March 29

After they had mocked Him, they removed the robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him. — Matt 27:31 BSB

There was never another procession like the one that moved down the Via Dolorosa on that Good Friday morning. Jesus died that day for us.

“Under an eastern sky,
Amid a rabble cry,
A man went forth to die – For me.
“Thorn-crowned His blessed head,
Blood-stained His every tread,
Cross-laden, on He sped – For me.”

At the cross, there was human pity. Kind hands offered Jesus medicated wine to dull His pain, but He refused it. He wouldn’t lessen His suffering, nor would He enter death with dulled senses.

As terrible as Christ’s suffering on the cross was, we don’t think of Him with pity but with adoration. What we see is the Lamb of God, bearing the sins of the world.