Station 7 – Jesus falls beneath His cross, the second time

"I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light. ...He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes." -Lamentations 3:1-2,16

Jesus’ literal falls represent how man has fallen. We have fallen away from our Creator, fallen from that which we were made. We have debased ourselves—rolling around in the dirt of our sins. To reach us, Jesus becomes man and must lower himself. We don’t want to stand up or be lifted up. We want to stay on the ground and left to ourselves. We want to think we don’t need God. But he knows what we need. So he lowers himself, suffers mockery and abuse and pain, for from that point, he can raise up again, and lift humanity up with him.