GOLGOTHA

<p>GOLGOTHA Jesus had been sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate and then tortured and flogged by the cruel guards of King Herod, and finally commanded by Pilate to carry his cross to Calvary, or Golgotha, which means ‘the place of the Skull’. Pilate told a Centurion to arrange for an escort of guards around Jesus to escort him to the windswept hill. The heavy beam of the cross was placed on Jesus' bleeding shoulder as they left the yard and went into the crowded street. The already large crowd continued to grow, some of them followers and friends, others bitter enemies, and yet others who were just confused and angry. Jesus staggered and buckled under the weight of the beam, but he continued to drag it behind him.  It was the custom to write a description of the crime committed on a clay plate and fix it to the top of the cross.</p> <p>Pontius Pilate had ordered that an inscription be written that read, “The King of the Jews”. Golgotha was near the busy city of Jerusalem and the signboard was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it. An angry voice called out above the crowd “Who wrote that inscription? – it’s wrong”, and one of the temple priests protested that it should have said that ‘He said he was king of the Jews’. However, Pilate had made it very clear to everyone that he had written that inscription and it would stay as it was. A few paces further on Jesus staggered again but this time fell headlong to the ground. The Centurion could see blood flowing freely from Jesus now and he knew that he had to keep him on his feet. A burly lumbering man who by the look of his clothing was visiting from some other region, was close by Jesus as he stumbled forward. The Centurion called out to the man and told him to help Jesus carry the cross. The man from Cyrene did what he was told and took the beam and strode on into a journey that was to be immortalized in endless time. When the trek to Calvary was completed, it would take six full hours on Calvary for Jesus to die.</p> <p>Mary the mo