Page 143 - Advanced Life of Christ - Student Textbook

Golgotha is the Aramaic name of the location where Jesus was crucified outside of Old Jerusalem.
In John 19:16-18 we read, “So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place
called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him
two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.” Golgotha is also mentioned in Matthew
27:32-34 and Mark 15:21-22. There criminals condemned by the Romans were publicly stripped,
beaten, and nailed to a cross to die, sometimes hanging for days before death would come. The only
way to hasten death by suffocation was by breaking the legs of the criminal, thus preventing him from
pushing up to take a breath. Death occurred within minutes.

In Luke 23:33 of the King James Version, the word Calvary is used in reference to the same location. In
modern translations, the more literal term “the place that is called The Skull” (ESV) is generally used.
The word Calvary is derived from the Latin phrase for this location, Calvariae Locus. Counting this
reference, all four Gospels make specific reference to this particular hill as the place of Jesus’ death.

According to early church fathers, the location was called “The Place of the Skull” due to the shape of
the hill that apparently reminded people of a human skull.

There has been some dispute regarding the precise location of this hill, but the traditional place is
underneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the northwest (Christian) quadrant of the Old City. The
church is built over a point called the Rock of Golgotha, the supposed site of the crucifixion. As the name
of the church suggests, the building also includes a cave-like tomb where Jesus’ body was supposedly
laid. The church’s construction was overseen by Helena, the mother of Constantine, in A.D. 325 and has
long held prominence as the traditional location of the crucifixion of Jesus.

The location of Golgotha is of interest to Christians due to the events that have taken place there. One
fateful day, Jesus carried a cross, helped by a man named Simon, toward a hill where He was hung by
nails through His wrists and feet. He hung between two thieves as one of three sentenced to death that
day. One of these two men understood who Jesus was and asked the Lord to remember him in the
kingdom. Jesus responded with a promise of glory soon to be revealed: “Truly, I say to you, today you
will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). It’s why Jesus was shedding His blood—to forgive and redeem
sinners who placed their faith in Him.

Still today, this hill we call Golgotha or Calvary
stands as a reminder of Jesus’ great sacrifice—
the only sacrifice capable of forgiving sin and
reconciling man with God (Hebrews 10:12; Acts
4:12) (https://www.gotquestions.org/Golgotha-
Calvary.html).

Jesus was crucified between two criminals as
the light of the day intensified. During the final
three hours of the crucifixion (from noon to
3:00 PM) God draws a supernatural darkness
over the scene. Jesus as the Lamb of God is
“forsaken” by His Father as He bears the sins of
fallen mankind. Jesus remained silent until
late in the three hours and then speaks four Gordon’s Calvary looks like a human skull
times, the last time commending His spirit to

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