. So it is believed that Jesus actually walked these steps on his way from Gethsemane to stand trial before Caiaphas.



Following Jesus arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, which we talked about last week, Jesus was taken to Caiaphas home, where he was questioned by the Jewish Religious leaders. It was here that Jesus was rejected by his own people and even deserted and denied by his closest friends. This is a reminder to us that if we seek to follow Jesus, it will mean at times that we too will face rejection by those who don’t understand our commitment to follow this Jesus of Nazareth.

The Way of Rejection
Then the people who had arrested Jesus led him to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of religious law and the elders had gathered. Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and came to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and sat with the guards and waited to see how it would all end. Matthew 26:57-58 NLT

This is a reminder to us to not simply be content to follow Jesus at a distance and play it safe, but to take seriously what it means to be a follower of Jesus every day even when it is challenging. In Peter’s attempt to only follow Jesus at a distance, he ended up denying the one that he had earlier professed his loyalty. Let’s keep reading …

Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.”
But Peter denied it in front of everyone. …
Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.
Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly. Matthew 26:69-70, 74-75 NLT



As I shared earlier these steps are outside the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, which like so many of the church buildings we visited in Israel was a beautiful structure with fantastic art work.



And yet one of the consistent objects of art in this location was the rooster.



In fact, the Latin word "Gallicantu", meaning cock-crow and while we were visiting this church building, our guide told us to listen closely and we could still hear a rooster, and sure enough while we were visiting this location and contemplating the arrest and trial of Jesus, I did hear a rooster crow!



Don’t you imagine that for the rest of Peter’s life, every time he heard a rooster crow, he was reminded of the time that he had denied Christ?

And yet the good news is that Jesus did not give up on Peter, and the incredible news is that he won’t give up on us, even when we have fallen down in life and are about ready to give up on him. In fact Jesus later confirmed to Peter his love for him and his confidence in him in spite of Peter’s denial. And as a result, Peter lived the rest of his life following Jesus and eventually died on a cross himself. So Peter eventually was willing to follow Jesus’ example on …

The Way of Suffering
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21 NIV



One of the highpoints for me of our pilgrimage was (seven weeks ago) on Sunday, June 5th, when we spent more than two hours walking on the street in Jerusalem called Via Dolorosa - which means “the way of sorrow” or “the way of suffering.” During those two hours of quiet reflection we observed what is called the “Stations of the Cross.”



Now some of you have possibly observed the “Stations of the Cross” from past church experiences, but in my background, I had never participated in observing the “Stations of the Cross,” so this was something very new to me.



Personally, I found it a powerful experience, so much so that as we dream about the future as we make plans to move into our Worship and Community Center later this year, I would like to look for ways to offer this experience to not only this church but the community next spring in the week leading up to Easter. So I won’t share all the details of that extremely meaningful experience this morning, but I wanted to say briefly it was truly powerful to know that we were walking on the same narrow streets that Jesus had walked even if they were possibly streets that had been built on top of the actual streets that Jesus had walked on his way to the cross!



We observed the 14 Stations of the Cross in their original context, and this morning let’s just take a glimpse of one of them … Station 5.



It was here that we were reminded of what is recorded in the Bible in the Gospel of Matthew …

Along the way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. And they went out to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). Matthew 27:32-33 NLT



It was at this station, that we prayed the following prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, our Teacher on the Way, sometimes we need help. We need companions on the way to help us shoulder our burdens when they get too heavy. And yet, we are embarrassed to ask for help or unable to receive it when is given.”

It was during this prayer I thanked God for the Southwest Church family and the many individuals that I receive regular support and help from in my life and in my walk with Christ. Are you willing to admit your need for help and support from other followers of Christ?

This week, I met with a close friend and confided in him and shared with him some of my personal struggles and weaknesses as I seek to follow Jesus. We all have weaknesses and we all need others in our lives to help us in our journey, because sometimes it is tough to follow Jesus … and sometimes it includes suffering. And sometimes no matter how strong we might try to convince ourselves that we are, we still need the help of companions along the way!

This weekend, we have four men from this church (Joe Garland, Jordan Barnhart, John Moreland, and Scott LeBlanc) competing in an Iron Man Competition at Lake Placid, NY. If you don’t know what an Iron Man Competition is, then let me briefly describe. It begins with a 2+ mile swim in water, followed by a 110+ mile bike ride, and then concluding with a 26.2 mile marathon run. Personally, I don’t know why someone would even attempt to do such a thing, but I am going to be remembering these guys while I stay in my AC house today and make a few laps to the refrigerator. And yet as I have talked with all four of these guys about this exercise in insanity, they have shared with me some of the challenges and injuries they have suffered during their intense training and the support they have received from one another as they have trained in this way.

The Christian Life is more like a marathon, than it is like a sprint and we need companions along the way to help us as we face challenges, setbacks, and discouragements along the way. Do you have any traveling companions? If not, then let me or someone you know and trust that worship here and we would be glad to point you to someone who can help you train and grow as a Christ follower!

Simon was forced to carry Jesus cross on the way to Calvary or Golgotha. While we were in Jerusalem, we visited two different spots that would have been outside the original city wall of Jerusalem.



One of them is called the garden tomb, and although most don’t believe it is the site. It was amazing to see the rock formation at that location and how much it looked like a skull …or as Matthew wrote, “the place of the skull”.





And yet as terrible of death and suffering that Jesus endured.



The good news is that his death was not the end of the story, and we want to emphasize this morning, that following Jesus includes traveling …

The Way of Victory
Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.
Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. Matthew 28:1-6 NLT



On one of the possible sites of Jesus death, burial, and resurrection, is called the Garden Tomb and inside the Empty Tomb there was a powerful sign posted that stated emphatically … “HE IS NOT HERE – FOR HE IS RISEN!”



At the end of our Stations of the Cross Experience, we ended at the site believed by many and held from tradition to be the actual location of the cross of Christ and the empty tomb of Christ.





These two amazing spots are both housed in this huge structure called the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is actually not one church building, but six church buildings combined into one extremely large structure.





It was incredibly moving to kneel at the location that is believed by many to be the actual place where the cross of Christ was driven into the earth and to reach into the hole (#25) the size of a wooden post and feel the limestone rock of Golgotha.





And then to later also touch the slab of stone which is believed to be the slab that Jesus dead body was placed while being anointed, and covered with a burial cloth.



Yet what really grabbed my heart was visiting what is believed to be the empty tomb of Jesus. On the first day, we visited the tomb right around noon, the Sun shined in directly on the tomb … it was powerful to try to grasp that the most important event in all of history took place on this spot!!!





My heart was so grabbed by this experience that I woke up the next two mornings at 4:30 am so that I could visit the empty tomb once again! You see this historic event is why I am a follower of Jesus, because I really believe that this Biblical event took place and I wanted to just soak it in, while I had the opportunity to be in Jerusalem, because this is the Victory that I am clinging to as a follower of Christ!



Have you come to embrace this victorious message in your life? Have you experienced the victorious power of the Holy Spirit in your life, which is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead?

In the midst of this phenomenal experience and all of the significance of each site that we had to witness, I was saddened by some of the “Religious Trappings” that surrounded these historic sites. One that especially saddened me was the story behind the ladder at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This ladder has been on this ledge for approximately 150 years. Unfortunately, the six churches (Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Egyptian (or Coptic), Ethiopian, and Syrian) have had difficulty getting along and sharing this large structure that most believe was the actual site of the crucifixion and the tome of the resurrection.



In fact, approximately 150 years ago the arguing between these six groups became so intense that the government in power had to get involved. They finally got the six groups to quit arguing about space and possessions within the church building, that they passed a law that nothing could be moved in the building. So when the law went into effect someone had placed a ladder on the ledge and now 150 years later the ladder still stands there, because no one can move it.



And as sad as this is, I discovered something even more troubling. More than 900 years ago, these six groups could not agree upon when to open the church building and who would have keys to the building. So more than 900 years ago someone acting as in the role of a judge issued a ruling, that a specific Muslim family who lived in Jerusalem would have the keys and open the church building every morning. And the sad thing is to this day a descendant of this Muslim family has possession of the keys and opens it every morning. This is a sad commentary of living out Jesus prayer for …

The Way of Unity
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. John 17:20-23 NIV

Let’s resolve as a church that not only will be willing to embrace the one who was rejected, suffered, and ultimately victorious, but that we will also make his prayer our own and that we will strive to follow the way of unity and recognize that this will be the ultimate sign to the world around us that we are truly followers of Jesus if we can continue to learn to love one another as Jesus taught and maintain unity as we work together to hold up the one that we are following!!

And as we see the walls of our future worship and community center going up next door, let’s make sure we keep the prayer that is written on this wall hidden in our heart!!

In closing, although this present message series is coming to an end, my prayer and my resolve is that our focus on walking in the way of Jesus … has just begun!
Let’s Pray!