Today is Holy Thursday. Jesus can now see Golgotha in the distance. He knows the end is near. He is parched and dry, so weak from the loss of blood and the sheer pain, that he can barely stand, much less carry the heavy cross. He falls again for the third time. Still, his executioners mercilessly urge him on.

Jesus finally reaches the top of the hill, the place of his death. His reward for completing this part of the journey is to be savagely and brutally stripped. His open wounds cling to his garments, so the pain is excruciating as the soldiers rip his garments from his body, taking flesh and blood along with the clothes. Imaging the humiliation, how foolish Jesus felt. Has anyone made fun of you for your belief in Jesus Christ? How did you, or how would you respond?