Mark 15:15 — “And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.”

“He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob, and sentenced to die on Calvary’s cross.”¹

None of this was fair. Not the arrest. Not the charges. Not the trial. Not the punishment. And certainly not that He died for me so I could live again.

“Nothing compares to the unfairness He endured. It was not fair that He experienced all the pains and afflictions of mankind. It was not fair that He suffered for my sins and mistakes and for yours. But He chose to do so because of His love for us and for Heavenly Father.”²

The Atonement began in Gethsemane and extended to the crucifixion and through to the Resurrection. While the three falls of this tradition are not recorded in the Gospels, every stumble under that burden represents Christ’s ability to empathize with our pain, trials and afflictions.

We fall and get back up again over and over again in life.

I am reminded of this verse in the Book of Mormon: “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people” (Alma 7:11).

Mary is present at the cross but their meeting en route is not recorded. Regardless, the entire experience must have been painful for her and I don’t think anything could have prepared her to fully comprehend Simeon’s prophecy more than three decades earlier that a “a sword shall pierce through [her] own soul also” (Luke 2:35).³

Matthew 27:32 — “And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.”

“No Roman or Jew would have voluntarily incurred the ignominy of bearing such a gruesome burden; for every detail connected with the carrying out of a sentence of crucifixion was regarded as degrading.”⁴ I wish we know more about Simon. This must have impacted him tremendously because it can be inferred from the text that Simon came to be numbered with the believers.⁵

Often we are also called upon to carry a cross. “To be a follower of Jesus Christ, one must sometimes carry a burden — your own or someone else’s — and go where sacrifice is required and suffering is inevitable.”⁶

The story of Veronica is in direct contrast to Simon of Cyrene. Tradition holds that she stepped out of the crowd at personal risk to offer an act of simple human kindness to Jesus by wiping His face with a cloth. It reminds me that the Lord had taught just days earlier: “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these . . ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).

And it causes me to ask: Had I been there, would I have been compelled to help or would I have done so of my own volition?

“There are no exact figures on the weight of the cross. It is believed to have been made of solid wood, so the whole cross is estimated to be over 300 pounds (136 kilograms) while the crossbar is estimated to be around 70-90 pounds (32-41 kilograms).”⁷ Further, the distance from Pontius Pilate’s location (likely the Antonia Fortress) to Golgotha is about 0.37 to 0.5 miles (600 to 800 meters).⁸

Whether he carried the whole cross or just the beam that distance, it is powerful for me to think that Jesus carried the weight of the cross voluntarily. Even after the events of the preceding days– the suffering in Gethsemane, the humiliation of the trials, and the scourging by the Roman soldiers–He did not give up.

Luke 23:27–31 “And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.”

“We read of no man who ventured to raise his voice in protest or pity; but on this dreadful occasion as at other times, women were not afraid to cry out in commiseration or praise.”⁹

The courage of these women is noteworthy.

Jesus arising again after a third fall teaches me that I can always get up again because of what He did for me. The Savior descended below all things so He could rise above all things and lift us with Him.

“You are not beneath the Master’s reach. The Savior ‘descended below all things’ and is in a divine position to lift you and claim you from the darkest abyss and bring you into ‘his marvellous light.’”¹⁰

Matthew 27:35 — “And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots.”

“The Roman soldiers of Pilate provided an unforgettable illustration of the different perspectives of the carnal mind and the spiritual mind. During a tragic afternoon on Calvary, a handful of soldiers waited at the foot of a cross. The most important event in all eternity was taking place on the cross above their heads. Oblivious to that fact, they occupied themselves casting lots to divide the earthly property of the dying Son of God. Their example reminds each of us that we should not be casting our lots for the things of the world while the things of eternity, including our families and the work of the Lord, suffer for our attention.”¹¹

Luke 23:33 “And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.”

Through this horrific moment, Jesus Christ was fastened “as a nail in a sure place” (Isaiah 22:23) so that He could “graven [us] upon the palms of [His] hands” (Isaiah 49:16).

“It is one of the most powerful paradoxes of the Crucifixion that the arms of the Savior were stretched wide open and then nailed there, unwittingly but accurately portraying that every man, woman, and child in the entire human family is not only welcome but invited into His redeeming, exalting embrace.”¹²

Luke 23:46 “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”

In the ultimate act of living what He had taught, Jesus Christ gave his life for all of us–His friends.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

John 19:38–40 — “And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.”

The empty cross remained.

Matthew 27:59–60 “And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.”

Jesus had taught: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up . . .” Later His followers would understand He was speaking of the temple of His body, but right now they did not seem to understand (see John 2:19-22).

I cannot fully comprehend the sorrow they must have felt. Maybe they could take comfort in the Psalm: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalms 30:15).

Little did they know that the most glorious morning of all was just a few days away.