"One Friday in Jerusalem" puts readers in the sandals of Jesus as he bore his cross the brutal half mile to Calvary. Contemplate the sweat, the smells, the swelling crowds, the bark of soldiers, and the agonizing realities of crucifixion. And hear why each station of the cross is so meaningful for the author, a minority in an ethnically sundered land.
The Via Dolorosa--Latin for "Way of Grief," "Way of Sorrows," or "Painful Way"--is a street in the Old City of Jerusalem, held to be the route that Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion. It is a distance of about six hundred meters (two thousand feet) but a one-hour walk with prayers and devotions.I know the Via Dolorosa because I grew up on the Via Dolorosa. As a boy, I played on its winding pathway, and for many years I have guided pilgrims retracing the footsteps of Jesus from Pilate's praetorium to Calvary. I know every doorway, every window overhead, every arch and column, the color, texture, and peculiarities of its walls. If every stone in the pavement had a name, I could call out each one individually. The interiors of sites such as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher are as familiar to me as your living room is to you.But this book is so much more than a guided tour of the Via Dolorosa. It is certainly that--it will steer you from one site to the next down the narrow, stony pathway. But it is also a guide to greater depth in your relationship with Jesus, to the wonders of God's Word, to lives lived in the shadow of persecution and the power of the cross, and to your own life. In taking you faithfully through the stations of the cross, it will also transport you far beyond them on an eye-­opening journey through the Bible, set against the background of Middle Eastern culture, customs, and history.Very importantly, I hope this book will help you personalize, to the extent such a thing is possible, what Jesus endured as He bore His cross along the "Way of Sorrow." I want these pages to awaken your imagination, your emotions, and your heart so you will feel something of what Jesus might have felt and seen and thought, and so appreciate all the more the price He paid for you and me on that tragic, glorious day of His crucifixion. I hope this will be your experience as you read.By the request of the many groups I have guided, this book will also share my personal story as a Palestinian Maronite Arab Christian. (For a detailed discussion of the Maroni