telling the story ~ via dolorosa
Composition version: yes.
lyrics
see the royal robe he wears
see the beating that he bears
see the thorns upon his head
see his body glisten red
(on the via dolorosa....)
see him stumble with that cross
is he humbled, broken, lost
see the spear run through his side
see the death that plots devise
(on the via dolorosa....)
is this you, blessed teacher
the one I loved, the one I knew
is this you, are these your features
flowing blood from open wounds
is it I, blessed master
the one you loved, the one you knew
was it my, my transgressions
that put you there, that murdered you
is it I, is it I, is this you
on the via dolorosa....
narrative
So the condemnation came, amid all sorts of humiliations. Herod's men, for example, had derisively clothed Jesus with a purple robe, to mock His claims of kingship. And with the robe, a crown - not of gold, but of thorns that pierced His skull.
Jesus was whipped twice prior to heading on the road to the scene of crucifixion. And then He was given the cross to carry on His own back broken open by the whips. Along the way, He stumbled, and a man was conscripted to carry the cross for Him. The whipping and the weakness must have rendered Him a rather sorry spectacle. How could a King be brought to such humiliation? Was it all a vain hope?
And yet, while He may have looked broken and lost, the via dolorosa was precisely the road that He had chosen. He had set His face to this cross from the beginning. Its puzzle is the mystery of this Christ.