Golgotha – The Final Stop John 19:17-30

During the season of Lent vicar has taken us on a journey through the places of the passion.  We began our journey in the Garden of Prayer where after wrestling with God in prayer, our Savior resolutely declared, “not my will ,but yours be done.”[1] Next, we entered the Courtyard of Temptation.  There Peter reminded us what a slippery slope temptation can be and how merciful our Savior can be.  From there we were taken to the Council of Lies.  There the truth was exaggerated and twisted in such a way as to slander our Savior, but in the end, He was sentenced to death for telling the truth.  Next, we followed Jesus as He was placed on the Stage of Spectacle.  There an earthly king dared to mock and ridicule the King of kings.  We kept following as Jesus allowed Pilate to place Him on the hot Seat of Judgment and receive a sentence of death.  Tonight our journey through the places of the passion comes to an end.  Tonight we make one final stop at a place ominously named Golgotha.

Golgotha is an Aramaic word which means “Place of the Skull.” (“Calvary,” by the way, is simply the Latin name for the same place.) How this place came to be known by that name is unknown to us. Some have thought perhaps the rock formation resembled a human skull. Others have suggested it was simply a grim and solemn name for a place used for executions. Either explanation is possible, but the Bible does not tell us how it came to be called “the Place of the Skull.” It simply makes clear that this was not a place anyone would want to visit.

The exact location of Golgotha is also unknown to us. But since this was a site where the Romans executed criminals, it was likely a prominent place just outside the city; outside a main gate, along a heavily traveled road, something like that. The Romans would have chosen a place that was easily accessible and highly visible. They wanted people to see what happened to criminals in a Roman province, in order to deter others from following the same path. That is also why Roman crucifixions at places like Golgotha were so brutal and so humiliating.

Roman crucifixion was downright cruel; it was designed to cause as much pain as possible for as long as possible. The condemned were fastened to a wooden cross, often with nails driven through the wrists and feet. Then they were left hanging there as muscles cramped and spasmed, nerves burned with agony, and every breath became a struggle. Death by crucifixion was not quick. It was a slow and agonizing process that often took many hours and sometimes even days, all while the victim endured public humiliation and relentless mockery.

So, while we do not know exactly how Golgotha came to be called “the Place of the Skull,” we do know this: it was a place everyone in and around Jerusalem would have known as a place of pain and suffering, humiliation and death.  Tonight the “Place of the Skull” is where we find Jesus. 

John’s account of the event is rather brief.  John simply tells us, 18 “Here they crucified Him.”  The other gospel writers tell us more.  From them we learn Jesus was crucified at nine in the morning and for the next three hours He was mercilessly mocked. “He saved others, … but he can’t save himself!”[2], the Sanhedrists sneered.   “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself”[3], the soldiers taunted.  “aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself, and us!”[4], a criminal goaded.  But then at noon an unsettling darkness covered the land. Saint Luke simply tells us, “the sun stopped shining”[5].  This unnatural darkness lasted for three hours.  The darkness quite possibly silenced the mocking of men, but it does not take much to imagine the devil and all the damned of hell shrieking and cackling with delight during those hours.  For from the center cross a cry rang out in the darkness, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”[6] During this darkness the wages of your sin and mine were being paid.  During this darkness the wrath of God, which you and I should have faced, was being satisfied.  During this darkness guilty souls, like yours and like mine, were being redeemed.  What Jesus suffered during this darkness is beyond our understanding.  It was worse than the physical and emotional pain caused by nails and insults.   You and I cannot comprehend what it must have felt like to be forsaken by God… and because of Jesus we never will. 

That is what John’s account of the event assures us.  It is not that John’s account differs from the others.  It’s just, John’s focus is different. John, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, sees Golgotha not simply as the “Place of the Skull”, but rather as the place of triumph, the place of victory, the place of salvation.

Rather than focusing on the pain and suffering, humiliation and death of Golgotha John takes us right to the very end of our journey through the places of the passion; John takes us right to the last hour, the last moments, the last words spoken.  There John tells us Jesus knew 28 “that all was now completed”.  Which is one of the reasons Jesus asked for something to drink.  No doubt Jesus was thirsty.  One of the torments of crucifixion was it caused insatiable thirst.  However, thirst was not the only thing that compelled Jesus to drink.  His love for you and His desire to comfort and assure you also caused Jesus to drink.  You see, Jesus had something He wanted to say and it is clear He wanted to say it with loud clear voice.  Jesus didn’t want these words to sound like a sigh of relief or the feeble gasp of a man on the verge of collapse.  Jesus wanted His words to be proclaimed in such a way that all who gathered around the cross could hear, so that the devil and demons in hell could hear, Jesus wanted to shout these last words so loudly that, two thousand years later, you could hear. 

John tells us, 30 “When He had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”  It is finished. With these words Jesus declared that the wages of sin had been paid in full, the wrath of God had been completely satisfied, and guilty souls had been fully redeemed.  My dear friends, what had been done two thousand years ago remains done today.  Therefore, what is left for you to do?  What good deed must you offer?  What act of penance must you perform?  What price must you pay?  NONE!  For it is finished.  Your sins have been forgiven.  Your salvation has been secured.  Our journey through the places of the passion has come to an end, for at Golgotha our Savior Jesus proclaimed, “It is finished!”.

Golgotha is the final stop on our journey through the places of the passion, but Golgotha is not where our journey ends.  Because of what Jesus endured and overcame at the “Place of the Skull” we are on a new journey; a journey that leads not to a place of pain and suffering, humiliation and death, but to a paradise of pleasure and joy where we will be glorified and immortalized.  Our first stop on this new journey will be at an empty tomb, but I’ll tell you more about that this Sunday.  For now, I pray you leave this “Place of the Skull” with the confidence and comfort that comes from knowing it is finished.  Amen

[1] Luke 22:42

[2] Mark 16:31, Matthew 27:42

[3] Luke 23:37

[4] Luke 23:39

[5] Luke 23:45

[6] Mark 15:34