The VIA DOLOROSA
The term,
Via Dolorosa often appears in literature as the formal name of the path
that Jesus took from his trial before Pilate to Golgotha. Via Dolorosa
literally means, "the way of suffering." The term is not found in
Scripture, and was not marked until after A.D. 1300 as the proposed or
potential route over which Christ was led to His crucifixion.
In Matthew
27:27-33, the Bible says, "Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus
into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they
stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a
crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand.
And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, 'Hail, King
of the Jews!' Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on
the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put
His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. Now as they
came out, they found a man ofCyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled
to bear His cross. And when they had come to a place called Golgotha,
that is to say, Place of a Skull..."
The
accounts in the other three gospels are similar to this. None of them
call the avenue or path the Lord walked by a formal name. Houses that He
may have passed are not identified. Street names are not given. All we
know is where He left from (The Praetorium of Agrippa's palace) and
where He wound up (Golgotha). It would be very difficult if not
impossible to exactly chart the Lord's path, given the fact that
Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. Despite this, each
year in late December unless barred by circumstances such as the current
unrest in the Middle East, throngs of people walk the Via Dolorosa in an
act of symbolically recreating the path that Jesus took to the cross.
The Lord
was not interested in His followers walking a path of symbolism, but
rather a path of righteousness (Matthew 7:13-14). When he told people to
"follow Me," his meaning was far more spiritual and all-inclusive of
life itself (Matthew 4:19; 8:22; Mark 8:34; Luke 18:22). Where
Jesus walked is not nearly so important as HOW Jesus walked.
Once Jesus
is crucified, we do know that the place was most likely by a road that
led in or out of Jerusalem. In Matthew 27:39-40, the Bible says, "And
those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "You
who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You
are the Son of God, come down from the cross."" Placing the crosses by a
main road would accomplish the spectacle that was a part of the
crucifixion. The intent was to show the crucified ones as a deterrent to
those who might entertain the commission of whatever crimes the punished
ones were guilty of. Because of current topography in the region we can
know approximately where this took place, but not precisely. Again, the
Bible is silent beyond the few references to Golgotha (Matthew 27:33;
Mark 15:22; John 19:17).
While it
would be enlightening and interesting to visit the very region where the
Lord walked, lived, preached, was crucified and ascended back to the
Father from, the Christian can have faith that these places existed, and
that Lord did exactly what the Bible says He did (2 Corinthians 5:7). It
would be a much better use of time and energy to focus on where the Lord
is RIGHT NOW (Mark 16:19).
We can
walk where Jesus did right here in Stockbridge, Georgia. That is, "In
the light as He is in the light," (1 John 1:7).
- David Decker