And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Luke 23:33
This phrase in the centre of this verse gives us perhaps the most important four words in the English language. Found within these four words is everything that God has done for us and everything that we need from God. These four words convey a depth of meaning that eternity will not enable us to plumb, and a height of grandeur that even the glories of Glory itself will not surpass.
The word THERE points us to Calvary, which the other three gospels call Golgotha. This is the one place in all of planet Earth where God’s righteousness and mercy came together. This is the spot where history’s most significant event occurred. Those who do not by faith reach this spot are forever shut out from God’s presence.
We can read in the word THEY the word US. Yes, it was the Roman soldiers who carried out the deed, and the Jews who clamoured for His blood, but these were our representatives. And although others sent Him to the cross, it was out sins that kept Him there. It was His unfathomable love for us that placed the Lord Jesus on the tree.
The word CRUCIFIED is difficult for us to grasp, here in a land that has banned capital punishment altogether. As a form of execution, crucifixion was horribly degrading, shameful, and unbelievably painful. Through crucifixion, the Lord Jesus suffered the absolute worst that man could do to Him. And on that cross, He took God’s punishment for the very worst of earth.
The word HIM points us to our blessed Saviour. It tells us of His sinless, holy life and His substitutionary death. It tells of His love and compassion for us, and His devotion to His Father. It tells us that the Son of God became the Son of Man that He might be called the Lamb of God. It tells us how the last Adam restored more than the first Adam had lost.
As we remember Him, may we reach Calvary and grasp the significance that THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM. -Jim MacIntosh