STATION 1: JESUS IS JUDGED
Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”
Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?”
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”
Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?”
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”
— John 18:33-38 (New Revised Standard Version)
Antonia Fortress replica, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Station 1
The trial has already begun.
Not in a courtroom, but in whispers and torches under cover of night.
Jesus, bound and already bruised, now stands before Pilate—
the one man with the power to declare his fate.
But Pilate isn't searching for justice.
He’s trying to hold onto power.
Trying to keep the peace,
even if it means sentencing an innocent man to die.
Jesus offers no defense.
He doesn't argue.
He doesn't run.
He doesn’t even explain.
He stands in truth, knowing that this moment—
though dark and unjust—
will not have the final word.
We’ve stood in Pilate’s place before.
Maybe not with a gavel, but with judgments in our hearts.
With decisions we’ve made out of fear, not faith.
With choices that protected us, while someone else bore the cost.
And still, Jesus stands—
with grace, not condemnation.
Even now, he invites us into truth.
Not to justify ourselves,
but to be transformed.
Let us pray.
God of justice and mercy, you stood silently before your accuser, not because you lacked the words, but because your very presence was the Word made flesh.
We confess how often we judge without understanding, and how often we wash our hands of responsibility. Forgive us, O Lord.
We pray for all who suffer injustice today — for the falsely accused, for the imprisoned and unheard, for those condemned by systems more concerned with order than righteousness.
We pray for judges, lawyers, and leaders — that they would lead with humility and wisdom. That justice would roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
And we pray for ourselves, that we would not rush to judgment, but instead listen, learn, and live your truth.
As we begin this journey to the cross, open our spirits. Root us in your love. And let us walk the rest of the way with you.
Amen.
Google Street View
oF Lion’s Gate Street
Use cursor to rotate view.