What Kind of Place Was Calvary?

William R. Newell wrote the lyrics to a gospel song, "At Calvary." It says, "Oh, the love that drew salvation's plan! Oh, the grace that brought it down to man! Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary!" What kind of place was Calvary?

It was an ugly place. Even its name is ugly. The Romans called it Calvary; the Jews called it Golgotha—The Place of the Skull. Some say it earned the name because indentations in the side of the hill resembled the eye sockets of a human skull. It was a gruesome site where evildoers met their doom.

Calvary assaulted all five senses. There were ugly sounds. Hammers pounding. Crosses dropped with a thud into holes in the ground. Grown men shrieking in pain. Criminals cursing. Bystanders wailing. Religious leaders taunting the man on the middle cross.

There were ugly smells. Wood soaked with blood and sweat. The stink of injustice in the air.

There were ugly tastes. With nothing to eat or drink since the Last Supper the night before, Jesus' lips were parched and dry. A sponge soaked with sour vinegar couldn't alleviate the bitterness as he "tasted death for everyone" (Hebrews 2:9).

There were ugly sights. Blood dripped from open wounds. A sign above the cross mocked his identity as king. Darkness covered the land like a strange shroud. Soldiers gambled for his garments. Jesus' anguished mother must have covered her eyes.

There were ugly things to touch. Crude nails pierced skin and bone. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus must have winced when they pulled out the nails and took the Lord's lifeless body down from the cross. Wrapping it in linen cloth and packing it with spices, they brought a touch of dignity to an otherwise ugly scene.

Calvary was a painful place. Jesus' head was torn by thorns. His hands had blessed children, healed the eyes of the blind, reached out to people afflicted with leprosy, and blessed the bread before feeding the 5,000. But now those hands were paralyzed, unable to move because of the nails. Ripped by scourging, his back pressed against the wood. His feet had walked on water. A repentant woman had bathed them with her tears and sweet perfume; but now those feet were motionless, fastened to the cross.

Even worse was the spiritual pain. The humiliation of being ridiculed, stripped, and spat upon. The grief of being betrayed, denied, and rejected. The frustration of doing nothing wrong, yet bearing the punishment for everything that's wrong. Sinless, he suffered for our sin. The living God endured death.

Calvary was a teaching place. With his seven statements from the cross, the Master Teacher kept instructing his disciples even while he died. Forgiveness for those who harmed him. Hope for a thief who died with him. Concern for his mother. A cry of loneliness. Identification with our human weakness: "I thirst." Affirmation of victory and accomplishment: "It is finished." Confident trust: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

Most of all, Calvary was a saving place. "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "Mercy there was great, and grace was free. Pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdened soul found liberty, at Calvary."