PAPER 187: Section 1.
On The Way To Golgotha
P2004:5, 187:1.1 Before leaving the courtyard of the praetorium, the soldiers placed the crossbeam on Jesus' shoulders. It was the custom to compel the condemned man to carry the crossbeam to the site of the crucifixion. Such a condemned man did not carry the whole cross, only this shorter timber. The longer and upright pieces of timber for the three crosses had already been transported to Golgotha and, by the time of the arrival of the soldiers and their prisoners, had been firmly implanted in the ground.
P2004:6, 187:1.2 According to custom the captain led the procession, carrying small white boards on which had been written with charcoal the names of the criminals and the nature of the crimes for which they had been condemned. For the two thieves the centurion had notices which gave their names, underneath which was written the one word, "Brigand." It was the custom, after the victim had been nailed to the crossbeam and hoisted to his place on the upright timber, to nail this notice to the top of the cross, just above the head of the criminal, that all witnesses might know for what crime the condemned man was being crucified. The legend which the centurion carried to put on the cross of Jesus had been written by Pilate himself in Latin, Greek, and Aramaic, and it read: "Jesus of Nazareth -- the King of the Jews."
P2005:1, 187:1.3 Some of the Jewish authorities who were yet present when Pilate wrote this legend made vigorous protest against calling Jesus the "king of the Jews." But Pilate reminded them that such an accusation was part of the charge which led to his condemnation. When the Jews saw they could not prevail upon Pilate to change his mind, they pleaded that at least it be modified to read, "He said, `I am the king of the Jews.'" But Pilate was adamant; he would not alter the writing. To all further supplication he only replied, "What I have written, I have written."
P2005:2, 187:1.4 Ordinarily, it was the custom to journey to Golgotha by the longest road in order that a large number of persons might view the condemned criminal, but on this day they went by the most direct route to the Damascus gate, which led out of the city to the north, and following this road, they soon arrived at Golgotha, the official crucifixion site of Jerusalem. Beyond Golgotha were the villas of the wealthy, and on the other side of the road were the tombs of many well-to-do Jews.
P2005:3, 187:1.5
Crucifixion was not a Jewish mode of punishment. Both the Greeks and the Romans
learned this method of execution from the Phoenicians. Even Herod, with all
his cruelty, did not resort to crucifixion. The Romans never crucified a Roman
citizen; only slaves and subject peoples were subjected to this
dishonorable
mode of death. During the siege of Jerusalem, just forty years after the crucifixion
of Jesus, all of Golgotha was covered by thousands upon thousands of crosses
upon which, from day to day, there perished the flower of the Jewish race.
A terrible harvest, indeed, of the
seed-sowing of this day.
P2005:4, 187:1.6
As the death procession passed along the narrow streets of Jerusalem, many
of the tenderhearted Jewish women who had heard Jesus' words of good cheer
and compassion, and who knew of his life of loving ministry, could not refrain
from weeping when they saw him being led forth to such an ignoble death. As
he passed by, many of these women
bewailed and
lamented. And when some of
them even dared to follow along by his side, the Master turned his head toward
them and said: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but rather weep for
yourselves and for your children. My work is about done -- soon I go to my
Father -- but the times of terrible trouble for Jerusalem are just beginning.
Behold, the days are coming in which you shall say: Blessed are the barren
and those whose breasts have never suckled their young. In those days will
you pray the rocks of the hills to fall on you in order that you may be delivered
from the terrors of your troubles."
P2005:5, 187:1.7
These women of Jerusalem were indeed courageous to manifest sympathy for Jesus,
for it was strictly against the law to show friendly feelings for one who
was being led forth to crucifixion. It was permitted the
rabble to jeer, mock,
and ridicule the condemned, but it was not allowed that any sympathy should
be expressed. Though Jesus appreciated the manifestation of sympathy in this
dark hour when his friends were in hiding, he did not want these kindhearted
women to incur the displeasure of the authorities by daring to show compassion
in his behalf. Even at such a time as this Jesus thought little about himself,
only of the terrible days of tragedy ahead for Jerusalem and the whole Jewish
nation.
P2006:1, 187:1.8
As the Master trudged along on the way to the crucifixion, he was very weary;
he was nearly exhausted. He had had neither food nor water since the Last
Supper at the home of Elijah Mark; neither had he been permitted to enjoy
one moment of sleep. In addition, there had been one hearing right after another
up to the hour of his condemnation, not to mention the
abusive
scourgings
with their accompanying physical suffering and loss of blood. Superimposed
upon all this was his extreme mental anguish, his acute spiritual tension,
and a terrible feeling of human loneliness.
P2006:2, 187:1.9
Shortly after passing through the gate on the way out of the city, as Jesus
staggered on bearing the crossbeam, his physical strength momentarily gave
way, and he fell beneath the weight of his heavy burden. The soldiers shouted
at him and
kicked him, but he could not arise. When the captain saw this,
knowing what Jesus had already endured, he commanded the soldiers to desist.
Then he ordered a passerby, one Simon from Cyrene, to take the crossbeam from
Jesus' shoulders and compelled him to carry it the rest of the way to Golgotha.
P2006:3, 187:1.10
This man Simon had come all the way from Cyrene, in northern Africa, to attend
the Passover. He was stopping with other
Cyrenians just outside the city walls
and was on his way to the temple services in the city when the Roman captain
commanded him to carry Jesus' crossbeam. Simon lingered all through the hours
of the Master's death on the cross, talking with many of his friends and with
his enemies. After the resurrection and before leaving Jerusalem, he became
a valiant believer in the gospel of the kingdom, and when he returned home,
he led his family into the heavenly kingdom. His two sons, Alexander and Rufus,
became very effective teachers of the new gospel in Africa. But Simon never
knew that Jesus, whose burden he bore, and the Jewish tutor who once befriended
his injured son, were the same person.
P2006:4, 187:1.11
It was shortly after nine o'clock when this procession of death arrived at
Golgotha, and the Roman soldiers set themselves about the task of nailing
the two brigands and the Son of Man to their respective crosses.