The Anguish of the Son- The Stations of the Cross

Hello all. As you know, Easter is coming, and during this time before it, I as a firm Christian celebrate many important days and rituals. One being the Stations of the Cross, a way of remembering Jesus's walk to Calvary to be crucified, with many other events occuring before it, during it, and after it. It's always been a favorite story of mine, especially because it makes me feel amazed that Jesus did that, and in what I believe, to save us all.

Anyways, I've wanted to do a religious writing piece for a while, and I've decided that now is the best time to do it. So, I've begun to work on a novel-like piece of the Stations, and be posting it on here for, Christian and non-Christian, to read. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it.

*just a note, I will be posting in small sets of the stations, so this post will contain the first three, while others may have four in them. Also, others are shorter than others, since there's no always as much happening in some. Either way, they're all good pieces*






The Anguish of the Son


Station 1- Jesus is Condemned to Death

He stood before Pilat, clothed by a white robe, stained with blood. His back torn bit by bit from endless whippings that carried as much pain as they did hatred within them from the men who struck Him. A thin stream of blood flowed down his face, from his head to the chin. His cranium throbbed with pain, bruised and bloodied by a savage assault of a thick reed, second by second bashing upon His skull. But even with this pain, with the agony, and with the wounds, He stood motionless, and not letting a single hint of discomfort escape his expression.

“This man is a liar!” shouted one from the crowd.

“He refuses to pay Caesar and has corrupted our country!” another added.

“He claims that he is Christ the King!!” a young woman cried out. Pilat sat atop his throne, garbed by a sumptuous attire, only fitting for someone of his rank.

“Are you the King of the Jews?” he asked, eyeing the man before him carefully.

“If you say so” Jesus replied. Pilat shrugged his shoulders and looked to the Chief Priests and Scribes.

“I find no crime in him, I cannot punish him” the official spoke.

“But he has perverted all the people in the land, from Judea to Galilee!” more protested, sounding even more malicious now. Pilat appeared to almost be at a loss of words.

“Forgive me all, but I see no wrong done in him. I simply cannot give any atonement. What is that you actually wish for me to do with him?” he inquired.

“Crucify him, crucify him!” they all yelled in unison. Pilat’s eyes almost widened in surprise of the grisly answer and desire from his people.

“What evil has he committed? I see no wrong-doing of him, and I will let him go” he responded. But the crowd exploded once more, crying out in objection once again, screaming for him to be crucified. Pilat listened to it all, as his mind worked rapidly to try and make a decision. He didn’t want to kill Jesus, he felt he hadn’t done anything iniquitous. But if he would not satisfy the request of his people, he very well knew the consequences could be serious. “Alright then, I will release him unto you, do away with him however you please” he declared, and then motioned for a servant to come to him. A teenaged boy walked up before him, carrying a bowl of water and a towel over his arm. Pilat dipped his hands into the fluid, and then dried off. “My hands will be clean, I will have no part in this” And as the crowd ‘celebrated’, Jesus stood without any emotion on His face, for He knew what now awaited Him.




Station 2- Jesus Takes up His Cross

Still within the halls of Pilat, the Roman soldiers and people begun to devise their plan and get it into action. It would be done so that Jesus would have to walk to Calvary, where he then would be nailed to the cross and hung to die.

But before any of this happened, the crowds mocked him, and spat upon him, showing how much hatred they truly had for Him. The Christ blanked it all from His mind though, and with unbelievable compassion, forgave them all inside His mind.

When it came time that they would have Jesus start his journey, they had a circlet weaved out of thorns, and placed it upon Jesus’s head. He winced as he felt the acute tips of the spines dig into His skull, and rip apart His skin with ease. Blood rolled down His face, and dripped onto His cloak, staining it even more to a crimson tone. He stood up from His kneeling position, and faced the Roman soldiers who advanced over to Him with the cross He was to carry. Jesus showed valor in the face of His death.

He took the huge wooden object, and placed it onto His shoulder, as His arms reached up and wrapped around it for Him to get the perfect grasp on it. Its weight was tremendous, like nothing He had experienced, and His legs buckled underneath it as He struggled to get a start on moving with it. His muscles straining, heart pushing faster with the incredible load of work, Jesus moved onto the street, and for miles the sides were populated by those who hated him.

He had now begun His trek of anguish.




The Third Station- Jesus Falls the First Time

As He made His way through the streets, all around Him was nothing but pure animosity. Throughout the entire walk so far, Jesus had not found one person that showed any bit of love for Him. Everything He could see was hate, and only for Him. Yet He forgave them all, and did have any form of ire for their actions.

Making things worse for Him, the weight of the cross grew heavier, the pain and load of it increasing with every step He took. He had loss much blood so far, from His scourging and the Crown of Thorns, causing his strength to lessen more and more. His torn back writhed with agony, and the Cross lying upon it made all pain feel unbearable.
His legs gave out under him, and Jesus collapsed onto his stomach. His body slamming upon the dirt road, the cross crashed on top of him, crushing His body and creating horrible agony. The crowds of people cursed at it and spat upon Him, as the Roman soldiers quickly ran over to the fallen Christ.

“Get up you fool!” they shouted as they whipped him repeatedly. Through each blow He received, Jesus groaned, and reminded Himself of the mission He had to complete, the mission God gave Him. Leisurely, He got to his knees, and once he felt he had a good grip of the cross got to His feet, and continued onward.

Just to let you know, it's 'Pilate'. With an 'e'.

And don't forget to mention the fact that the dirt from His falls clogged the wounds.

Wow ... excellent job! We needed one of these around here. Great writing for a great story^^

Why thank you

This is Stations 4-6






The Fourth Station- Jesus Meets His Mother Mary

As He resumed His walk down the road, Jesus heard more and more cursing about Him. The people now threw stones and pebbles at Him, and spat even more, unleashing their utter odium for the man they believed was nothing but a hypocrite. While Jesus simply blanked all of the abhorrence from His mind, it would’ve certainly been better if at least one person in the crowd showed love for Him.

And soon, he would receive that.

Through the masses of people ran a woman, clothed by a robe and vale of blue and white. She pushed through every person ahead of her, desperately trying to get to the front of the crowds to see the man who carried the cross. When she managed to finally get out of the throng, she stepped out onto the road, and laid eyes upon her Son.

Her heart sank. Never had she seen him in such pain and torment. Tears began to form in her eyes, and she felt the most troubling feeling of her entire life. There she saw her only son, the son she loved, walking down the street; bloodied, battered and bruised. Moving slowly, He was burdened by the incredible object on His shoulder, and adding to the struggle were the constant objects being thrown at Him by the people, and the whippings He received when He’d slow down. This man, who she loved, from the baby she gave birth to, and the boy she raised. Now, she saw her Son; suffering.

Jesus eventually came to her, and upon noticing Mary, stopped moving, and turned His head to her. Even while she stood, disconsolate by what she saw, with tears in her eyes, the fact that His mother was there to see Him soothed Jesus.

“Son…” Mary whispered, at a loss of words.

“Mother, do not weep for me…” Jesus replied, in the same volume, so that only He and her could hear His words. Mary appeared surprised by His speaking, her eyes slightly widening after the comment. The reunion was cut short then, as within another moment one of the Roman soldiers came to them and gave Jesus a push.

“Keep moving!” he commanded. Without another word, Jesus began to walk off then, continuing his journey to Calvary. But as he moved ahead, he still stared at His mother, whom He loved as much as she loved Him. The simple, brief meeting with her had comforted Him, like any mother consoling her troubled son. And Jesus smiled.




The Fifth Station- Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross

The march had been a terrible thing for Jesus so far. He had fallen once, and had been beaten several more times along the way. While His desire to complete His task from God was strong, His physical strength was depleting quickly, and soon, He’d have no power left. While Godly Himself, Jesus was Human, and like all humans, He only had a certain supply of strength, and that was nearing its end.

The Roman soldiers who had been keeping by Him began to notice it, especially by how He was moving extremely slow, and every step He took appeared to wreck His body more and more. This very much troubled then, knowing He could not go on much longer.

“Oh man, this is a problem, what do we do?” one of them asked the others.

“I don’t know, our beatings obviously aren’t making him go on, what is there we can actually do for the guy?” another asked. One of them though actually had an idea.

“We could have someone help him carry it” he suggested.

“Yeah, and who would actually wanna help him do that?” one questioned.

“I mean, we could make them do it” the soldier answered.

And that’s what they did. The trio of men went into the crowds, and found a young man from Cyrene named Simon watching. He was not showing any disrespect towards Jesus, only standing by to watch on in curiosity. It was only at the last moment that he noticed the soldiers coming to him, and by then he couldn’t escape them.

“Get over here, you’re helping Jesus with the cross” one of them said as they grabbed him by the arms and began to take him with them. Alarmed at first, Simon tried to release himself and plead to them.

“No, not me, I have nothing to do with this, please take someone else!” he exclaimed. But all attempts he made were futile, and after only a few seconds the soldiers threw him behind Jesus. Simon then finally noticed how hurt He was, and the horrible pain He was in as He struggled to simply move on. In an instant, his feelings for the Christ were changed, realizing the torture He was in.

“Don’t worry Jesus, I’ll help you with this” Simon quietly spoke for Him to hear. He then lifted up the back end of the cross, aiding Jesus is lessening the load for Him to carry. While He didn’t reply to Simon verbally, inside His mind Jesus thanked the young man, and asked God to bless him.

And so with the help of the Cyrenean, Jesus continued on.




Station 6- Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

The journey so far had been a cruel one to Jesus. His body ached all over with terrible pain, and He had lost much blood to all the wounds and cuts He had over His body. He had to work His body to the absolute maximum to move on, pushing Himself to the limits of His human nature.

His body was covered in sweat, His white cloak sodden by it, and His wounds stinging from the salty liquid’s presence in them. A layer of it was on His face, and second by second a drop of it fell from the tip of His chin, and plummeted to the ground. Even with Simon’s help, this task for Him was unbearable, and he would certainly not last a long while.

For a second time, another young woman pushed through the crowds of people to escape them, and then got onto to road. This was Veronica, a firm believer in God, and also in Jesus. In her hands was a moist white cloth, bordered by a gold-like fabric, one that dripped with cool water. Knowing the risk of what she dead, Veronica ran over to Jesus, who stopped to see her. Without even speaking to Him, she placed the cloth on his bloodied and sweaty face, and then wiped it off.

That simple action almost revived Jesus, and very much made him feel better from the refreshing cleansing. Veronica couldn’t say anything as she looked at her friend in so much anguish. But Jesus smiled at her, pleased by what she had done.

“Thank you Veronica…” he said. Just as His meeting with Mary, the Roman Soldiers quickly ended this one and made Him move on.

“Hey! No stopping, keep moving!” one yelled. Jesus obeyed them, and began walking once again. Veronica watched Him for a moment, still not able to express any emotion or feeling. She looked down at the cloth she used to wipe His face, and suddenly froze as her eyes bulged.

“You, what do you think you doing, get outta here!” one of the soldiers screamed at her as he grabbed her by the arm and pushed her away into the crowds. Even with that Veronica paid no attention to him, or how he laid his hands on her. All the young woman did was stare into the cloth she held; the face of Jesus now upon it.

It's interesting Mirren - but you aren't really... doing anything... uh... special? with it. You're basically re-telling the story without much drama. Granted, the story itself is pretty dramatic, but why not try to get into the mind of Christ? I know you might think that's blasphemy, but remember, Christ was a man first, and suffered the same doubt and fear that we all do.

Well written and all; from you, I expected a bit more... oomph. I sense your piety in it, as if you're afraid to touch too deeply on such a sacred story.

Ah, the second in saw you in here I knew I was in for some critque

Originally posted by pipking
It's interesting Mirren - but you aren't really... doing anything... uh... special? with it. You're basically re-telling the story without much drama.

You sure? Because I'm not trying to argue with you, but I feel I'm doing something new. This is like a novelized version of the story. When you hear it at the Stations of the Cross ritual in Church, they do like a paragraph per station. They go into no description at all. Then even in the Gospels, they don't go into any detail at all. What I'm doing is going into great description of the stations, and making it out like a real book.

Also if you notice, I've given emotions to the characters. In the ritual and the Bible, we don't get any insight on Pilate's true feelings, we don't read anything on Mary's feelings or reactions, the same with Veronica and Simon, and especially the Roman soldiers. It's a re-telling, yes, but very new in my eyes and in an original way.

Granted, the story itself is pretty dramatic, but why not try to get into the mind of Christ? I know you might think that's blasphemy, but remember, Christ was a man first, and suffered the same doubt and fear that we all do.

I don't see it as blasphemy, and if you noticed it, I gave Jesus almost a personality. Granted, He didn't do much in the first couple stations, but within the Fourth, I do something no one's ever done before; I wrote on what He said, and the reaction to Mary. I don't remember anyone ever saying He smiled at her.

I do go into his mind, briefly, but slightly at least for now, within a few stations. Though, I can tell you that I will take your suggestion, and try to do more in the coming stations.

Well written and all; from you, I expected a bit more... oomph. I sense your piety in it, as if you're afraid to touch too deeply on such a sacred story.

I will not disrespect your opinion, but as of now I feel I've put in a great deal of new material so far, and new ways of it all happening. I don't mean to sound offensive, but I think you're almost wanting too much so far. I will take your advice and work on it, though.

Originally Posted by Mirren

I don't mean to sound offensive, but I think you're almost wanting too much so far.

I think you're right. Keep going.

...

I type that entire defense post and you reply to that one little statement...? :razz:

Anyways, here's stations 7 and 8. They're shorter, but are pretty good. I hope to have Stations 9 and 10 done later today or tonight, and finish everything tomorrow






Station 7- Jesus Falls a Second Time

Time drew on, and once more was Jesus weakening, to a horrible state at this time. All comfort and rejuvenation of strength He once had was completely gone. His heart beat rapidly as it worked just as hard as He did, moving step by step along the dirt road. The Cross crushing his shoulder, and putting an extreme weight of him, Jesus collapsed to the ground.

In a mere instant, the crowds cursed and taunted Him, mocking Him endlessly as Jesus lay on the ground. The dirt clogging several wounds on His arms and legs, He lay with His face on the hard ground, groaning in pain.

“Come on Jesus, get up, you can do it!” Simon said to Him, straining his arms to lift his end of the cross and help Jesus get up. The Roman Soldiers got to Him too quickly though, and one them whipped His shoulder savagely.

“No resting, get your miserable body up!!” he screamed violently. Ignoring the pain He felt upon His body, Jesus slowly lifted Himself up with His arms, struggling, but managing to make progress. When He finally did, He took up the cross again, and continued down the road. He had not gotten up to stop His humiliation of the crowd, He had not gotten up to end the whippings from the soldiers, and while Simon’s words calmed Him, it was not that either.

It was His never ending love, and devotion to His Father.




Station 8- Jesus Meets the Women and Children

His journey was brutal, agonizing, and almost devoid of any concern. Throughout the trek to Calvary, Jesus had met only the smallest amount of those who actually had compassion and love for Him. It was a truly depressing walk for Him, and the only people He saw that cared for Him was a small group of women, children, and young teens. They all stood together, sobbing or watching Him move along with tears rolling down their faces. Jesus eventually noticed them, and stopped in the middle of the road to look over at women and children.

“Jesus…why are you doing this…?” a mother asked, holding her balling daughter in her arms as she too wept.

“You don’t have to Jesus, you don’t have to suffer for us” a young teenaged boy said, obviously trying to hold back his tears, but failing. Christ was touched by their sympathy, and smiled gently at the women and children.

“Please, do not weep for me. But instead weep for yourselves and your families. Your love for me is soothing, and God will bless you for your concern. But I must complete the mission He gave me, and go on…” He said to them in a tender tone. For a moment the boys and girls appeared slightly surprised by His answer, but the mothers looked at Him in awe, amazed by what He had said, and understanding his motives. Jesus then began to walk off with the cross and Simon, continuing down the road and nearing the hills.

“Mommy…what did He mean...?” the one daughter asked as she still cried in her mother’s arms. The young woman sniffed back more tears of her own, and said it in the best way her little girl could understand.

“Because He loves us so much…”

I will not argue with you in this particular thread *seeing as how you're banned anyways*, but I certainly will laugh at how you appeared to think your worthless comments would offend me


Here's stations 9-12, almost finished!






The Ninth Station- Jesus Falls a Third Time

Jesus now walked upon the grassy floor of the hills, not even one eight a mile now from Calvary. The amount of people flanking him and mocking Him had decreased greatly, but that in no way made the journey easier. The sun was shining brightly, beating down onto His body. His skin burned from the rays, and now his body was coated by a layer of sweat. Going up the steep hills, His movement became more tiring, and the strain on His entire body became too much…

Jesus fell forward, his face slamming onto the ground, and the front end of the cross again pinning Him to the ground. Simon quickly dropped the back of the cross, and ran over to where Jesus was, and used every bit of strength in himself to lift it off of Him.

“Don’t stay down now Jesus, we don’t have much longer to go” he said quietly, only so Christ could hear him. Trying his hardest, Jesus tried to push Himself up with His arms, but found no success as He again fell onto the ground.

“How can I do this?” He asked Himself in His mind, “I am running out of power, and I still have a good deal to go. Not even Simon’s help is enough for me. The heat is wearing me down even more, and all my wounds are throbbing. Father…I cannot complete this…” As Jesus lay on the ground, His eyes closed, and His mind began to wander. Simon grabbed him carefully by the shoulders, and began to help Him to His feet. Jesus knew what he was doing, and in that moment thought of all the people in the world. He remembered His goal for His death, and that by doing this, He would save the soul of every single person to live on Earth. “No…I must…for them…”




The Tenth Station- Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

When they came to Calvary, the soldiers finally took the cross from Jesus, and set it aside to prepare other events. As they got their plans together, two of them took a jar of wine and poured a small vial of vinegar in it, then mixing it around to spoil the drink. One them took a thick sponge, and soaked it with the drink. Putting it on a reed, he then went over to Jesus, and offered it to Him.

“Here you go, ‘King of the Jews’” he mocked with a grin. Jesus paid no attention to the words, and put his lips to the sponge and tried to suck out some of the wine. When He tasted it, He immediately spat it out, nearly hitting the soldier, who quickly backed off.

“I will not drink such a vile concoction” He said, almost glaring at the man, who at first was taken by surprise by Jesus’s spitting.

“Heh heh, so he finally shows rebellion. Too late though now fool, your time is coming…” the Roman warrior replied, now grinning again and laughing. He walked off, chuckling in His own pleasure, as Jesus simply brought His mind to new subjects.


Not long later, the soldiers had decided on what they would do Jesus, and started with the preparations. While others left to get the nails for the cross, the remaining went over to Christ, and put their hands upon His white cloak.

“Alright now, let’s tear this thing apart” one said, and with that he and the other two ripped the robe piece by piece. As they tore it off, the wounds were the blood had clotted, and the material became stuck to it were reopened, being ripped wide again. Blood rolled down His body, and Jesus only winced through the pain. Once he was completely naked, the one soldier took out a pair of dice and motioned for the other two to follow Him.

“Hey, lets play to see what pieces we get!” he declared. The trio went away then to a large flat rock, and began to roll the dice to decide on what parts of the wrecked cloak they would take.

Jesus now stood by Himself, His body bare and His sexual organs out in the open. People stood around Him, laughing and jeering at Him, trying their best to humiliate the naked man. Jesus bowed His head, and closed His eyes as he blocked out the guffaws.

“I do not care if they laugh at me. I do not care if I’m humiliated. If they may taunt at my body, and all its parts, it will be no concern for me. If they are amused by this temple that God created, then so be it. Forgive me Father for doubting you and trying to challenge Your will. I will accept this cup and all else as it comes…”



The Eleventh Station- Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

After a few minutes, the Roman Soldiers that ran off before returned, two of them with the nails that would be used to pin Jesus to the cross, and the other with the mallets to slam them in. The people who remained to watch stirred with excitement, waiting anxiously to see the most brutal part of the punishment. As the soldiers stood together, discussing how they’d go about performing it, Jesus caught a glance of the huge nails.

He gulped. For the first actual time in this painful journey, Christ became fearful, knowing was soon to await Him. He had very much heard that the screams of physical torment from those who received that would last minutes, and that even full grown men had been brought to tears, crying like a little child from the mind-blowing pain. His heart beat more and more each second, as Jesus thought about what he would soon be experiencing…

“So, how are we gonna nail him?” the one soldier asked in the group.

“It’s not that hard, put the nails through his hands and feet, right?” another added. One of them shook his head.

“No, if you put it through the hands, over a couple hours they’re pull through the thing, and he’ll fall off. It’s best to put it through his wrist, so the bone holds him up” he explained. The idea of that concept seemed to intrigue the other men.

“Heh, I can’t wait to see his reaction now…”


Another couple minutes later, they set the cross on the ground, and lay the naked Jesus upon it. Sweating now from fear, not the heat, He quietly prayed in His head. The soldiers stretched His arms out, and put one of His feet on the top of the other so they’d fit on the narrow slab of wood. The trio then put a nail to either the hand or feet they were at, and raised their hammers into the air.

“Now…” the leader of them said.


Miles away, all living things could hear a man’s roar of agony.




The Twelfth Station- Jesus Dies on the Cross

As he hung upon the wooden symbol, naked, and with nails pinning Him to the cross, Jesus’s mind wandered. His energy literally sapped away, He awaited death calmly, but in agony. This would now be the time when His punishment of crucifixion would be the worst. He would hang there, the sun beating down upon Him, and His arms stretched out. This in time, would end all breathing He had, and slowly wear Him down, to death.

At one time, the two thieves who were crucified at Jesus’s sides began to speak, weakly from their own pain, but enough to bring out a conversation.

“You are the Son of God, correct?” the one asked. Jesus barely managed to nod. The robber’s eyes narrowed.

“Then why do hang there on the cross. Free yourself, you have the power to do it. Get us out from this mess” the man spoke.

“Be quiet fool!” the other thief then exclaimed, surprising both Jesus and the other man “He has done no wrong, this man is innocent, but we, we’ve committed crimes, and deserve this punishment.” He then looked over at Jesus, with a look of compassion in his eyes. “Lord, remember me, when You come into Your kingdom…”

“For what you’ve said and experienced today, I promise that you will thrive in paradise…” Jesus replied. And from that their discussion ended.


A few hours later, darkness settled over the land, and the air grew cold with the coming of night. The two thieves were now dead, slumping over on the cross lifelessly, the one in Heaven as Jesus stated, the other wherever God chose for him to go. Jesus was now all alone, as his friends who stayed by His side earlier were back at their homes grieving, and His apostles continued to hide away. Jesus felt his life slowly dripping away, until He knew that the hour had come. He lifted His head up, and cried out in the loudest voice he could muster-

“Father, I am yours now…”

Jesus then bowed His head, and died.

And now because I'm impatient, the end






The Thirteen Station- Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross

About an hour after His death, Mary, Mary of Magdala and other friends and family of His returned to the cross. They all stood under Him, praying and weeping over Him once again, until Joseph of Arimathea returned, after going to see Pilate.

“Good news…friends…” he began, breathing heavily from much running, “Pilate has given me permission to take Jesus down. Mary Magdala looked over at the young man, her eyes widened.

“Are you serious?” she asked, disbelieving that the man who condemned Jesus would allow His body to be rightfully done with for His death. Joseph simply nodded. Mary held back more tears, and looked up at the one she followed. “Then let’s get Him down from this wretched thing” she said. Quickly Jesus’s friends got to work, carefully removing the cross from the ground, and gently laying it upon the ground. They took the nails out from his wrists and feet, and taking several moist white cloths, began to clean His body of the many cuts and scrapes He had.

As they did this, Mary held her Son in her arms. Kneeling onto the ground, she cradled the lifeless body of Jesus, staring down at His face. It was still the child she loved, as she had loved her entire life. The baby she hugged, the boy she taught and raised, and the young man she still looked out for and took care of in His time of need. And now, even as the man that He was, she could still hold Him in her arms, just as she did all those years ago.

“Come on, we’ll go bury Him now” Joseph said as He got up. Mary looked up at Him.

“But where, we do not have a tomb” she stated. Joseph turned his back at her, and began to walk off, hiding his true emotions from the others.

“We can use mine…” the young man answered.




The Fourteenth Station- Jesus is Buried in the Tomb

His friends all walked to the tomb but out of rock, where Joseph had meant to be buried. His parents had this made for Him when he was younger, and explained that when his time would come, it would be there where he would be laid to rest. He knew that if his parents found out that he used it for Jesus, they would be irate, and possibly throw him out from the family. But the young man did not care, the only thing he was wanted to do now was repay Jesus back. He felt that all his life as a he was a secret disciple to Him, Jesus had done much for Him, as a Master, and a friend. And now, Joseph wanted to do something in return for Him; as a servant, and a friend.


When they came into the cave-like room, they set Jesus down on a flat bed of rock, and covered His lower body with a thick white cloth. Mary Magdala then brought over a large white blanket, which they used to cover the rest of Jesus’s body with, minus His head. For that, Joseph had another white sheet, which His parents had bought to also cover Him when he died. As Joseph knelt by Jesus’s side, he looked down at His friend’s lifeless face, gazing at it as a tear rolled down his cheek. Joseph looked away for a moment, fighting his sadness, and covered Jesus’s face.

After they opened two of the large colorful jars that held incense and other strong-scented oils, they walked out from the tomb, and rolled a large boulder in front of it. And with that, they went home.




The Fifteenth Station- Jesus Rises from the Dead

There are so many different stories and endings to this tragic, yet wonderful tale. I will not novelize any of the versions, but instead go out with a message simply from me. I believe fully, along with my other Brothers and Sisters in Christ, that Jesus arose from the dead on this day, Easter Sunday, conquering over sin and saving us from eternal damnation. I believe that with his rising and defeat over death, he opened the gates to Heaven for us, and allowed for us to one day be with Him in Paradise, that like that one thief who at his last moments, offered Himself to Christ. As a young man, I will continue to worship God and Jesus, and do my very best to follow them like a true Apostle. And may all other Christians do likewise.

I very much enjoyed writing this, and I feel I did a good job with it, for my age and skill at least. I will make sure to try other religious stories, as a new way to heighten my writing talent, and to incorporate the blessing that God gave me with my Faith to Him.

God bless, and a very happy Easter to all.

Well first of all, just let me say that I didn't think it was by any means bad, though I have to agree with Pipking here, and I didn't really gain anythig from reading it. For me, I think this is due to the over emphasis on the gore and physical actions, whereas the emotional punch of the story could have done with a little more work. For me, on of the most powerful parts of this story is the actions of Pilate, and how he reacts to Jesus, however in this incarnation it is only touched upon. I think had you took up the story earlier, at the begining of the trial, with Pilate's turmoil over what to do with Jesus, then I may have sympathised more with Pilate, and in return, Jesus. But as far as I can see, there is no strong evidence of Pilates emotions at this time, nor is their any justification given for the appeasing nature of Jesus' earlier beatings.

Another aspect which surprised me, I didn't feel much sympathy for Jesus', or at least not in the volume which i would have expected. Again perhaps this is due to a lack in character development, I don't know. Of course this is a well known story, but as a writer you must compensate for what is missing.

Finnaly, I really think you should miss out that last line, it just seems very flat, and tacked on.

Well, I'm happy you read it, and gave me a very useful review, thank you Vega

Originally posted by Vega
I think this is due to the over emphasis on the gore and physical actions, whereas the emotional punch of the story could have done with a little more work.

I did that because in my eyes, the physical torment was unbelievable. He had to endure all of that, and His main reason was for the people, many of which hated Him. I focused on the torture He took because I find it so amazing that He took that all without fighting back. That, and how He didn't even die from it before He got to Calvary is beyond me

For me, on of the most powerful parts of this story is the actions of Pilate, and how he reacts to Jesus, however in this incarnation it is only touched upon. I think had you took up the story earlier, at the begining of the trial, with Pilate's turmoil over what to do with Jesus, then I may have sympathised more with Pilate, and in return, Jesus. But as far as I can see, there is no strong evidence of Pilates emotions at this time, nor is their any justification given for the appeasing nature of Jesus' earlier beatings.

I will not say your opinion is wrong, but I do not feel the trouble with Pilate is a major thing to the story. It's very interesting, but I couldn't find much to work on there. The entire actual trial is almost repetative at times, or Jesus just getting beaten up. I simply couldn't do all that much with Pilate. I have only one station for him, and I would've needed to spend quite a few paragraphs to get the feel you ask for. It would've seemed awkward, and been far too long compared to the other stations.

Another aspect which surprised me, I didn't feel much sympathy for Jesus', or at least not in the volume which i would have expected. Again perhaps this is due to a lack in character development, I don't know. Of course this is a well known story, but as a writer you must compensate for what is missing.

I will accept your opinion, but I certainly dissagree with it. I feel I worked fine on Him. I didn't want to focus on making the first station majorly long and explaining everything, it would've seemed, odd. This isn't a story about what happens before it and all the stuff in the garden. This is simply a novelized-like version of the Stations of the Cross. Perhaps you may feel that's not a smart choice, but it's the one I felt was the better idea.

Finnaly, I really think you should miss out that last line, it just seems very flat, and tacked on.

It's a simple closing line to wish the best to all, even non-Christian who would feel indifferent of the story


Again though, thank you for your spending your time to read this and comment on it, I very much appreciate it