Lenten Midweek #1: Glory of Golgotha
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Trinity Lutheran Church-Columbia, MO
St. John 19:17, 18
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 the most hallowed place on earth. Here the words spoken to Moses are appropriate, “take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5) When we go with Jesus here and look upon Him upon His cross, we look upon the mystery that was kept secret since the world began (Rom. 16:25). His cross is the goal and end of the Old Covenant and the beginning of the new (1 Cor 10:11). His cross is the focal point of the history of the kingdom of God and of the whole world (Gal. 3:28). The Lamb sacrificed here was chosen by God from eternity (Col. 1:15-17). And to all eternity He receives blessing, glory, honor, power, and worship (Rev. 5:12). He who dies here is the joy of men and the desire of angels. Holy ground indeed! Here is the work of God in its full glory, power, and humility. Here we put aside our human reason, our own additions and embellishments and let God be God. To remain on this hallowed ground and to receive the blessings offered here, we consider the words the Holy Spirit has prepared for us and pray for their meaning to be revealed; and also to see what light may be shed upon them from elsewhere in Scripture.
When we think of our Lord’s bloody passion and His crucifixion, it does not delight the natural man. It is offensive and scandalous. We see only horrific suffering, affliction, reproach, scorn, wrath and judgment. This is an offense. But if we continue to look upon Him and pray, we shall find the true meaning of the cross, this eternal mystery. The key to this mystery is the Scripture itself. Here we find clear words which enlighten us concerning Christ and His suffering. Our prayer is for the Lord to open our eyes and hearts to understanding, so that we find our true earthly and eternal delight: Jesus Christ the Crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks, but divine wisdom and power to all who believe (1 Cor. 1:22-24).
When we think on the Crucifixion at Golgotha, we must never forget who it is that suffered so painfully. It was Jesus. Jesus, to whom the entire Scripture bears witness; Jesus who fulfills the Scripture; it is Christ the Messiah and King of Israel, whose specific and proper work was to redeem Israel. When we remember that it is the Second Person of the Trinity, who is true God, there at creation, of the same essence as the Father, our offense is increased further. It is possible to think that Jesus is just another person who got what he deserved for creating a ruckus. But that the sinless Son of God was crucified and that He who is crucified is to be worshipped, that is the height of foolishness to human reason.
The soldiers and the executioners led Jesus to the place called Golgotha. We don’t know too much about Golgotha’s historical use, but nonetheless Scripture names it for us and that is of importance enough. It is a place like no other on earth, that ever has been or ever will be. Ordinarily it was a place for criminals who were no longer worthy of life on earth were disposed of at this place. But on Good Friday, there the Lord who had come down from heaven, set aside His glory, who sought mankind’s highest good, was executed there-there and nowhere else in all creation. He of whom earth was not worthy was tortured to death by men.
The soldiers offered the Lord a drink of vinegar; bitter wine mingled with myrrh or gall. It was customary to give this to those who were crucified to dull the pain and numb the senses. When Jesus tasted it, he would not drink it. He would not drink this potion. Rather He would drink the bitter cup which the Father now held to His lips. That cup of perfect obedience he would drink fully conscious, with a clear mind. He felt all the inexpressible anxious torments of those agonizing six hours. It was his desire, His love to feel and experience them all, to see and taste death in all its bitterness. We cannot form even the slightest idea about His sufferings which the Son of God endured in His body, untouched as that was by sin and evil. Our own thinking is blunted. We can only say that Jesus tasted to the full and to the last moment all the pain and agony caused by this way of death.
It was the third hour when the crucified Him, that is nine in the morning. When they crucified Him—in those three words contains all the sin and woe of the entire creation. The fact that He who was crucified was that Jesus of whom all Holy Scripture testifies and points, is a thought so overwhelming in our mind, it is of such magnitude and depth that the only response it can reasonably produce is one that silences all other thoughts and causes our senses to recoil.
From other historical accounts we know how this execution was carried out. The criminal was stripped bare/naked. The cross was laid flat on the ground and the criminal laid on top. The arms were extended, the legs drawn up just enough to give a false sense of support, and then the nails were driven through. The Holy One of Israel was subjected to the same. His hands which had for His entire life only devoted to doing good and relieving suffering were pierced. His feet, which had been weary and sore from the journeys which He made through the Holy Land to bring the message of peace and to help the sick, were placed upon the cross and pierced. Then the cross was raised and firmly set in the ground, so that Jesus was suspended between heaven and earth. What he endured is given in Psalm 22 (14-18) (NKJV):
I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted within the midst of my bowels.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
His being lifted up from the earth is the bruising of the Messiah’s heel spoken of by Moses in Genesis 3:15.
To the indescribable pain the Savior knew was added disgrace and shame. The Evangelists repeatedly emphasize this: “Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.” (St. Luke 23:32) “And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.” (St. Luke, again, 23:33). And even Mark 15:28, though it is not in most translations. The Romans regarded death by crucifixion as the most degrading; it was reserved for the worst offenders and most despised slaves. Roman citizens were given a quick death by sword. Jesus received the worst. More than that, He was crucified between the worst of the worst. Seeing this, people would assume Jesus was indeed a criminal. More than that, the Jews looked upon those who hung upon the cross as accursed. And this was not a sentiment picked up from their Roman occupiers, but from Deut. 21, “for a hanged man is cursed by God.” Thus when we are told that this rejected one is the Messiah, the King of Israel, the Lord of Glory, to whom we are to give all honor and praise and our whole heart, it is too much for both Jew and Gentile; it is foolishness to natural man. Jesus was the most despised and rejected of all men, men hid their face from Him; and they are still doing hiding their face from Him today. “Faith in a crucified one? That is ridiculous!” But thanks be to God, He has opened our eyes and unveiled to us the mystery of the cross of Christ.
To us, the Crucified Christ is divine wisdom and divine power. In all the suffering, pain, ignominy we see the majesty and glorification of the one Suffering. The Word of the Cross of Christ is profitable for us, for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (1 Tim. 3:16), and for our hope and comfort (Rom. 15:4). Every Word of Scripture finds its fullness and clarity here. From Scripture we learn the meaning of Christ’s suffering and the Holy Spirit has explained them for us.
The cross is a solemn and powerful call to repentance. Looking upon the body of Jesus, we see a mirror. We see our sin revealed and the wrath of God. Isaiah 53: He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. Ps 69: What I [the Messiah] did not steal must I now restore? Our sin and iniquity is the cause of His bitter torment. When we take our place beneath the cross, we perceive who and what we are: sinners, transgressors, malefactors, thieves, liars, murderers, criminals. “He was wounded for our transgressions.” There we are, on Jesus’ right and Jesus’ left. Sin, every sin, is transgression, rebellion against Him who hangs in the middle. We have done wrong, stolen, acquired forbidden fruits, lusted after any and every thing. We have done violence to our neighbor by action and inaction, with bitter words and anger, hated. We have murdered Him who hangs in the middle. We have robbed God of His honor (Mal. 3:8), refused Him the worship and obedience that are due Him, despised and dishonored His Word. We are all as an unclean thing (Is. 64:6). “From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it…(Is.1:6). We have sinned in thought, word, and deed; sullied our body, soul, and spirit. We have deserved the wounds and bruises inflicted on Christ’s body and the same and reproach and shame heaped upon Him. His thorn-crowned head reminds us of our proud and unholy thoughts. His silent, palling lips recall to our minds the torrents of idle and evil words that have poured from our lips. His pierced hands bring to remembrance the evil our hands have done and the good they have failed to do. His pierced feet remind us of the devious ways which we have pursued.
This Crucified one is for us divine power and wisdom. He “became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30) The cross despite our sin is also our refuge. To the cross we flee when the enemy pursues our souls. With the cross we protect ourself from sin. Christ has suffered, for the “just and unjust.” (1 Pet. 3:18) The chastisement of our peace was upon Him (Is. 53:5). Yes, Christ suffered for us. The Scripture is fulfilled, the will of God carried out. The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Is. 53:6). God “spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all” (Rom. 8:32). The Son willingly submitted to this will and decree of God. Although He might have had joy, He “endured the cross, despising the shame” (Heb. 12:2). On the cross, eternal love and patience, which bears all, endures all, and is not provoked, revealed itself in all its glory. His patience and love were stronger than the suffering, agony, forsakenness, and even death. It was the Lord of Glory whom they crucified (1 Cor. 2:8). He remained steadfast and conquered, overcame sin, curse, shame, and wrath. Thus He redeemed and reconciled us to God. He made peace through the blood of His cross (Col. 1:20).
This crucified Christ is now preached everywhere on earth. His cross is the standard around which the nations of the earth are gathered (Is. 11:12; Gal. 3:28). It is the altar on which the promised seed of Abraham might come to us the Gentiles. God has committed to us this ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18). “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:14, 15). He who looks upon Christ in faith has eternal life. The Crucified One Himself generates faith in men’s hearts. The message of Christ’s cross is the most powerful means for the conversion of sinners. The Lord has promised, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). In all simplicity we preach Christ crucified, His patience and His love with us sinners. Through this preaching, sinners, even the greatest offenders, are vanquished and won to saving faith. And this Christ, set before us in the Gospels, is made unto us sanctification. Faith in Him generates in us true love to our brothers, to sinners. It enables us to willingly bear our crosses after Him and run with patience the race that is set before us (Heb. 12:1). It enables us to crucify the sinful flesh with its passions and lusts (Gal. 6:14). From here on out we desire to know none beside Him; we are crucified to the world, and the world is crucified unto us (Gal. 5:24). Finally, Christ the Crucified, proclaimed to us in the gospel, is to us final redemption. We fix our weakening and failing eyes upon Him when death approaches. Thus we confess with the hymnwriter, Who dieth thus dies well (TLH 172, stz.10). And in eternity we will, with all celestial choirs, praise the Lamb that was slain (Rev. 5:12).
May the Holy Spirit impress and keep the image of the suffering Christ in our souls and seal the word of the Cross in our hearts. By His power He will lead us to perceive ever more clearly that Christ the Crucified is divine power and wisdom. Amen.
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