And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
he.
Matthew 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Matthew 27:31-33 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him…
went.
Leviticus 16:21,22 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: …
Leviticus 24:14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
Numbers 15:35,36 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp…
Golgotha.
Matthew 27:33,34 And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, …
Mark 15:21,22 And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross…
Luke 23:33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
He went out
This indicates Jesus leaving the city of Jerusalem, as executions were carried out outside the city walls to maintain ceremonial cleanliness (Hebrews 13:12). The act of going out also symbolizes Jesus being cast out of the community, bearing the reproach and shame of sin. It connects to the scapegoat ritual in Leviticus 16, where the sins of the people were symbolically placed on a goat that was sent out into the wilderness.
to The Place of the Skull
The Place of the Skull, or Golgotha, is traditionally identified as a hill outside Jerusalem's walls. The name may derive from the hill's shape or from its association with death and execution. This location is significant as it fulfills the typology of the Old Testament sacrifices, which were made outside the camp (Leviticus 4:12). The site is a reminder of the cost of sin and the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for humanity.
which in Hebrew is called Golgotha
The use of the Hebrew name Golgotha emphasizes the Jewish context of Jesus' crucifixion. It connects to the Aramaic-speaking Jewish population of the time and highlights the fulfillment of Jewish prophecy and law. The name itself, meaning "skull," may also symbolize the place of death and the victory over sin and death that Jesus' crucifixion would achieve. This moment is a pivotal point in salvation history, where the prophecies of the Old Testament converge in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
- John points out that Jesus shouldered the beam Himself, underscoring that no one seized His life; He willingly “lay[s] it down of My own accord” (John 10:18).
- This act pictures substitution: the sacrificial Lamb bearing what sinners deserved, just as Isaac once carried the wood for his own offering (Genesis 22:6).
- The moment also speaks to discipleship. Earlier Jesus told followers, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross” (Luke 9:23). By carrying His own, Jesus leads the way.
- While the Synoptics note Simon of Cyrene eventually helps (Luke 23:26), John highlights the initial, solitary burden to stress Christ’s resolve (Hebrews 12:2).
- Leaving the city gate fulfills the pattern of the sin offering burned “outside the camp” (Leviticus 16:27) and anticipates the call, “Let us, then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Hebrews 13:13).
- “Went out” shows movement from a place of judgment (the Praetorium) to a place of ultimate sacrifice; Jesus is not dragged—He proceeds.
- The voluntary walk echoes Psalm 40:7–8: “Here I am… I delight to do Your will,” revealing obedience even unto death (Philippians 2:8).
- Commonly visible and near a main road (Matthew 27:39), Golgotha ensured that “many saw Him” (John 19:20). Salvation would be public, not hidden in a corner (Acts 26:26).
- The grim name underlines the horror of sin and the cost of redemption, yet at that place of death, life would spring forth (Romans 5:8).
- Prophecy threads converge here: “They pierced My hands and feet… All who see Me mock Me” (Psalm 22:16–17), fulfilled before onlookers at this very site.
- John gives the local name, affirming his eyewitness accuracy and rooting the event in real geography (Mark 15:22).
- Using the Hebrew/Aramaic term confirms continuity with Old Testament expectation and signals to every reader that God’s plan came to its appointed place.
- The detail also reminds us that redemption is not mythic or abstract; it happened in a known language, at a known hill, on a known day (1 John 1:1).
John 19:17 captures Jesus’ willing, obedient march to the cross. He shoulders the instrument of death Himself, walks outside the city as the sin offering, arrives at a notorious place of death, and does so in fulfillment of Scripture down to the local name of the hill. Every phrase points to His sovereign purpose: to bear our sins publicly, perfectly, and completely.
(17) For the way of the cross, comp. Matthew 27:31-34; Mark 15:20-23; Luke 23:26-33. For the present passage, comp. especially Note on the parallel words in Matthew 27:33.Verses 17-24. -(4) THE CRUCIFIXION. Love unto the uttermost. Verses 17, 18. - (a) The circumstances of the death. Verse 17. - Therefore they took (received) Jesus from the hands of the Gentile, leading the way in their accursed procession, gloating over their Victim. Παρέλαβον reminds us (Westcott) of the παρέλαβον, (John 1:11), where it is said, "His own received him not." They did not receive him in the fullness of his grace, but they did receive him to inflict the curse and shame and death for which they had plotted and clamored. This powerful suggestion is brought out by the amended text. At this point, when the sacred Sufferer left the Praetorium and was dragged into the rush of the vociferating crowd, the synoptic narrative becomes far fuller in detail. The terrible tragedy in-eludes the disrobing. The bleeding form is once more clothed with his own garments (Matthew 27:31; Mark 15:20). It is not necessary to suppose a second scourging (see ver. 1). The circumstance mentioned (Luke 23:26 and parallel passages) of Simon of Cyrene made to bear his cross after him, shows how Jesus in his human nature had suffered already. A second scourging (if we judge by all we can gather of such an infliction) would have been followed by immediate death, and would thus have snatched from them the realization of their inhuman purpose. The statement that, bearing his cross for himself, he went forth, shows that they tried to force him thus in his agony to endure this additional humiliation, and, from his physical exhaustion, were compelled to make use of the expedient described by the synoptists. Mark (Mark 15:22) introduces another most suggestive word, φέρουσιν αὐτὸν, literally, "they carry him" from the place where they compelled (ἀγγαρεύουσιον) Simon to take up his cross, and at least he hints, if he does not express, the terrible fact that they had, by their fell cruelty of all kinds, at length exhausted all the human physical strength of the Sufferer. John's language, though at first sight discrepant with Luke's, really explains it. Luke also describes the wailing of the daughters of Jerusalem, and the sublime self-forgetfulness with which Jesus turned their thoughts from his agony to themselves and their children. Matthew and Mark both relate another scene, which seems as if one gleam of pity had crossed some heart - "They offered him wine, mixed with narcotic gall," to stupefy his senses, and lull his physical agony. He did not put it by "with suicidal hand;" but, as Keble sang -
"Thou wilt feel all, that thou mayst pity all;
And rather wouldst thou wrestle with strong pain
Than overcloud thy soul,
So clear in agony,
Or lose no glimpse of heaven before the time."
(Christian Year.') He went forth to a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha. "He went forth" from the Praetorium along the Via Dolorosa, wheresoever it was, beyond the city wall (Hebrews 13:12, etc., "He suffered without the gate"). Moses had forbidden (Leviticus 24:14; Numbers 15:35) capital punishment within the camp (cf. 1 Kings 21:13; Acts 7:58). The traditional site of the place is far within the present walls in the north-western quarter of the city, not far from the gate of Damascus; and endless discussions have prevailed with respect to the line of the second city wall, which at that time must either have included or excluded the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The identification of the site of Golgotha is rendered difficult from the eagerness with which theories have been sustained.
(1) Ferguson's theory is that Constantine's" Church of the Resurrection" is to be found in the 'dome of the rock' in the temple enclosure! He urges that the tradition was moved thence to the "Church of the Holy Sepulcher" in the eleventh century, when Fatimite kaliphs drove the Christians away, and persecuted the pilgrims to such an extent as to produce the reaction of the Crusades. . . .
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