A Lenten Study on the 14 Stations of the Cross
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Wednesday, March 5, 2025, is Ash Wednesday, a holy day that marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is a 40-day season in the Christian calendar (excluding Sundays) that serves as a time of repentance, fasting, and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and runs through Thursday, April 17, which is also known as Maundy, or Holy, Thursday — the Christian holy day that commemorates the Last Supper and the washing of the disciples’ feet.
Lent is 40 days long to represent the 40 days Jesus spent fasting and praying in the desert before starting his own ministry.
Christians observe Lent in many different ways, and in Protestant churches there are no strict guidelines. The emphasis is on a person’s unique spiritual journey to become more like Christ and remember the sacrifices of Christ. Some abstain from certain foods or certain habits, while others adopt increased prayer, do intentional acts of service, or study Scripture.
For some Christians, praying over the 14 stations of the cross can be a good way to draw closer to Christ and meditate on the suffering and grace of God that leads to our salvation.
Let’s take a look at the 14 stations of the cross, what they are, and why knowing about them can help us become better disciples of Jesus Christ.
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What Are the Stations of the Cross?
The stations of the cross are various images that depict the path Jesus walked on the day of his crucifixion. This walk, which is intended to be a journey through passion and prayer, is also known as the Way of the Cross or Via Crucis.
Some scholars believe that early Christians used to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and walk the path of Jesus’s last day before the crucifixion, as recounted in the gospels. Essentially, they walked from what they believed to have been Pontius Pilate’s house to Calvary, or Golgotha, where Jesus was nailed to a cross and hung to die. Franciscans were given custody of the holy sites in Jerusalem in 1342, and in what became known as the Via Dolorosa, Christians would literally follow the way to the cross as best as they could, processional style, in an effort to understand and meditate upon Christ’s suffering and sacrifice.
Artists later painted visual representations of this agonizing day, inspired by this pilgrimage, and in many churches, the 14 images are arranged in order along a path, along which worshippers walk, stopping at each station to say prayers and reflect. For more than 1,000 years, Roman Catholics have been devoted to this practice.
For years, many Protestants rejected the practice of the stations of the cross, believing the images to be idolatrous. Some even considered the depiction biblically inaccurate. But many Protestants today have come to recognize the value of understanding the stations in a more biblical, less imagery-focused practice.
Many Protestant denominations, including Anglicans, Lutherans, and Methodists, have incorporated adapted versions of this practice as a way for people to reflect on the suffering of Christ as they prepare for Easter.
What Are the 14 Stations of the Cross?
The 14 stations of the cross take a person through the various actions Jesus took on the day of his crucifixion:
1. Jesus prays alone
2. Jesus is arrested
3. The Sanhedrin try Jesus
4. Pilate tries Jesus
5. Pilate sentences Jesus
6. Jesus wears the crown
7. Jesus carries his cross
8. Simon carries the cross
9. Jesus speaks to the women
10. Jesus is crucified
11. Criminals speak to Jesus
12. Jesus speaks to Mary and John
13. Jesus dies on the cross
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb
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Station One: Jesus Prays Alone
Luke 22:39-44, Matthew 26:36-41
This station recounts how after the Last Supper, Jesus was troubled and went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He asked his friends to stay awake and wait for him, and he poured his heart out to God, asking, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). He prayed so hard he sweated drops of blood.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember that Jesus always looked to the Father first. He knew the terrible ordeal awaiting him, yet he prayed and committed himself to obedience, trusting God foremost.
Station Two: Jesus Is Arrested
Mark 14:43-46, Matthew 26:47-56
This station recounts how Judas — one of Jesus’s inner circle of closest friends and followers — betrayed him. Yet at the time of his arrest, Jesus went willingly, urging his other disciples to remain peaceful.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember the actions of Judas and how important it is to remain strong in our faith and not fall away when things get hard. Let us also remember how Jesus cooperated with his arrest, willingly going with his captors in obedience to what God desired of him.
Station Three: The Sanhedrin Try Jesus
This station recounts how this group of religious priests and experts judged Jesus and condemned him to die.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember that there is no room for self-righteous judgment. Only God is the judge. It is dangerous when we entrust a group of all-too-human people to make judgments only God should do. It is also wrong to pridefully believe we know best.
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Station Four: Peter Denies Jesus
Matthew 26:69-75, Luke 22:54-62
This station recounts how Peter — a devoted disciple of Jesus — denied three times that he knew him.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember that, like Peter, we too can be imperfect Christians, yet we are given the opportunity to repent and step up in faith. Peter did just this, ultimately helping to found the church. We can do the same.
Station Five: Pilate Sentences Jesus
Mark 15:1-5, 15, Matthew 27:11-26
This station recounts how Jesus was taken before the governor, Pilate. With no real evidence to execute him, Pilate wanted to release Jesus, but the Sanhedrin insisted on his execution. Aware that “an uproar was starting” (Matthew 11:24), Pilate conceded to the crowd and sentenced him to death.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember that choosing the truth — the way of Christ — might be unpopular. Yet we answer to God, not other people.
Station Six: Jesus Wears the Crown
This station recounts how the soldiers mocked Jesus and taunted him, forcing him to wear a crown of thorns on his head and falsely hailing him as king of the Jews.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember that Jesus endured harsh treatment and much pain, yet he did so willingly.
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Station Seven: Jesus Carries His Cross
John 19:6, 15-17
This station recounts how Jesus was forced to carry his own cross to his execution.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember what Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 16:24-25: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” Here, we read that Jesus did this literally; he picked up his own cross and willingly walked to his death so that God’s will could be done through him. We should do the same.
Station Eight: Simon Carries His Cross
This station recounts how the soldiers forced a man named Simon of Cyrene to carry Jesus’s cross on the way to Golgotha.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember that just as Simon carried the cross provided for Jesus, we must do the same today. In humility, we must suffer and endure what we must for God’s kingdom.
Station Nine: Jesus Speaks to the Women
This station recounts how women were weeping at Jesus’s suffering, and he told them not to cry for him but for themselves and the evil of the world they would soon face. He focused on them, not on his own pain.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember that we must consider others before ourselves.
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Station Ten: Jesus Is Crucified
This station recounts how Jesus was nailed to a cross with great spikes driven into his hands and feet. There, he hung and died.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember the pain and anguish our Lord endured for our sake. His suffering and sacrifice were great.
Station Eleven: Criminals Speak to Jesus
This station recounts how Jesus was crucified between two criminals. One of them acknowledged Jesus as lord, and Jesus told him he would be in paradise that day with him because he accepted and believed in the Son of God.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember that we are saved through our repentant belief and God’s grace only — not because of anything we can possibly do.
Station Twelve: Jesus Speaks to Mary and John
This station recounts how Jesus — dying on the cross — took a moment to speak to his mother and his beloved friend John, entrusting his mother to John’s care.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember how even in his own agony, Jesus thought of others before himself.
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Station Thirteen: Jesus Dies on the Cross
Luke 23:44-46, Matthew 27:45-54
This station recounts how Jesus cried out and then died. At that moment, the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember how, just like the curtain was torn, with Jesus the barrier dividing us and our sin from God is removed. Jesus is our way to the Father, and his sacrifice for us made this possible.
Station Fourteen: Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb
Matthew 27:5-61, Luke 23:50-54
This station recounts how after Jesus died on the cross, he was taken down and laid in a tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin who secretly followed Jesus.
As we consider this station and this action of Jesus, let us remember the importance of caring for and honoring each other in loving ways.
Going back to Scripture to thoughtfully reflect on the day of Christ’s crucifixion — all the pain and suffering he endured, as well as all the other things that happened along the way to the cross — is a good Lenten exercise because it helps us reflect on the extravagant, generous love Jesus had for us. We owe him absolutely everything.
Whether you reflect on the stations of the cross or some other aspect of Jesus’s life, be sure to spend time reflecting, repenting, and drawing closer to God as you prepare your heart for Easter.
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