The Second Station of the Cross
This is the Place Where Jesus Took Up His Cross
Location - The Via Dolorosa
Map Coordinates - 31.780397, 35.234196
Merged Gospels, Story 278.
Station #2, which is only represented by a disk on the wall, used to be an open-air forum called Gabbatha. This station remembers the moment that Jesus took up His cross. It is here that the Roman soldiers took off the purple robe from Jesus, and put His own clothes back on Him. And it was from this spot where He started His very painful walk down the Via Dolorosa.
The Ecce Homo Arch.
The Ecco Homo Arch.
It was earlier believed that this archway was near the place where Pontius Pilate presented Jesus to a crowd of Jews, proclaiming the Latin words, “Ecce Homo”, which means Behold the Man. We now know that this archway was built by the Roman emperor Hadrian in 135 AD, and that it was part of a triple arch that was the gateway to a large forum that Hadrian built here. The arch that you see here was the middle span of this triple arch.
Here is the Ecco Homo arch as it was being excavated in 1864. This was a triple arch complex, where the center arch and smaller northern arch are shown.
The Ecce Homo Convent.
Map Coordinates - 31.780333, 35.233389
This is the church in the Ecco Homo Convent. The small northern arch in this picture was part of the Ecco Homo arch complex that is directly outside the church on the Via Dolorosa.
The Meaning of it All.
In Luke 9:23 Jesus said that if it is our desire to come after Him, we must pick up our cross daily and follow Him. As much as it is true that you can follow Him spiritually, you should think about something. This road is where Jesus carried the cross. When He told you to follow Him, He saw in His mind this road. Take a good look. To obey Him means that this is your Via Dolorosa as well – the way of sorrows – the place to carry your own cross, and to be raised to a new life with Jesus.