Jesus is now stretched out on the stake with his hands placed above his head. The soldiers then pound large nails into his hands and into his feet. He wrenches with pain as the nails pierce flesh and ligaments. When the stake is swung upright, the pain is excruciating, for the weight of the body tears at the nail wounds. Yet, rather than threaten, Jesus prays for the Roman soldiers: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Caught up in the spirit, the soldiers too make fun of Jesus. They mockingly offer him sour wine, apparently holding it just beyond his parched lips. “If you are the king of the Jews,” they taunt, “save yourself.”

The soldiers take Jesus’ outer garments and divide them into four parts. They cast lots to see whose these will become. The inner garment, however, is without a seam, being of superior quality. So the soldiers say to one another: “Let us not tear it, but let us determine by lots over it whose it will be.” Thus, unwittingly, they fulfill the scripture that says: “They apportioned my outer garments among themselves, and upon my apparel they cast lots.”