Inside the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher a narrow flight of steps ascends 15 feet (4.5m) up what tradition says was final slope to the summit of Calvary – to the place of the crucifixion itself.
X Jesus is stripped of His garments.
At the top of the stairs is the Chapel of the Divestiture. This marks where Roman soldiers stripped Jesus in preparation for His crucifixion, and divided His clothes among them.
XI Jesus is nailed to the Cross.
Of the many rich mosaics that covered the walls and ceiling of Calvary in Crusader times only one portrait of Jesus remains. The other mosaics now seen were all executed in the middle of the last century. The mosaic above the altar shows Jesus being nailed to the cross, watched by the Holy women.
To the left of this mosaic is a small altar dedicated to the heartbreak of Mary. Named the Mater Dolorosa, Our Lady of Suffering, it recalls the prophecy Simeon made when Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the Temple, “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own heart also”, Luke 2:35. Crafted in the 1500’s, this beautiful painted wooden statue was presented to the church by Maria I of Portugal in 1778.
XII Jesus dies on the Cross.
All Four Gospels tell how Christ was crucified by the Romans next to two common criminals beneath a sign reading “This is Jesus the King of the Jews”. The spot where Jesus’ cross stood is marked by a silver disc beneath the altar, while black marble disc to either side mark those of the criminals.
* And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots. Matthew 27:35
* Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. John 19:25
* He said unto Jesus, Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Luke 23:42-43
Mathew chapter 27 describes the moment of Jesus’ death, “Jesus, when he had cried out again in a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake and the rocks rent”. Then the Centurion watching over Him declared, “Truly this was the Son of God”.
To the right of the altar is seen the original bedrock of Calvary showing the rent caused by that earthquake – a split in the rock that runs down into the Chapel of Adam below. Tradition says that thus the blood of Christ spilled down upon the head of the first sinner of mankind. That is why Adam’s skull is often represented at the foot of the Cross.
Also recalled at the Twelfth Station are Jesus’ words from Luke’s Gospel 23:46, “he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit; and having said thus, he gave up the ghost”.
This page is part of the book The Holy Land of Jesus
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