Stations of the Cross: Jesus is stripped before the crowd

Station Five

Jesus is stripped before the crowd

Matthew 27:33-35

All: Dear Heavenly Father, let Your goodness lead us to repentance. Let the heart of a Father displayed for us on Calvary so overwhelm us that we can only turn to you, laying aside every weight, and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set before us.

Leader:  And so we look "unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame..." (Hebrews 12:2a NKJV)

What a shift. From the adoration of the angels to the ridicule of the people gathered at Calvary to witness Your execution. Most of us would kill or die rather than endure the shame of being stripped naked before a jeering crowd...but You despised the shame for the joy You felt at the knowledge that all of this would redeem us, the very ones who have gathered to laugh and point fingers. This is the measure of Your heart for us, that it dwarfs the shame you endured.

Silent prayer

All: Dear Heavenly Father, Your love transforms shame into glory. The more I jeer, the greater the glory with which You clothe Your Son. Help me to shift my gaze from His nakedness to the love in His eyes, so that my heart might be changed.

Charles Pate is an award-winning painter from Greenville, SC. After national success at an early age, Charles went on to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he graduated with honors in painting and art history in the spring of 2008. Charles has shown work both internationally and stateside.
30 X 40 Oil on Canvas $1800