February 16: “Where Was Jesus Crucified?”

3 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Leviticus 9-10
Matthew 27:27-44

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Matthew 27:33 (CSB): “When they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull),”

Reflecting on God’s Word

Matthew 27:33 tells us that Jesus was taken to a place called “Golgotha” to be crucified. Golgotha is an Aramaic word, the heart language the Jews spoke in the first century. This word tells us that the Jewish populace had previously named the place where Jesus was crucified “the place of the skull.”

We don’t know for certain where Jesus was crucified. And it’s just as well. God doesn’t want us to worship a place or feel that we MUST go to that place to experience Him. He wants us to enjoy Him. So, He has allowed the exact locations to be lost in the annals of history.

When Kim and I went to Israel in the summer of 2018, we visited two sites that have traditionally been considered possible locations where Jesus’ crucifixion and burial occurred. I thought I’d share the pictures and a couple of videos with you.

First, here’s a map I captured from Google. I have circled the Temple Mount (on the right), the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (bottom left), and Gordon’s Calvary/the Garden Tomb (top left).

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

This building is located at the end of the Via Dolorosa, the route that our Catholic friends believe that Jesus took from the Temple to the cross.

After walking through a maze of shops and thousands of merchants and tourists, we arrived at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the following picture, you can see that the two massive, wooden doors are open as we were about to step inside. 

Once inside those doors and out of the sunlight, our eyes took a few minutes to adjust to the darker setting. I soon noticed a large rock slab a few yards in front of me. It was supposedly the slab upon which Jesus’ lifeless body rested inside the tomb. I highly doubted it, but I wanted to take a picture anyway. However, there was a steady flow of people who stopped to kiss that rock and shed tears over it. Not wanting to capture such a scene, I never got a chance to take a picture.

After winding our way through a maze of candles, statues, and jewels, we arrived at a building inside the Church. This building is called The Edicule and supposedly houses the cave where Jesus’ body lay for three days before He rose.

While the Church of the Holy Sepulchre dates back to the fourth century, I’m not convinced this is where Jesus was crucified and buried. And if it was, I believe the Lord is sorely displeased at what it has become.

There is a second sight that I believe has more credibility, even though we cannot be certain that this is where the crucifixion and burial happened. It was identified in 1842, so this is a very late date. This site could have looked much differently 1800 years earlier. However, “Gordon’s Calvary” and “The Garden Tomb” do seem to fit the biblical narrative.

After paying the entrance fee (used to maintain this site), we were guided to “Gordon’s Calvary.” As we looked at the face of the rock, I could see how it could have looked like a skull at some previous time.

Then, we were shown a picture of what the face of the rock looked like over a 100 years ago.

I took a video of how this place has been desecrated. Trash has been dumped at the foot of this rock face.

Then, we walked a short distance to where it is thought Jesus was buried. It’s called the Garden Tomb. Given that John tells us that there was a garden near the tomb (John 20:15), there would almost certainly need to be a natural water source nearby (which are rare in Jerusalem). There happens to be a spring near this Garden Tomb.

Kim and I were able to step inside. I wish I could have taken a picture or video, but we were discouraged from taking out our cameras inside, so I complied.

Whether Jesus was crucified and buried in either of the two previous locations or some other spot probably will never be known with any high degree of certainty this side of Heaven. So, we must realize that we shouldn’t look to satisfy our heart’s longing with a location; instead, we should find our joy in a Person. And His Name is Jesus!

Spend Time in Prayer

Spend time thanking the Lord for leaving Heaven so that He might live a perfect life according to God’s Law, die on the cross to pay your sin debt, and then rise from the dead so that You, too, may rise from the dead to be with Him one day.

Going Deeper

If you want to go deeper, check out this article by Got Questions: “Where was Jesus crucified?”

____________________

Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com).