Matthew 27:32-37

Weakened by the events of the last 12 horrific hours—betrayed, deserted, denied, mocked, beaten, whipped, condemned—Jesus was not able to carry his cross all the way to the site of his execution. The soldiers forced a man name Simon to carry it for him.  

Finally they came to the place called Golgotha. This was an Aramaic word; the Latin word "Calvary" meant the same thing—"The Place of the Skull." By the city of Jerusalem there still exist a hill from which there projects a rocky ledge. Interestingly one of the large rocks on the face of this terrain, with a little imagination, looks like a human skull. Whether that place was the site of the crucifixion cannot be determined. Locating the site isn't what is important, though. Our faith doesn't depend on that kind of proof. Our interest is not where, but what happened there.

Jesus was crucified on a cross. Crucifixion was a slow, tortuous way to die. In addition to the nail wounds through his hands and feet, and the unnatural strains and tension of hanging on the cross, Jesus' agonies were increased by the deep wounds on his back from the scourging he had received and punctures of the sharp thorns that were driven into his skull. The soldiers had offered Jesus a drink that would have dulled the pain, but Jesus refused it. He came to bear the full agony of the crucifixion. In spite of all the torture of body and soul, Jesus did not falter in his obedience to be the sacrificial Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.  

At Golgatha God's plan of salvation reached its culmination. The wages of sin is death; that's what all sinners deserve. But in mercy, God laid the guilt of the world's sin on his Son. Jesus took our place; he suffered for us. He died! And that makes all the difference. For through Jesus we now have life with God!