John 19:17

CHRIST CRUCIFIED AND BURIED (John 19:17-42)

17. He went forth bearing his cross.

It was customary to make the condemned carry the timbers of the cross to the place of execution. The cross was laid on Christ, but from weakness, perhaps caused by the scourging and abuse to which he had been subjected, he sinks under the burden. Simon,. Cyrenian who was met in the way, was then compelled by the soldiers to bear the cross.

Called the place of. skull... Golgotha.

A Hebrew word, meaning. skull. From its Latin equivalent, calvaria, comes our English word Calvary, which occurs in the English New Testament only in Luke 23:33, where it should be translated "a skull." The significance of the name is uncertain. Some suppose that it was the common place of execution, and that the skulls of those who were executed lay about; others that it was. bare rounded knoll, in form like. skull.-- Abbott. It was, (1) apparently. well-known spot; (2) outside the gate (compare Hebrews 13:12); but (3) near the city (John 19:20); (4) on. thoroughfare leading into the country (Luke 23:26); and (5) contained. "garden" or "orchard" (John 19:41).