Join us during Holy Week for an immersive walkthrough experience of Jesus’ journey to the cross
MARCH 27-29, 2024
Open Daily | 8:30am - 8:30pm
Wednesday, March 27: 8:30am - 8:30pm
Thursday, March 28: 8:30am - 8:30pm
Friday, March 29: 8:30am - 8:30pm
doors will close at 8:30PM and event will close down at 9PM.
Children’s Building
Bayside Church | 8191 Sierra College Blvd. Roseville, CA 95661
Station One: The Triumphal Entry
MATTHEW 21: 1-11
For centuries, the people of God awaited their King. They knew what to look for - a righteous and victorious King riding on a lowly donkey. Here was Jesus, a Jewish rabbi, simple and humble, entering through the gates of Jerusalem on a colt, and the people laid down palm leaves and cloaks to honor Him.
Station Two: Jesus Weeps
LUKE 19:41-44
When Jesus saw all that was happening in Jerusalem, His heart was burdened greatly. The pain and suffering was all around, and most importantly, the way people were deciding to live in tragic and harmful ways. He looked at how people were seeking joy, love, and specifically peace in all the wrong ways. He called out in tears, saying “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace…” If they had only known that the Prince of Peace rode in on a donkey just moments before, a type of peace they could have never known possible or accessible, but here it was, the Son of God Himself.
Station Three: Cleansing of the Temple
LUKE 19:45-48
Visualize the chaos of the temple; salesmen bargaining, coins clinking, doves cooing, the bleating of sheep. Breathe in the familiar barnyard odors. This chaos was never in God’s plan. When Solomon first built this beautiful temple, not even the sound of a hammer was heard during its construction (I Kings 6:7), yet somehow, the demands of life and greed had overtaken the purpose of prayer in the temple.
Station Four: Washing the Disciples’ Feet
JOHN 13:1-5
Jesus knew the end of His time on earth was approaching. He knew and accepted the authority given to Him by God, and He knew He would soon be in Heaven with Him again, but He also recognized how much He loved His friends on earth. He took this moment during the Passover meal with His closest friends to show the kind of humble love He wanted them to be able to receive and give to others.
Station Five: The Passover
MATTHEW 26: 17-30
Many years before this moment, the people of God in Israel had been enslaved to Egypt for far too long – 400 years to be exact. When Pharaoh didn’t release the Israelites, God warned him that He would send the Angel of Death to strike the households of Egypt. As a way to protect the Israelites, God instructed the head of each family to select a one-year-old male lamb without defect and slaughter it at twilight, making sure none of its bones were broken. Then they were to apply some of the blood on the sides and top of the door frame so that the destroyer would “pass over” that home.
Station Six: The Garden of Gethsemane
MATTHEW 26:36-46
As they left the Passover celebration, Jesus had a heavy heart. With three of His closest companions, He went into the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. This was the site where olives were pressed to create olive oil, and it is a great parallel as we see how Jesus was pressed here, preparing to be poured out for our sins, only to rise again. This is how He refines all of us, being pressed so the most fruitful parts of our lives can be seen and experienced by all, to show the life and light of Jesus through our actions.
Station Seven: Peter’s Denial
MATTHEW 26: 69-75
Peter was sold out for Jesus up until this very moment. He was horrified when Jesus prophesied this would happen, that Peter would deny Jesus three times before the rooster crowed, but in his humanity, his courage failed him. What’s so powerful about this moment is realizing that Jesus’ prophecy came true, Peter’s reaction when he realized what he had done, and the fact that Jesus didn’t give up on him.
Station Eight: Crucify Him!
MATTHEW 27:15-25
The shouting. The clamoring. The anger. The fear. The hate. It filled the air like a dense smoke, choking the life out of the hope-filled joy Jesus had brought to so many. During this time of the feast, Pilate would release a prisoner back into civilization at the request of the crowd. There stood Jesus Barabbas, a terrible criminal, guilty of murder among other rebellious acts. On the other side, there stood Jesus Christ, guilty only of claims of being the Son of God while healing people and helping everyone He came in contact with. The choice was up to the crowd.
Station Nine: Condemned to Death
MATTHEW 27:26-31
This kind of mockery was above and beyond – the kind of death Jesus was heading toward was the worst of the worst. Not only were the religious leaders ruling in favor of this torture and death openly, they were raising the importance of it because they believed it elevated themselves. Their actions, along with Pilate’s stemmed ultimately from fear and selfishness, and Jesus humbly let it happen to fulfill His ultimate calling.
Station Ten: Carrying the Cross
LUKE 23:26
Jesus was broken, bruised, battered, and completely worn down. Imagine the weariness He must have felt, losing so much blood, feeling the sting of the thorns and the lashes from the whip. He had nothing left to give. They laid the crossbeam across His shoulders for Him to carry up the hill to the place of the crucifixion, but He was too weak to carry it Himself. As Jesus stumbled under its weight, they searched the crowd for a strong man to carry the cross for Him.
Station Eleven: The Crucifixion
LUKE 23:32-43
The procession stopped at the top of the hill, and Simon lowered the cross to the ground. The soldiers pressed Jesus’ hands and feet to the cross. Metal nails hammered into His flesh. They cast lots for His clothing and hung Him up to die: a spectacle on display, a mockery, an example. His back, shredded from whipping, grated against the cross as He struggled to breathe. He didn’t hurl curses or spew venom, but simply said “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Station Twelve: It Is Finished
JOHN 19:28-30
Darkness. Pain. Watching in horror. Can you imagine? Jesus finally cried out as He sensed His final moments approaching, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?!” – “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?!” This was the moment we see the ultimate humanity of Jesus, falling into the grasps of death. When He received a drink from the sponge, He took His last breath, saying, “It is finished.”
Station Thirteen: Buried in the Tomb
MATTHEW 28:1-7
Upon Jesus’ death, a man requested to bury Him in his own personal tomb, so He could have a proper burial. He secured Jesus’ body in the tomb and rolled a stone in front to ensure a peaceful rest. The chief priests became concerned that the disciples would steal the body and make an “act” as if Jesus had risen from the dead, so they sent guards and sealed the tomb. This made the truth of Jesus’ resurrection that much more powerful.
Station Fourteen: The Great Commission
MATTHEW 28:16-20
After hearing the truth from the angel. The women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell the disciples. Suddenly, Jesus met them. His command was to go and share the news with the others and to meet Jesus in Galilee. So they did as instructed, and the disciples met Jesus on the mountain. Here, Jesus declared their greatest calling in life – to go and make disciples of all nations.