STATION 11: JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS

The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!”
— Matthew 27:39-40 (NLT)

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
And they cast lots to divide his clothing.
— Luke 23:33-34 (NRSV)

Station 11

The hammer rises.
The iron falls.
And the sound echoes across the hilltop.

With each nail,
the body of Jesus is fastened to the cross—
his hands, that once healed and blessed,
now pierced.
His feet, that once walked beside the poor and the forgotten,
now held still in pain.

And in the midst of this violence,
he speaks—not curses,
but forgiveness.
“Father, forgive them.
They don’t know what they’re doing.”

Even as the nails bite,
his mercy flows.

We often imagine ourselves far from that hill.
We forget how easily we crucify with our silence,
with our convenience,
with our refusal to see the suffering around us.

But Jesus, even now,
offers forgiveness—
not to shame us,
but to set us free.

The cross is not just a symbol of death.
It is where love took root
and refused to let go.

Let us pray.

Crucified Savior, your hands and feet were pierced by a world that didn’t understand how much it needed saving.

Forgive us when we choose comfort over courage, when we close our eyes to suffering, when we turn away from your cross and from the crosses others carry.

We pray for those who suffer violence — for victims of war, abuse, and hatred. We pray for peacemakers, for the wounded, for all who cry out and are unheard.

Let your forgiveness wash over us, not as an excuse, but as a call to live differently.

Nail our apathy, our pride, our fear to the cross — and raise us into your fierce and healing love.

Amen.