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. Luke 23:33
It may be common knowledge among Bible students what the etymology of Calvary is. However it is not common knowledge what Calvary meant to the ancient world. If Jesus came forth in the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4), then why did God choose the place of the skull. Here the most important event in human history took place. We celebrate Resurrection Sunday because of the victory that took place at Calvary where Jesus says it is finished (John 19:30).
The gospels do not attempt to give the location of the Crucifixion. We are told that Jesus was crucified outside the gates of the city. This was predetermined by the determinate counsels of God (Acts 2:23). The city of Jerusalem is named 3 times in the Bible the Holy City. Certain human habits were forbidden within the city's walls, the carcasses of sacrificed animals were taken outside the city walls, and Jews were buried outside the camp. Executions were to be outside the City. Jews became enraged and would revolt should the Romans defile their holy sites. It is interesting that the New Testament calls Jerusalem the Holy City.
Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, Matthew 4:5
Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Isaiah 52:1
And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities. Nehemiah 11:1
The traditions about the locale of the two sites of the Crucifixion and the Empty Tomb are disputed but with great appeal. Gordons tomb is a tradition made famous by Englishman Charles Gordon some 140 years ago. The hill with a topographical shape of a skull in the vicinity is generally believed to be Calvary by those who give admiration to Gordons Tomb. It would be a strange coincidence that hill protrusions resembling a skull would be found in this area. For the alternative, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre site, is also west of the temple. Gordons tomb is north northwest of the temple grounds. Gordon's tomb is accepted by some with whom I hold great regard for their scholarship and leadership. The most attested controversy is the archeological tomb, which experts date to preceding the 1st century. This can be troublesome for no man ever lay in that tomb according the gospels.
and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. Luke 23:53
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre holds a 1700 year tradition, and you might say longer than that considering these traditions were received from locals. Within the Church are the two traditional sites of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Church architecture follows a hill to the believed site of Calvary, then the believed Empty Tomb is enshrined in the middle of a large circular domed site. This is no doubt the same tomb that Constantine venerated in the 4th century after the Romans vandalized and paganized these sites while persecuting Christians for several centuries. The Romans were very serious about their gods whom they worshipped. If you can imagine they considered these sites to be credible holy sites where they may honor their gods with shrines and idols. There is Christian archeological findings in Israel from the first centuries, which are often identified by crosses, anchors, and the ichthys fish. In 2016 the limestone slab at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was photographed for the first time, and then carefully recovered. Could God use Catholicism to preserve these ancient sites? God can do anything He wants. It may be obvious that I favor the traditional sites of the Holy Sepulchre, but the important part is that Jesus' body is not found in any tombs. History is well documented through Romans, Christians, and Jews. He was the most famous person of all the ancient world. The staggering evidence should be viewed as skeptically by truth-seekers as His own disciples did, but there is only one conclusion. Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. John 20:25.
God used the Romans to certify the death of the Saviour of the world. They would have never risked their own neck by failing the certainty of the death of this famous Rabbi. There never existed better executioners, for fragging was a breath away. They lived and died by Roman stoicism that honor was the only way of life.
We need our constant reminder of the love of God. Spurgeon brought to life the idea of the sea shell. When we first heard sea shells as little children it was amazing. Your imagination brought you right to the ocean. I believe the first sea shell I heard was something my Mother had brought from Florida. The Atlantic ocean was brought all the way to Metro Detroit for me to hear. Calvary is the sea shell of divine love. We always need to be reminded of God's love.
Calvary was emblematic of everything detestable in the ancient world. Today there are certain things that you would never mention among mixed company or at the dinner table. Crucifixion and namely the place of the skull was utterly detestable, and representative of human suffering under the oppression of evil men. Calvary comes from the Latin 'Calvaria' and the Aramaic 'Golgotha', meaning place of the skull. It might not surprise people what the etymology is but I believer it would surprise them to find out what this meant to the ancient world, and how our modern world has adopted concerning this. He purposely chose the place of the skull. A body may become skeletal within a few weeks. The body of Christ was not allowed these affects because death could not hold him (Acts 2:24). neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Psalm 16:10.
This image of the skull resonates with most of the world. It does not resonate as much with the Christianized "civilized" western world. Our "Christian" culture has lost the reality of what horrible depths mankind is capable of. During the purge of the European Jews, skeletal remains were not uncommon to find, and even to this day in parts of Eastern Europe you may find them. The ignorance of these realities are born of silver-spooned successors of peace. They revel in their distance to human atrocity, and at best claim great civility by searing their conscience against the unborn. Yet for most people throughout history visible death was a reality. Between the age of Calvary and the guillotine of the Great Tribulation God never afforded His children to remain in such ignorance, as we are instructed to ever remember His death. The solemn sobriety of an enlightened soul overcome with the sorrows of human suffering we know exist to our brothers and sisters in the middle east, and the innocent lives in Ukraine can only be uplifted by the glory of God's divine love of Calvary.
Only God could have taken this place of the broken and shattered dreams of many a Jewish mother. Crucifixion was purposely meant to degrade the crucified, and strike fear and control into the passer by. Crucifixion sites were strategically placed where the common masses would travel by. The shame of a failed life was a reminder of the power of their oppressors. At times of revolt their Roman ruler would pick at random young unsuspected men to crucify to the horror of their families. This kind of cruelty bred the zealot spirit reminiscent of the Maccabean revolts.
Yet whether we view human suffering and death with clarity or not, we are all under the affects of the reality of death. Jesus went into the lion's den and carried out the work of redemption and gave the Devil lockjaw (Daniel 6:22). All that receive Him are identified with His Crucifixion. Paul says we are crucified with Him. We do not face untold evils of holocaust and genocide without Him who has conquered hell and death. How can a human soul bear to see human carnage and face it as a reality but by looking to Calvary, where the Creator and Sustainer of all things was nailed to the cross beam. To do so without him would be to absent themselves from all feeling and take the Roman position that to feel the pain of the suffering was a sign of weakness. It is worse than that for to look past Calvary without receiving Jesus Christ and giving your heart to Christ is to be a partaker of the evil deeds which stack up to the heavens before a Holy God.
We cannot live in ignorance and claim to be fountains of truth. There are boastings of peacemakers in America who turn their backs on history. If America does not turn to God judgment and suffering is inevitable. With that being said it is inevitable war will continue until the Second Coming of Christ, and only increasing in suffering. From the Mount of Olives overlooking Calvary in the distance Jesus said ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars but see that ye be not troubled for these things must come to pass (Matthew 24:6). God knows and understands. But that isn't all. He not only overcame, but He came along side every human who ever suffered such fate, and suffered with them. Is your heart touched with the infirmities of those who are suffering? God chose the place of the skull to show us that He feels the pain of those that are suffering, and the last enemy to be destroyed is death. At Calvary he opened the fountain of life and laid the pain and heartache of this life underneath the conquering image of Divine love.
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