The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross

Luke 23: 44-46

It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he breathed his last.

It is finished.

As we walk this road with Jesus, the entire thing is not very long – less than twenty-four hours actually. Less than twenty-four hours of anticipation, terror, pain, suffering, and death. Most other days, twenty-four hours pass in the blink of an eye, but this day, twenty-four hours is long, arduous, and cruel. As I watched The Passion of the Christ, I remember desperately wanting the pain and suffering to stop.

At some point, death is a blessing. It is a blessing that the suffering is over, and the victim has been released from the agony of the process. We sit at this moment, and we gaze upon Jesus, who has given us everything He had to give. Receive it. Hold this gift tenderly in your heart. Give thanks that you have Someone who loves you this much.

How does this gift affect you today?

If you’re just now jumping in, find the rest of the Stations of the Cross here.