Station #1 The Work of Men - Betrayal
Painting: The Betrayal of Christ, Giuseppe Cesari 1597
Scripture: Matthew 26:47-50
Comment: Forsaken by friends. Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? The tragic events of this night begin, in terms of men, with Judas of Iscariot. Judas is one of the twelve. So for thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave, Jesus is made available to evil men. Now Jesus is becoming the outcast One. Men begin to turn on Him. One of His special pupils is giving Him into the hands of the enemy. Is there a greater tragedy in life than to have one, whom you love, turn to oppose?
Song: Go to dark Gethsemane (LSB 436)
Response: Go to dark Gethsemane, All who feel the tempter’s power; Your Redeemer’s conflict see, watch with Him one bitter hour; Turn not from His griefs away; Learn from Jesus Christ to pray.
Prayer: You have called us by name given us the right to be called your children. We have not always lived up to your name. Like Judas before us, we have betrayed our true intentions through our thoughts, words, and actions. Fill us with Your love, Your peace, and Your joy so that we may cling to what you have done for us and our salvation. Amen

Station #2 The Charge & Rejection
Scripture: Matthew 26:62-68
Comment: His Church rejects Him. Forsakes Him. Caiaphas, the high Priest, rises and tears His garments, crying out, This Man blasphemes God! His Church makes this accusation against Him! Can you feel His heartbreak? He, as God, nourishes, blesses, corrects, helps His Church against countless enemies. Into her keeping He places the sacred trust of the promised Messiah. Now that the Messiah has come, she cries out against Him, This man blasphemes God, and she makes her preparations to have Him put to death. Forsaken by the church.
Song: Alas! And Did my Savior Bleed (LSB 437)
Response: Alas! And did my Savior bleed, And did my sov’reign die? Would He devote that sacred head For a worm as I?
Prayer: You are the God of Justice and truth. We are the ones who have disrespected You. We are the blasphemers who do not fully understand the love you lavish upon us. You did not reject us. Open our hearts and minds to help us share what we have been given. Amen
Painting: Christ before Caiaphas, Seinnuber
Station #3 The People’s Judgment
Painting: Christ before Herod Antipas, Nikolaus Knupfer (1609-1655)
Scripture: Luke 23:6-11
Comment: Forsaken by his people. Herod will have none of Him. Herod is leader of God’s chosen people. But Herod, the people, mock Jesus and sends Him back to Pilate. Has Your nation ever declared You an outlaw? Are You a Man without a country? When you try to understand the awful pangs of the man who has no home, you begin to feel what Jesus felt that night.
Song: In Silent Pain the Eternal Son (LSB 432)
Response: To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.
Prayer: You have given us all that we need and much more. We have not given you proper credit for the things you have done for us. Help us to treasure in our hearts all that you have done for us and enable us to show our thankfulness by lives that are wholly given to Your service. Amen

Station #4 Judgment of the World
Painting: Ecce Homo, Antonio Ciseri 1871
Scripture: Luke 23:20-24
Comment: Forsaken by the world. Pilate washes his hands of Jesus. He knows Jesus to be innocent and still, Pilate delivers Him to be crucified. Pilate! The World! The last human straw to which He can cling, the final friend to whom He could turn. His last chance of appeal, and it is gone. Now only the way of Sorrows lies before Him. The heavy cross, the wailing women, the taunting multitude, the bitter wine, the thorns, the nails, - the cross.
Song: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (LSB 425)
Response: When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of Glory died, My richest gain I count but loss And pour contempt on all my pride.
Prayer: Alright God, the fountain of all wisdom, the fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. Thank you for not abandoning us to our ignorance. Amen

Station #5 The Sentence
Painting: The Scourging On The Front, James Tissot (1836-1871)
Scriptures: Luke 23:26-27,32-33
Comment: How clever we are to use the law against Him. For, according to the law of Moses (Deuteronomy) anyone “hung on a tree is under God’s curse” and outside the covenant community. Hear the crowd mourn and wail for Him! Jesus, God’s own Son is forsaken by friends, His church, His people, and the world.
Song: O Sacred Head Now Wounded (LSB 450)
Response: What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend, Mine, mine was the transgression, But Thine the deadly pain. O make me Thine forever! And should I fainting be, Lord, let me never, never, Out live my love for Thee.
Prayer: Almighty God, we give thanks for all your goodness. We bless you for the love that sustains us form day to day. We praise you for the gift of your Son, our Savior, in who we have redemption. We thank you for the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, for your holy Church, for the means of grace, for the lives of all faithful and good people, and for the hope of the life to come. Enable us to show our thankfulness in all parts of our lives. Amen

Station #6 In Our Place
Painting: Jesus Being Nailed to the Cross, William Hole (1846-1917)
Scripture: Matthew 27:45-46
Comment: And He is forsaken by God. Only once has this happened in all of history. Only once has God forsaken a man, and that man was Jesus. Try, but you cannot imagine what it means to be forsaken by God, for lo, He is with you always, even unto the ends of the world (Matthew 28:20). That is why the cry from the cross is such an agonizing cry. This is the depth to which He goes. The final separation from God. Jesus takes our punishment.
Song: Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted (LSB 451)
Response: Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, See Him dying on the tree! ’Tis the Christ, by man rejected; Yes, my soul, ’tis He, ’tis He! ’Tis the long expected Prophet, David’s Son, yet David’s Lord; Proofs I see sufficient of it: ’Tis the true and faithful Word.
Prayer: Merciful Father, how mysterious are your judgements and your will is beyond our understanding. We are troubled but not crushed; sometimes in doubt but never in despair; dejected but not destroyed. Your grace is all we need, for your power is greatest when we are weak. Keep all of us in your grace that when our last hour comes we may depart in peace; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord and savior. Amen

Station #7 It is Finished
Painting: What Our Lord Saw from the Cross, James Tissot (1836-1871)
Scripture: Luke 23:46
Comment: Then, He cries with a loud voice, He bows His weary head, and yields, He gives His life. Forsaken of men and God. His supreme sacrifice, for God and for men. Jesus Dies. The soldiers come. They pierce His side. Out flows blood and water. They take Him down from the cross. Gently and tenderly Joseph and Nicodemus take His body down and carry it to the tomb. Then, the Passover being at hand, they go to their homes to keep the ancient feast. Sadness, gloom, and sorrow fill their being. Him Who they love is dead.
Sound Effect: Thunder & Lightning
Response: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
Prayer: Keep in remembrance, O Lord, the tempted, the distressed, the erring; gently guide them and by your great goodness bring them into the way of peace and truth. Let the light of your truth shine on those who do not know you that they may be turned toward you and so fine peace. Graciously regard all who are in trouble, danger, temptation, and bondage of sin and those whom death draws near. In your mercy draw them to yourself; for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Station #8 Victory
Painting: An Empty Tomb, Unknown
Scripture: Colossians 1:17-22
Comment: Behold, one light still burns. They have not all gone out. Nor have they forever taken the life of our Lord. The hellish crew; death, the grave, these do not hold Him. He does not stay dead. What we sought to destroy, –was not.
It is His victory, His triumph. We live because of Him. Yes, in the chaos of the elements, through the quaking earth, the rending veil, the opening graves, He lives! Thousand, thousand thanks shall be, Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.
Song: The Easter Song
Response: Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to the grave, or let your holy one see corruption.
Prayer: Almighty God the Father, through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ you have overcome death and opened the gate of ever lasting life to us. Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
