Why Calvary? What is it about Calvary that made it such a crucial place? To help us better understand the reason for this specific place, I want to examine four words in Luke 23:33a. "And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him." Note the last four words: "There they crucified Him."
The first word: "There." Where? "The place called Calvary." It was outside the western gate of Jerusalem, along a busy thoroughfare. It was on top of a small hill with a rock formation on the side that was shaped like a skull. The place was called Golgotha, meaning "place of the skull." The Latin is Calvariæ Locus, from which the English word calvary is derived (en.wikipedia.org).
Calvary—Golgotha—the place of the skull. It symbolized the place of death. It was the place where criminals were executed by crucifixion. Death reigned on Calvary. Death was what the people of that day thought of at the mention of Calvary.
The crucifixion of Jesus did not happen just anywhere—it happened "there." It was God’s plan that He would die on a cross. It was at Calvary (Golgotha) that crucifixions took place. So, it was to Calvary that they took Jesus and the two thieves who were crucified alongside Him.
Luke 23:33 uses the Latin word "Calvary," meaning "The Skull." Matthew 27:33, Mark 15:22, and John 19:17 all use the Aramaic word "Golgotha," also meaning "The Skull." The crime for which Jesus was executed, as posted on the cross, said He was the King of the Jews. It was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The entire world knew where they crucified the Son of God. So, we are without excuse!
The second word: "They." Who? "They." "They" did it. "They" crucified the Lord Jesus. "They." That is all. No further explanation. The Romans were guilty. Pilate found no fault in Him, but had Him crucified anyway—a crucifixion carried out by Romans soldiers.
The Jews were also guilty. The Jewish leaders schemed against Jesus, tried and convicted Him illegally, and turned Him over to the Romans to be crucified. It was orchestrated by the Jewish leaders and carried out by the Romans.
But we are also guilty—you and me! It was because of our sin that Jesus died. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). He took our sin upon Himself and shed His blood on the cross to pay the penalty for us.
The third word: "Crucified." What? Crucifixion. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John never explained or described the crucifixion. The people in their day knew what the cross was about—it was an instrument of death! They understood. But Jesus suffered more ways than one on the cross.
He suffered rejection. "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11). He was betrayed by His own people—rejected and crucified.
He suffered humiliation. He died between thieves. The Lord of all creation "humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:8).
Jesus suffered and died on the cross as our substitute! He took your place on the cross. He took my place on the cross. He died in our place to gain forgiveness for our sin and to bring us into fellowship with Himself. Crucified for our salvation! What a Savior!
The fourth word: "Him." Who? Jesus. When the Lord Jesus came to the river Jordan to be baptized, John the Baptist cried out, "Behold! the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). Jesus was our sacrificial lamb—perfect, without blemish.
Jesus is the Son of God who sits at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf. He is the Lord of all creation who will return on the cloud of glory! There is no one greater, yet He came to die for us. He came to deliver us from our sin.
That was His sole purpose. Because He was blameless and without sin, only He could pay the price for our sin. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). What a Savior! Trust Him for your salvation. Live by faith in Him every day. Amen.
The crucifixion of Jesus did not happen just anywhere—it happened "there." It was God’s plan that He would die on a cross. It was at Calvary (Golgotha) that crucifixions took place. So, it was to Calvary that they took Jesus and the two thieves who were crucified alongside Him.
Luke 23:33 uses the Latin word "Calvary," meaning "The Skull." Matthew 27:33, Mark 15:22, and John 19:17 all use the Aramaic word "Golgotha," also meaning "The Skull." The crime for which Jesus was executed, as posted on the cross, said He was the King of the Jews. It was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The entire world knew where they crucified the Son of God. So, we are without excuse!
The second word: "They." Who? "They." "They" did it. "They" crucified the Lord Jesus. "They." That is all. No further explanation. The Romans were guilty. Pilate found no fault in Him, but had Him crucified anyway—a crucifixion carried out by Romans soldiers.
The Jews were also guilty. The Jewish leaders schemed against Jesus, tried and convicted Him illegally, and turned Him over to the Romans to be crucified. It was orchestrated by the Jewish leaders and carried out by the Romans.
But we are also guilty—you and me! It was because of our sin that Jesus died. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). He took our sin upon Himself and shed His blood on the cross to pay the penalty for us.
The third word: "Crucified." What? Crucifixion. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John never explained or described the crucifixion. The people in their day knew what the cross was about—it was an instrument of death! They understood. But Jesus suffered more ways than one on the cross.
He suffered rejection. "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11). He was betrayed by His own people—rejected and crucified.
He suffered humiliation. He died between thieves. The Lord of all creation "humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:8).
Jesus suffered and died on the cross as our substitute! He took your place on the cross. He took my place on the cross. He died in our place to gain forgiveness for our sin and to bring us into fellowship with Himself. Crucified for our salvation! What a Savior!
The fourth word: "Him." Who? Jesus. When the Lord Jesus came to the river Jordan to be baptized, John the Baptist cried out, "Behold! the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). Jesus was our sacrificial lamb—perfect, without blemish.
Jesus is the Son of God who sits at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf. He is the Lord of all creation who will return on the cloud of glory! There is no one greater, yet He came to die for us. He came to deliver us from our sin.
That was His sole purpose. Because He was blameless and without sin, only He could pay the price for our sin. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). What a Savior! Trust Him for your salvation. Live by faith in Him every day. Amen.
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