They
brought him to the place called Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, “The place of a skull.” They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn’t take it.
Mark 15:22-23
Mark 15 [14.] Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?”
Mark 15 [15.] Pilate, wishing to please the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus, when he had flogged him, to be crucified. The soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they called together the whole cohort. They clothed him with purple, and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on him. They began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They struck his head with a reed, and spat on him, and bowing their knees, did homage to him. When they had mocked him, they took the purple off of him, and put his own garments on him. They led him out to crucify him. They compelled one passing by, coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear his cross. They brought him to the place called Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, “The place of a skull.” They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn’t take it.
Mark 15 [24.] Crucifying him, they parted his garments among them, casting lots on them, what each should take. It was the third hour, and they crucified him. The superscription of his accusation was written over him, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” With him they crucified two robbers; one on his right hand, and one on his left. The Scripture was fulfilled, which says, “He was numbered with transgressors.”
Meaning:
Simon of Cyrene has been forced to carry the cross (Mark 15:21), and the procession reaches the place of execution. Mark names the place, explains its meaning for his readers, and records a small but significant detail: Jesus refused a drink that would have dulled his pain.
- “They brought him to the place called Golgotha”
The verb “brought” may suggest that Jesus, weakened by the flogging, had to be supported or even carried the last part of the way. Golgotha is an Aramaic word meaning skull. The place may have been named for a rock outcrop shaped like a skull, or simply because it was a place of death. It lay outside the city walls, as executions had to, yet close to a road where passers-by could see (Mark 15:29-30).
That Jesus died outside the city has a deep meaning. In the Old Testament the bodies of the sin offerings were burned outside the camp. Hebrews explains, “Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside of the gate” (Hebrews 13:12). He was rejected and cast out so that we might be brought near to God.
- “which is, being interpreted, ‘The place of a skull’”
Mark often translates Aramaic words for his Gentile readers, as he will do again with Jesus’ cry from the cross (Mark 15:34). Matthew gives the same explanation: “They came to a place called “Golgotha”, that is to say, “The place of a skull.”” (Matthew 27:33).
- “They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink”
Myrrh was a costly spice, and wine mixed with it was thought to dull pain. Proverbs speaks of such a mercy: “Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish; and wine to the bitter in soul” (Proverbs 31:6). Jewish tradition says that compassionate women of Jerusalem used to provide such a drink for condemned men. Matthew describes it as “sour wine to drink mixed with gall” (Matthew 27:34).
- “but he didn’t take it”
Jesus refused it. Matthew says, “When he had tasted it, he would not drink” (Matthew 27:34). He chose to face the cross with a clear mind and to bear its full weight. At the Last Supper he had said, “I will no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it anew in God’s Kingdom” (Mark 14:25). In Gethsemane he had accepted the cup his Father gave him (Mark 14:36). He would drink that cup fully, without anything to soften it.
The Significance of Mark 15:22-23
- Fully conscious love
Jesus did not drift into death in a daze. He went to the cross knowing and willing what he did, so that his sacrifice was a fully conscious act of love and obedience. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
- Outside the gate
Because Jesus suffered outside the city, the writer of Hebrews calls believers to “go out to him outside of the camp, bearing his reproach” (Hebrews 13:13). Following Christ may mean accepting rejection by the world for his sake.
- Facing hardship with God
Jesus’ refusal of the drug was not a rule against relieving pain, which Scripture itself allows. It was his particular path of obedience. For us it is an encouragement to face hardship with a clear mind and in prayer, trusting the Father as he did.
Cross-References:
Matthew 27:33: "They came to a place called “Golgotha”, that is to say, “The place of a skull.”" Matthew’s account of the place.
Proverbs 31:6: "Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish; and wine to the bitter in soul:" The custom of easing the dying.
Hebrews 13:12: "Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside of the gate." The meaning of the place outside the city.
Conclusion: Jesus was brought to Golgotha, the place of a skull, outside the city walls, where he would suffer for the sins of his people. There he was offered wine mixed with myrrh to dull his pain, but he refused it, choosing to bear the full cup of suffering with a clear mind. His refusal shows the deliberate love with which he gave his life, and his death outside the gate calls us to follow him, bearing his reproach.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible