The Wednesday Word ~ 18 February, 2026 A.D.

Golgotha

 

“They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which being interpreted is The Place of the Skull).” -Mark 15:22 

 

I have sometimes heard people talk about the sacrifices they have made for Christ.   I´m not impressed with that.  I would rather focus on Christ´s amazing sacrifice for us rather than on anything we have done for Him.  I´m reminded of the faithful missionary, David Livingstone, who sacrificed everything to bring the Gospel to the continent of Africa, yet he said, “I never made a sacrifice. We ought not to talk of 'sacrifice' when we remember the great sacrifice which Christ made for us.”

 

Indeed, the heart of Christianity is neither about us nor our sacrifices, it is about Jesus.  As P. T. Forsyth, the Scottish theologian said, "Christianity is not the sacrifice that we make; it is the sacrifice we trust."

 

Consider this, on the day of His death, the Lord Jesus was brought to Golgotha, the place of the skull.  Look at Him, the perfectly pure and lovely One.  He is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. Yet He is brought to Golgotha, a wretched place littered with skulls and bones, where He is stripped naked and publicly executed. As Isaiah said, “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter.” 

 

Did you notice that word, ‘SLAUGHTER’! Let’s not pull punches or try to sanitize this, He was slaughtered and cursed for us.

 

Jesus …the greatest, kindest and most gracious man who ever lived, is led to Golgotha where He will writhe in tortured agony. But how can this be? His life was one of doing good, yet He is condemned to a wretched place where the worst and the wicked are executed? As Isaiah prophesied, “He was numbered among the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12).

 

But look at Him again, He is more than a man. He is God manifest in the flesh …the God-Man. One word from Him and the armies of Heaven will mobilize and suddenly appear to defend Him.  Look at Him, concealing His sovereign power as He refuses to save Himself.

 

Pity the wicked men who contrived to kill him. They are laughable; they thought they had engineered events that day. But look again at them and see the reality; see them, unknown to, and despite themselves, fulfilling His will. They mean this vile act for evil, but God means it for good and for salvation and it’s all according to His plan  (see I Peter 1:10).

 

So here He is, the Ruler of the Universe being led as a lamb to the slaughter. Look again at those leaders of religion: This is the day they have plotted and planned for, yet look again and see, despite all their supposed power, they are impotent.  Again, see who it is who is really in control, it is the Lord Christ. He did not resist them. 

 

A man in charge does not need to resist. One piercing glance from His eyes could have slain them all.  Look at the cruel, wicked men fulfilling His will.  But listen to the Master and marvel, for He says, "No man takes My life from Me …I have power to lay it down" (John 10:18).  So here in His sovereign authority He moves all history, the will of man and the hatred of His enemies to one inescapable conclusion… the cross!

 

But why did He allow Himself to be led as a lamb to the slaughter?

 

Was it because He was compassionate, gracious and righteous? Yes, but much more than that, He went there because we were lost. No amount of sacrificing or religious observance could rescue or redeem us.

 

And so, "they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha" the place of ultimate disgrace. In Jerusalem, in those days, parents would warn their children that if they took the wrong path in life they would end up at Golgotha. It was the end of the line, fit only for the lowest of the low! And so, the young Lord of Glory identifies with the lowest, the vilest and the worst.

 

Calvary demonstrates not only how far we will go in sin but also how far God will go for our salvation.

 

Here at the cross, the place of the ultimate sacrifice, we find our meeting place with God. Here man and God meet and see each other clearly. At the cross, we declared our hand and displayed our hatred for God; yet at the cross, God meets us and fully demonstrates His love and grace towards us. We can never exhaust a love that has gone to Golgotha for us.

 

And that´s the Gospel Truth!

 

-preacher Miles McKee