4. The Way of the Cross.

  

Is 53:1-6 Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity. One of those whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet, it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, While we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had each gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; But the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all.
Jer 14:17 Let my eyes stream with tears day and night without rest, over the great destruction which overwhelms the virgin daughter of my people, over her incurable wound.
Mt 5:41 Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him two miles.
Jn 19:16 …Jesus was led away, and carrying the cross by himself, went out to what is called the Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha).
Lk 23:26 As they led him away, they laid hold of one Simone the Cyrenean who was coming in from the fields. They put a crossbeam on Simon's shoulder for him to carry behind Jesus. A great crowd of people followed him, including women who beat their breasts and lamented over him. Jesus turned to them and said: "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children. The days are coming when they will say, 'Happy are the sterile, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' Then they will begin saying to the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us.' If they do these things in green wood, what will happen in the dry?"
Mt 5:3 "How blest are the poor in spirit; the reign of God is theirs. Blest too are the sorrowing; they shall be consoled. [Blest are the lowly; they shall inherit the land.] Blest are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they shall have their fill. Blest are they who show mercy; mercy shall be theirs. Blest are the single-hearted for they shall see God. Blest too the peacemakers; they shall be called sons of God. Blest are those persecuted for holiness' sake; the reign of God is theirs. Blest are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of slander against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven; They persecuted the prophets before you in the very same way."

 5. The Crucifixion and Death of our Lord.

Ps 22:1 My God, my God why have you forsaken me, far from my prayer, from the words of my cry? O my God, I cry out by day, and you answer not; by night, and there is no relief for me. (7) But I am a worm, not a man; the scorn of men, despised by all the people. (15) I am like water poured out; all my bones are racked. My heart has become like wax melting away within my bosom. My throat is dried up like baked clay, my tongue cleaves to my jaws;…(17)…they have pierced my hands and my feet;…
Lam 1:12 Come, all you who pass by the way, look and see whether there is any suffering like my suffering…
Ps 31:13 I am like the unremembered dead; I am like a dish that is broken.
Jn 15:13 "There is no greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends…"
1Cor 13:7 There is no limit to love's forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure. Love never fails. (13) There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.
Jn 1:14 we have seen his glory. The glory of an only Son coming from the Father, filled with enduring love.
Ps 31:13 Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God.
Lk 23:32 Two other who were criminals were led along to be crucified. When they came to Skull Place, as it was called, they crucified him there and the criminals as well, one on his right and the other on his left. [Jesus said, "Father forgive them; they do not know what they are doing."]
Jn 19:19 Pilate had an inscription placed on the cross which read,

This inscription, in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, was read by many of the Jews, since the place was near the city.
Jn 19:23 After the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and divided them four ways, one for each soldier. There was also a tunic, but this tunic was woven in one piece from top to bottom and had no seam. They said to each other, "We should not tear it. Let us throw dice to see who gets it. " (The purpose of this was to have the Scripture fulfilled: "They divided my garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots.") And this is what the soldiers did.
Lk 23:35 The people stood there watching and the leaders kept jeering at him… (39) One of the criminals hanging in crucifixion blasphemed him: "Aren't you the Messiah? Then save yourself and us." But the other one rebuked him: "Have you no fear of God, seeing you are under the same sentence? We deserve it, after all. We are only paying the price for what we've done, but this man has done nothing wrong." He then said, "Jesus, remember me when you enter upon your reign." And Jesus replied, "I assure you: this day you will be with me in paradise.
Jn 19:25 Near the cross of Jesus there stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Seeing his mother there with the disciple whom he loved, Jesus said to his mother, "Woman, there is your son." In turn, he said to the disciple, "There is your mother." From that hour onward, the disciple took her into his care. After that, Jesus realizing that everything was now finished, said to fulfill the Scripture, "I am thirsty." There was a jar there, full of common wine. They stuck a sponge soaked in this wine on some hyssop and raised it to his lips. When Jesus took the wine, he said, "Now it is finished." Then he bowed his head, and delivered over his spirit.
Lk 23:46 Jesus uttered a loud cry and said, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." After he said this, he expired. The centurion, upon seeing this gave glory to God by saying, 'Surely this was an innocent man."
Mt 27:51 Suddenly the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, boulders split, tombs opened. Many bodies of saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After Jesus' resurrection they came forth from their tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many.
Lk 23:48 When the crowd which had assembled for this spectacle saw what had happened they went home beating their breasts. All his friends and the women who had accompanied him from Galilee were standing at a distance watching everything.
Jn 19:31 Since it was the Preparation Day the Jews did not want to have the bodies left on the cross during the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a solemn feast day. They asked Pilate that the legs be broken and the bodies be taken away. Accordingly, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the men crucified with Jesus, first the one, then the other. When they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead, they did not break his legs. One of the soldiers thrust a lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. (This testimony has been given by an eyewitness, and his testimony is true, so that you may believe.) These events took place for the fulfillment of Scripture: "Break none of his bones." There is still another Scripture passage which says: "They shall look on him whom they have pierced."
(38) Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (although a secret one for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate's permission to remove Jesus' body. Pilate granted it, so they came and took the body away. Nicodemus (the man who had first come to Jesus at night) likewise came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes which weighed about a hundred pounds. They took Jesus' body, and in accordance with Jewish burial custom bound it up in wrappings of cloth with perfumed oils. In the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had ever been buried. Because of the Jewish Preparation Day they buried Jesus there, for the tomb was close at hand.
Mt 27:59 Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in fresh linen and laid it in his own new tomb which had been hewn from a formation of rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained sitting there, facing the tomb.
Is 53:9 Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people, A grave was assigned to him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers. Though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood. [But the Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity.] If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in long life, and the will of the Lord shall be accomplished through him. Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, Because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; And he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.