To Golgotha
Golgotha, otherwise known as Calvary, means ‘the place of the skull’. This is where Jesus was led to be crucified and he had to carry his own cross. He had already been whipped and beaten and was very weak, so a passer-by named Simon, from Cyrene, was forced to carry the cross for him.
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The cross would have been very heavy. It was made of solid wood and was large enough to be driven into the ground and then support the weight of a grown man. It is no wonder that Jesus struggled to carry it after the suffering he had endured.
It is generally believed that only the top part of the cross had to be carried; the main post would already be in place on the hill, but, even then, it would still have been very heavy.
A note was placed on the top of the cross which said, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews’.
King of the Jews
The Jewish people believed that the Messiah, meaning ‘Anointed One’, would come to be their king and establish an independent Jewish kingdom.
The chief priests asked Pilate to change the inscription so that it did not say ‘the King of the Jews’, but rather, ‘This man said he was the King of the Jews’, but Pilate refused to change it, saying, ‘What I have written, I have written’.
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The Roman soldiers who took Jesus to be crucified led him first to the palace. There they made fun of him saying ‘Hail, king of the Jews’.
The put a purple robe on him and a crown of thorns. They beat him about the head and bowed down before him, mocking him.
Then they led him out to crucify him.
The Bible says
Mark 15:16-24
The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’
Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spat on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.
They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.
And they crucified him.