The Passion Walk-through

I decided to start a blog, seeing as how I was going to start one when I became a youth pastor, but now decided I will just start early. I attended an event that was a walk-through of Jesus' last week alive. Just a brief overview...we began by walking from one building to another; trying to visualize the whole time how Jesus would have felt and how he must have seen it, as he was riding in on a colt. This alone was a very moving part of the experience. I tried my hardest to put myself in Jesus' shoes, (or sandals in his case). It was not easy, but I grasped just a small piece of what it must had been like. When we arrived at our destination, we sat down in groups of about 12-14 people. We went through the last supper which consisted of eating food, fellowship and discussion with the others in your group, communion, and the washing of the feet which was done by the RAs at the school. This part of the night was less emotional, and was more focused on discussion and trying to grasp the atmosphere of the entire event. After, we moved to a dark room and prayed in silence which was representing Jesus' time spent in the garden of Gethsemane. During this time, the song "Watch the lamb" was played by Ray Boltz, which is a very moving and emotional song. The next step of the event was by far the most emotional. Everyone was blindfolded and one at a time were picked up and thrown around by the RAs. They led us down a hallway, pushing us side to side the entire time. The blindfold added a great deal of terror to the experience because you had no idea if you were going into a wall or what. Now Jesus wasn't blindfolded, but he was beaten so badly I am sure he could barely walk, and the blindfold helped capture that. When you are blindfolded being pushed around everywhere, you cannot keep balance at all. We were then handed off to some other people in another room (blindfold still on), and were laid on the ground. The RAs took our arms and stretched them out as if they were on the cross. They but something that felt like a spike on each of our hands and slammed something on the floor right next to your hands, making a lot of noise. They did the same with crossing our legs. We felt no pain in any of this, but even this small dose or grasp of what Jesus went through was bringing everyone to tears. The next part was very unexpected. The RAs wiped vinegar on our lips. Then after everyone had the vinegar, the RAs came back around and crossed everyone's arms and put a rose over you. That ended the night for the walk-through. It truly was an amazing event and gave me a whole new perspective on the last week of Christ. We ended the night in worship songs in the dark. I would recommend that youth groups, churches, conferences, anything start doing this Passion walk-through because it is so important to remember the greatest news on earth that we should constantly be sharing. It also gives you a completely different view on the whole last week of Christ's life and is a truly humbling experience.