Jesus Falls the First Time

V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.

R. Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

Weakened by a night of agony in Gethsemane, by the mockery and blows at the high priest's house, by Pilate's brutal scourging, and by the crown of thorns pressed into his skull, Jesus stumbles under the weight of the cross and falls to the ground. The fall itself is not recorded in the Gospels, but Christian tradition has always recognized in the Suffering Servant of Isaiah's prophecy the image of this moment: "He was spurned and avoided by people, a man of suffering, knowing pain" (Isaiah 53:3).

Jesus falls — the eternal Word of God, through whom all things were made, lies in the dust of a Jerusalem street. Here is the mystery of the Incarnation taken to its depth: God does not merely draw near to human weakness; he enters it fully, experiencing the helplessness and humiliation that sin has brought into the world. He falls so that he might understand from within what it means to be broken, defeated, and on the ground.

In his first fall, Jesus identifies himself with every person who has fallen through sin, through failure, through grief. He takes our shame onto himself and transforms it. He will rise and continue. And that rising is a promise to us: that no fall, however humiliating, however painful, is the end of the story. He is there in the dust with us, and he will help us to our feet.