‘And He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.’ (John 19:17)
“He that can read a passage like this without a deep sense of man’s debt to Christ, must have a very cold, or a very thoughtless heart. Great must be the love of the Lord Jesus to sinners, when He could voluntarily endure such sufferings for their salvation. Great must be the sinfulness of sin, when such an amount of vicarious suffering was needed in order to provide redemption.
We should observe, first, in this passage, how our Lord had to bear His cross when He went forth from the city to Golgotha:
We need not doubt that there was a deep meaning in all this circumstance. For one thing, it was part of that depth of humiliation to which our Lord submitted as our substitute. One portion of the punishment imposed on the vilest criminals, was that they should carry their own cross when they went to execution; and this portion was laid upon our Lord. In the fullest sense He was reckoned a sinner, and counted a curse for our sakes.
For another thing, it was a fulfillment of the great type of the sin-offering of the Mosaic law. It is written, that ‘the bullock for the sin-offering, and the goat for the sin-offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth outside the camp.’ (Lev. 16:27)
Little did the blinded Jews imagine, when they madly hounded on the Romans to crucify Jesus outside the gates, that they were unconsciously perfecting the mightiest sin-offering that was ever seen. It is written, ‘Jesus, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.’ (Heb. 13:12)
The practical lesson which all true Christians should gather from the fact before us, is one that should be kept in continual remembrance. Like our Master, we must be content to go forth ‘outside the camp,’ bearing His reproach. We must come out from the world and be separate, and be willing, if need be, to stand alone.
Like our Master, we must be willing to take up our cross daily, and to be persecuted both for our doctrine and our practice. Well would it be for the Church if there was more of the true cross to be seen among Christians!
It was the Roman custom to compel criminals, sentenced to crucifixion, to carry their own cross. Our Lord was thus treated like the vilest felon. ‘Furcifer’ was the Latin name of ignominy and contempt given to the worst criminals. It means, literally, ‘cross-bearer.’
Besser observes that our Lord, when a workman in the carpenter’s shop at Nazareth, had willingly carried pieces of timber in the service of His foster-father.
Here, with no less cheerfulness, He bears to Golgotha the timber of the cross, in order to raise the altar on which He is to be sacrificed, and to do the will of His Father in heaven.”
–J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John, Volume 2 (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1873/2012), 3: 213-214, 217. Ryle is commenting on John 19:17-27.
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