Not all orders are lawful and just. It is the job of all warriors to serve as a failsafe to commands that could cause untold destruction. But the Roman soldier doesn’t ask his superiors questions like that anymore, especially this close to the Passover celebration everyone keeps talking about. “Better this troublemaker than me,” he thinks. “Give the crowd what they demand, a good show!” He takes his nails and sets them into Christ’s wrists. Hard he strikes, again and again. His job takes precision. He positions the spike between the bones of the wrist. Cartilage and bone hold nails fast. The ulnar nerve will be twisted and set ablaze.

I set Christ unnaturally up on an angle so that I can better display the drama of this moment.

Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All of my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. Psalm 22:16-17

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Return to the main Stations of the Cross page