A place called Golgotha

Under Roman law, the scourging of a man condemned to death was not considered necessary. There was, however, a law which took precedence over the legislation of Caesar. Some 700 years before, the Spirit of God, through Isaiah the prophet, had decreed that such brutality and the shameful treatment endured in the soldier’s common hall, would be the portion of the One who, ‘was not rebellious, neither turned away back’, Isa. 50. 5.

No doubt taking the accusation provided by Pilate as their motivation, the soldiers derided the very thought that the prisoner before them was a king. These were callous, cruel men, insensitive to the suffering of others. Without a thought for His dignity, they stripped Him and cast a robe of mockery around His lacerated shoulders. Then with a crown of vicious thorns beaten into His brow, anointed with their loathsome spittle, and with their derision ringing in His ears, He was led by them to Golgotha. Never did a man seem more at the mercy of others; never was the reverse more true!

As the day unfolded, scripture after scripture was being fulfilled. Psalms came to life; seemingly enigmatic prophecies revealed their purpose and ancient writings took on a new vitality as ignorant men unwittingly moved at the impulse of a living word!

Whether Golgotha, the ‘place of a skull’, is descriptive of the natural features of the location, or a name given to identify it as a place of execution, matters little; the events of that remarkable day supersede their setting. If the place were known for certain, man would only make of it an excuse for idolatry. Suffice it to say that as in birth, so in death, and still in many hearts, the Lord Jesus was given the outside place.

Strong bulls of Bashan gathered at Golgotha that day, elders of the nation, rulers and priests. Gentile ‘dogs’, the assembly of the wicked, pierced His hands and feet before sitting down to watch Him there and gamble for His clothes. Satanic forces energized and orchestrated the venomous hatred directed against Him. While above, legions of angels awaited the command that was never issued; He ‘endured the cross’, Heb. 12. 2.