This is a story depicting many events of Holy Week as seen through the eyes of Jesus, Judas, Caiaphas, Pilate, Simon of Cyrene, the centurion, and many others. It often uses Scripture to set the stage but then expands the view to encompass the sights and sounds of Jerusalem. It presents the triumphant entry into the city on Palm Sunday, the chaotic events of Jesus and the moneychangers, and then Caiaphas’s desperate plot to put an end to this problem rabbi called Jesus.

The famous, the infamous, the disciple, the casual follower of Christ, the Roman soldier, and the common man are all included in the events, and each gets a chance to tell his story about what it means to him and how it affects his world.

He fell at my feet and the dust blossomed up to settle on my sandals. The soldier’s whip lashed out three times, with only the briefest pause between each stripe. It was then that I saw his back was crisscrossed with more than a score of very deep gashes. He had obviously had been severely flogged before he even started to carry his cross. All this was racing through my mind when I felt the heavy hand of a Roman soldier grab my right shoulder. The beaten man still lay crumpled on the ground.
Without a word I turned my eyes back to the soldier and saw impatience and a little anger there in his eyes. Another second of delay and I knew without question I would feel the bite of his whip. I quickly knelt beside Jesus and almost had to pry his hands loose from the cross as I lifted it to my shoulder, exactly where the soldier had grabbed me.
Jesus was nailed to the center cross between the two thieves. His body was spent. He had been punished beyond human endurance. In spite of all that, I saw a light in his eyes. Looking out from on high he surveyed the city of Jerusalem. He looked about him at the crowd which had gathered on Golgotha. Finally his head turned slowly to each side to see the two men who hung on either side of him.

Richard Milner Evans, MD, an ophthalmologist, writes a daily devotional to send to several hundred Christian friends. Throughout his medical career, Richard has participated in many medical missions in Central America. He enjoys acting in church and community theatre. A production of Love Song inspired him to write this book.