This time of year...many of us hear this phrase...particularly if you are active in a church of choice......
Via Dolorosa...is of Latin origin. It means a "Way of Grief", or a "Way of Suffering". To describe it in a more simple matter...Via Dolorosa is "The Painful Way"...or "The Painful Choice".
And what a choice it was...for if the truth be told, He could have called down one legion of angels...and ended it...right there...right then. Yet, He didn't...He chose..."The Painful Way".
Thank God...He did!
Via Dolorosa is a street made up of 2 parts in the "old city" of Jerusalem. It's the path Jesus walked...carrying His cross...on the way to His own...crucifixion. The winding route is reported to by approximately 2000 feet...a little over 1/3 of a mile.
This Via Dolorosa is located in the "old part" of Jerusalem, and was established as the final path of Christ Jesus in the 1700's. Today, this path that Christ walked is marked with "14 Stations of the Cross".
This Via Dolorosa became a Christian pilgrimage soon after the Roman Empire had legalized Christianity in the 4th century A.D. The path Jesus was to have walked on His way to the Cross changed in the 8th century, and in fact the route to His death has changed a number of times...mainly due to divisions within the Christian faith and beliefs. Never the less, the Via Dolorosa serves us today in remembrance as to what He did for us...that being suffering and dying a horrible death...for the sins of the world....and I am ever grateful for that...even if the path to the Cross is altered or even off a little.
This final path of Christ runs east to west, the streets being named Decumanus Maximus and Aelia Capitolina.
A Decumanus was a part of the Roman city planning, and simply meant the street was a main road in the city. This was also used for a main road in a Roman military camp or a Roman colony.
Now, when a Decumanus street became a Decumanus Maximus...it thus became a designed road that led from a Porta Praetoria (meaning the location closest to an enemy attack) to a Porta Decuma( a place farthest from enemy attack). In other words, a Roman army or Legion would be on the offensive attack if at Porta Praetoria...and in a defensive formation if at Porta Decuma.
Now the Decumanus Maximus...was the main road that run from east to west, whether it be a city like Jerusalem, an early Roman colony, or a military encampment. A Cardo Maximus... was the main road that runs north and south.
OK...the Via Dolorosa...the path that Christ Jesus walked...actually began to draw a pilgrimage during the Byzantine Era...in the Middle ages. The Byzantines were a predominantly Greek speaking people from the eastern-half of Europe...the "Eastern Roman Empire". That is a whole story in itself...but...not now.
The original route of the Via Dolorosa would take place on Maundy Thursday...and it would begin at... the Mount of Olives, or Mount Olivet...which carries a rich history of it's own.
The Mount of Olives is recorded numerous times in the Sacred Scriptures. King Solomon built altars to the gods of his Moabite and Ammonite wives...just outside the city limits of Jerusalem...at the base of Mount Olivet. This is also where the apocalyptic prophesy found in the book of Zechariah is to happen. The Jewish Scriptures say Yahweh will stand on the Mount of Olives and it will split in two... allowing His people to flee through the newly formed valley.
Mount Olivet or the Mount of Olives was aptly named for its large olive groves that would cover its slopes. It is also a primary Jewish cemetery, some claim to date back 3000 years and is said to have over 150,000 buried at the base of Mount Olivet.
From the Mount of Olives, the next stop on the Via Dolorosa is...Gethsemane. Gethsemane is a grove of olive trees the Scriptures refer to as a "Garden". It seemed to be a favorite spot for Christ Jesus to meet alone with His disciples, and of course was the place Jesus brought His disciples to pray with Him on the night before His crucifixion.
The word Gethsemane itself means "oil press" and was mostly an area giving to the making of olive oil...a main staple of the Jewish culture...even today. Gethsemane is looked upon as a refreshing spot with it's grove of olive trees at the base of the western slope of Mount Olivet. Yet, it was also the night in the midst of Jesus most fervent prayers...that He sweat His own blood.
The "Garden of Gethsemane" contains some of the oldest olive trees known to science. Through a technique known as carbon dating, the trunks of some of the olive trees in Gethsemane date as far back as 1092 A.D.
Yet, the Garden of Gethsemane will forever be remembered for "the night Jesus prayed". Now, the question is...what was Jesus actually praying about...that would cause His forehead to drip with blood?...another time...
The next stop along the Via Dolorosa is...the Lion's Gate...some refer to it as St. Stephen's Gate or even the Sheep Gate. It is one of the 7 open gates in Jerusalem's "old city" walls. This spot is significant in recent history for it was the 55th paratroop brigade of Israel that entered through this gate in the "6 Day War of 1967" and unfurled the Israeli flag above the Temple Mount.
As for Jesus, He was being led to His trial through this Gate...to stand before Pontius Pilate.
Now really begins what is known as..."The 14 Stations of the Cross".
Most historians today conclude the trial Jesus faced when brought to Pontius Pilate...probably wasn't where it is...in reference to the Via Dolorosa. It most likely took place at Herod's Palace...which is on the southwest side of the city of Jerusalem...rather than on the northeast corner.
Even so...it is the significance of this event... is what will forever be remembered in our hearts.
Next...the 14 Stations of the Cross...and their purpose on this Via Dolorosa.
Via Dolorosa...is of Latin origin. It means a "Way of Grief", or a "Way of Suffering". To describe it in a more simple matter...Via Dolorosa is "The Painful Way"...or "The Painful Choice".
And what a choice it was...for if the truth be told, He could have called down one legion of angels...and ended it...right there...right then. Yet, He didn't...He chose..."The Painful Way".
Thank God...He did!
Via Dolorosa is a street made up of 2 parts in the "old city" of Jerusalem. It's the path Jesus walked...carrying His cross...on the way to His own...crucifixion. The winding route is reported to by approximately 2000 feet...a little over 1/3 of a mile.
This Via Dolorosa is located in the "old part" of Jerusalem, and was established as the final path of Christ Jesus in the 1700's. Today, this path that Christ walked is marked with "14 Stations of the Cross".
This Via Dolorosa became a Christian pilgrimage soon after the Roman Empire had legalized Christianity in the 4th century A.D. The path Jesus was to have walked on His way to the Cross changed in the 8th century, and in fact the route to His death has changed a number of times...mainly due to divisions within the Christian faith and beliefs. Never the less, the Via Dolorosa serves us today in remembrance as to what He did for us...that being suffering and dying a horrible death...for the sins of the world....and I am ever grateful for that...even if the path to the Cross is altered or even off a little.
This final path of Christ runs east to west, the streets being named Decumanus Maximus and Aelia Capitolina.
A Decumanus was a part of the Roman city planning, and simply meant the street was a main road in the city. This was also used for a main road in a Roman military camp or a Roman colony.
Now, when a Decumanus street became a Decumanus Maximus...it thus became a designed road that led from a Porta Praetoria (meaning the location closest to an enemy attack) to a Porta Decuma( a place farthest from enemy attack). In other words, a Roman army or Legion would be on the offensive attack if at Porta Praetoria...and in a defensive formation if at Porta Decuma.
Now the Decumanus Maximus...was the main road that run from east to west, whether it be a city like Jerusalem, an early Roman colony, or a military encampment. A Cardo Maximus... was the main road that runs north and south.
OK...the Via Dolorosa...the path that Christ Jesus walked...actually began to draw a pilgrimage during the Byzantine Era...in the Middle ages. The Byzantines were a predominantly Greek speaking people from the eastern-half of Europe...the "Eastern Roman Empire". That is a whole story in itself...but...not now.
The original route of the Via Dolorosa would take place on Maundy Thursday...and it would begin at... the Mount of Olives, or Mount Olivet...which carries a rich history of it's own.
The Mount of Olives is recorded numerous times in the Sacred Scriptures. King Solomon built altars to the gods of his Moabite and Ammonite wives...just outside the city limits of Jerusalem...at the base of Mount Olivet. This is also where the apocalyptic prophesy found in the book of Zechariah is to happen. The Jewish Scriptures say Yahweh will stand on the Mount of Olives and it will split in two... allowing His people to flee through the newly formed valley.
Mount Olivet or the Mount of Olives was aptly named for its large olive groves that would cover its slopes. It is also a primary Jewish cemetery, some claim to date back 3000 years and is said to have over 150,000 buried at the base of Mount Olivet.
From the Mount of Olives, the next stop on the Via Dolorosa is...Gethsemane. Gethsemane is a grove of olive trees the Scriptures refer to as a "Garden". It seemed to be a favorite spot for Christ Jesus to meet alone with His disciples, and of course was the place Jesus brought His disciples to pray with Him on the night before His crucifixion.
The word Gethsemane itself means "oil press" and was mostly an area giving to the making of olive oil...a main staple of the Jewish culture...even today. Gethsemane is looked upon as a refreshing spot with it's grove of olive trees at the base of the western slope of Mount Olivet. Yet, it was also the night in the midst of Jesus most fervent prayers...that He sweat His own blood.
The "Garden of Gethsemane" contains some of the oldest olive trees known to science. Through a technique known as carbon dating, the trunks of some of the olive trees in Gethsemane date as far back as 1092 A.D.
Yet, the Garden of Gethsemane will forever be remembered for "the night Jesus prayed". Now, the question is...what was Jesus actually praying about...that would cause His forehead to drip with blood?...another time...
The next stop along the Via Dolorosa is...the Lion's Gate...some refer to it as St. Stephen's Gate or even the Sheep Gate. It is one of the 7 open gates in Jerusalem's "old city" walls. This spot is significant in recent history for it was the 55th paratroop brigade of Israel that entered through this gate in the "6 Day War of 1967" and unfurled the Israeli flag above the Temple Mount.
As for Jesus, He was being led to His trial through this Gate...to stand before Pontius Pilate.
Now really begins what is known as..."The 14 Stations of the Cross".
Most historians today conclude the trial Jesus faced when brought to Pontius Pilate...probably wasn't where it is...in reference to the Via Dolorosa. It most likely took place at Herod's Palace...which is on the southwest side of the city of Jerusalem...rather than on the northeast corner.
Even so...it is the significance of this event... is what will forever be remembered in our hearts.
Next...the 14 Stations of the Cross...and their purpose on this Via Dolorosa.
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