Hastings: Jesus’ last mile

From the House of Caiaphas and the felon’s pit, Jesus was taken to the Religious Sanhedrin by the southern steps of the Temple, then to Pilate where he was beaten severely. Luke tells us he was also taken before Herod who rubber-stamped the decision of the other religious leaders and then became friends with his former enemy, Pilate. After another false trial before Pilate, Jesus was sentenced to death for sedition, a capital offense, and turned over to the Roman guards.

The roughest Roman guards were assigned to Judea because its citizens were so insubordinate. Throughout the Roman kingdom, the soldiers had a cruel game they played with victims of capital offenses, just before executing them. The game was so cruel it became outlawed everywhere except Judea because this was such “bad duty” that the soldiers needed such a sport to keep up their morale.

Beneath the present-day Sisters of Zion Convent is the floor of the Antonio Fortress courtyard as it was 2,000 years ago. Here evidence has been found of The King’s Game. The victim is moved around the game-board as soldiers roll dice. When the victim lands on a certain square, the soldiers could do something hideous — press a crown of thorns on his head, spit on him, mock him like a burlesque king — anything except kill him, because they had to make an example of him publicly.

Near the game-board is the Roman road with pavement scored so the horses wouldn’t slip. A mosaic marks the beginning of Jesus’ walk to his execution, carrying his own cross, on the last mile of his earthly journey.

“Finally, when they had finished mocking him, they stripped him of his cloak, dressed him in his own clothes and led him off to crucifixion.” — Matthew 27:31 The Inclusive Bible

The Rev. Celia M. Hastings has a master’s degree in religious education from Western Theological Seminary in Holland. She is author of “The Wisdom Series” and “The Undertaker’s Wife.”

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Hastings: Jesus’ last mile