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I. UNDER THE CROSS (ver. 17).

1. The weary pilgrim — Jesus.

(1)  Exhausted by the agony and the subsequent excitement.

(2)  Suffering through the scourging.

(3)  Burdened with the weight of the cross, the upright lying along His back, the transverse fastened to His fettered hands.

(4)  Degraded by the white tablet borne before Him, or suspended from His neck, proclaiming His alleged crime.

2. The varied attendance — robbers, soldiers, &c.

3. The sorrowful way.

II. UPON THE CROSS. Jesus in the midst, numbered with transgressors (ver. 18), arrived at Golgotha. The cross was —

1. Furnished with its victim. As it lay upon the sward, with nails driven through His hands and feet (Psalm 22:16; Luke 24:40), He prayed (Luke 23:34).

2. Upraised to its position. Suspended by His hands and feet, His body resting on an upright peg, our Lord was exhibited a spectacle of woe — the priests and people mocking His misery.

3. Set in the midst. On either side a crucified robber proclaimed Him the worst of the three.

III. ABOVE THE CROSS. The title (ver. 19).

1. Its conspicuous position — seen by all.

2. Its threefold language — to be read by all.

3. Its providential use — to attest —

(1)  Christ's true humanity, "Jesus of Nazareth."

(2)  His Messianic dignity: "King of the Jews."

(3)  Israel's sin: they had crucified their Sovereign.

(4)  The world's hope: Israel's rejected Messiah was the Saviour of men.

IV. BENEATH THE CROSS. Gambling for the Saviour's clothes, the soldiers fulfilled prophecy (vers. 23, 24).

1. Heartless cruelty.

2. Moral insensibility.

3. Appalling criminality.

4. Unconscious instrumentality.

V. NEAR THE CROSS. The Galilean women: the post of love (ver. 25).

1. Their names.

(1) Mary, the mother of Jesus. True to her motherhood she was there to be pierced (Luke 2:35).

(2) Mary's sister, Salome, the wife of Zebedee, and mother of the Evangelist, who was thus Christ's cousin, which may account for the mental and spiritual affinity between them.

(3) Mary, the wife of Clopas, or Alphaeus, the mother of James the less and Joses.

(4) Mary Magdalene.

1. Their position by the cross, marking —

(1)  Their courage — not afraid of crowd or soldiers.

(2)  Their fidelity in contrast to the male disciples.

(3)  Their affection.

(4)  Their sympathy — intending to console Him, as they doubtless did.

(5)  Their privilege — a gracious opportunity of hearing His last words.Lessons:

1. The completeness of Christ's obedience (Philippians 2:8).

2. The depth of His humiliation (Isaiah 53:12).

3. The reality of His atoning work (2 Corinthians 5:21).

4. The certainty of His Messiahship, proved by the title.

5. The moral insensibility to which depraved natures may sink (Ephesians 4:19).

6. The heroism of women when inspired by faith and love (Daniel 11:32).

7. The startling contrasts of life — the soldiers and the women.

8. The power which still lies in the Cross to reveal human hearts.

(T. Whitelaw, D. D.)

A place called the place of a skull, which is in Hebrew Golgotha. — Two explanations of the term are given.

1. That it was the spot where executions ordinarily took place, and therefore abounded in skulls; but according to the Jewish law, these must have been buried, and therefore were no more likely to confer a name on the spot than any other part of the skeleton. In this case, too, the language would have to be plural instead of singular.

2. That the form of the spot was bold, round, and skull-like, and therefore a mound or hillock in accordance with the common phrase, for which there is no direct authority, "Mount Calvary." Whichever of these is the correct explanation, Golgotha seems to have been a known spot — outside the gate (Hebrews 13:12), but close to the city (ver. 20); apparently near a thoroughfare on which there were passers by. This road or path led out of the "country," and was probably the ordinary spot for executions. Why should it have been otherwise? To those who carried the sentence into effect Christ was but an ordinary criminal, and there is not a word to indicate that the soldiers in "leading Him away" went to any other than the usual place for what must have been a common operation. A tradition at one time prevailed that Adam was buried in Golgotha, and that from his skull it derived its name, and that at the crucifixion the drops of Christ's blood fell on the skull and raised Adam to life. The skull commonly introduced in early pictures of the Crucifixion refers to this.

(Sir G. Grove.)

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KJV: And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

WEB: He went out, bearing his cross, to the place called "The Place of a Skull," which is called in Hebrew, "Golgotha,"