First and Second Stations

The first station marks Jesus' encounter with Pontius Pilate, the trial and his scourging. The Antonia Fortress was a vast Roman military garrison built by Herod the Great north of the Temple. Within the fortress is believed to have been the seat of Pontius Pilate and the hall of judgment. The Antonia Fortress may have been where Jesus stood trial before Pontius Pilate in John 18:28. "Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment". The Bible confirms that the Apostle Paul was at the Antonio Fortress. After Paul was seized by Jews from Asia while visiting the Temple, it was from the Antonia Fortress that soldiers ran to rescue him and prevent a riot. And it was on the steps leading to the fortress that Paul addressed the crowd and avoided being flogged by announcing that he was a Roman citizen in Acts 21.
Where the former fortress stood is now the Ecce Homo Convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Zion and houses the Convent of the Sister of Notre Dame de Sion. Underneath the convent, is an extensive area of Roman stone paving where Pilate may have had his judgment seat. In John 19:13 the pavement (Lithostrotos in Greek, Gabbatha in Aramaic) was identified as the location where Jesus was condemned by Pilate. Markings in the paving stones, indicating a dice game known as the King’s Game, suggests this may have been where Jesus was mocked by the soldiers (John 19:2-3).
Adjacent to the convent is the Ecce Homo Arch. The arch continues through the wall of the convent chapel to the right. It is named after the famous phrase “Behold the Man” in Latin which Pilate said when he presented the scourged Jesus, bound and crowned with thorns, to a hostile crowd. (John 19:5). The arch was built after Jesus stood before Pilate but draws one’s attention to the cruelty Jesus endured.
Across the street is the second station where Jesus received the cross (John 19:17, 19).Read more