Matthew 27:32-44 - Jesus Is Crucified
32 As they were leaving [i.e., probably the city of Jerusalem], they met a man from Cyrene [Note: This was a city in the northern African country of Libya]. His name was Simon and they forced him to go with them so he could carry Jesus' cross [i.e., probably only the cross-beam portion]. 33 And when they had come to the place called Golgotha, which means "the place of a skull" [i.e., probably because it was a skull-shaped knoll in appearance], 34 they offered Jesus wine mixed with a bitter drug [i.e., for the purpose of dulling the pain of crucifixion. Mark 15:23 calls it "myrrh"], but when He tasted it He refused to drink it. 35 And after they had crucified Him, the soldiers divided His clothing among themselves by gambling for them. 36 Then they just sat there and watched Him [die]. 37 They attached over His head [i.e., to the upright portion of the cross] the charge made against Him, which read, "This is Jesus, the king of the Jews."
38 They [also] crucified two thieves with Him, one at His right side and one at His left. 39 And those who passed by [the cross] shouted abuse at Him and shook their heads [in derision], 40 saying, "You who [said you] would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself [from dying]; if you [really] are the Son of God, come down from the cross." 41 In the same way the leading priests, experts in the law of Moses and [Jewish] elders also mocked Him, saying, 42 "He saved other people, [but] he cannot [even] save himself [i.e., from dying]. He is 'the king of Israel;' let him now come down from the cross and then we will believe in him. 43 He trusted in God; now let God deliver him, if He wants [to save him from dying], for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" 44 And the thieves who were crucified with Him also heaped the same abuse on Him.
21 They forced a passerby, named Simon of Cyrene [Note: This was a city in the northern African country of Libya], the father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming in from the countryside, to go with them so he could carry Jesus' cross [i.e., probably only the cross-beam portion]. 22 Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha which, being interpreted, means "the place of the skull" [i.e., probably because it was a skull-shaped knoll in appearance]. 23 They offered Him wine, mixed with aromatic spices, but He refused to accept it. [Note: Matt. 27:34 calls this "gall," a bitter drug for the purpose of dulling the pain of crucifixion]. 24 So, they crucified Him and divided His clothing by gambling for them to decide what each soldier would get. 25 It was nine o'clock in the morning and they crucified Him. [Note: John 19:14 indicates that the crucifixion took place about noon. This can be harmonized if we take Mark's account to mean when the entire process began]. 26 The inscription, stating the charge against Him, was attached above His head [i.e., to the upright portion of the cross]. It read, "The king of the Jews."
27 And they also crucified two thieves with Him, one at His right side and one at His left. {{Some ancient manuscripts add verse 28 "And the Scripture was fulfilled, which said, 'He was counted with the lawbreakers.'"}} 29 And those who passed by the cross shouted abuse at Him and shook their heads [in derision], saying, "Ha, you who said you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself [from dying] and come down from the cross." 31 In the same way, the leading priests also mocked Him among themselves, along with the experts in the law of Moses, saying, "He saved other people, now he cannot even save himself. 32 This 'Christ, the king of Israel,' let him now come down from the cross so we can see it and believe in him." And the thieves who were being crucified with Him also spoke abusively to Him.
26 Then, as they were leading Jesus away, the soldiers [See Mark 15:16-21] grabbed hold of a man named Simon, from Cyrene [Note: This was a city in the northern African country of Libya], who was coming in from the countryside, and placed the cross [i.e., probably only the cross-beam portion] on him, so he could carry it while following Jesus. 27 A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including some women who wailed [in grief] and mourned over His plight. 28 But Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem [i.e., women citizens], do not cry over me, but cry over yourselves and your children. 29 For look, the time will come when people will be saying, 'Those [women] who are without children and who have never given birth or nursed babies are [truly] happy!' 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains [Hosea 10:8], 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us [up].' 31 For if people are doing these things [to me] while the [leaves of the] tree are green [i.e., to someone innocent of wrongdoing], what will they do when [the leaves] are dried up [i.e., to the sinful Jews of Jerusalem]?"
32 And two other men, who were criminals, were also led out with Jesus to be put to death. 33 And when they came to the place called "The Skull" [Note: The Latin word for this place is "Calvary"], they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one at His right side and one at His left. 34 Then Jesus called out, "Father, forgive these people [i.e., the ones responsible for crucifying Him], for they do not know [i.e., realize] what they are doing." Then the soldiers [See John 19:23] divided Jesus' clothing among them by gambling for them.
35 People stood [around] watching [all this], while the leaders even sneered at Him, saying, "He saved other people; [now] let him save himself [i.e., from dying] if he [really] is the Christ, God's specially chosen one." 36 The soldiers also mocked Him; they came to Him, offering Him sour wine [to drink], 37 saying, "If you [really] are the King of the Jews, save yourself."
38 There was an inscription above Him [i.e., on the upright portion of the cross], stating, "This is the king of the Jews."
39 Then one of the criminals, who was hanging [on a cross also] spoke abusively to Him, saying, "Are you not the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one]? [If you are], then save yourself and us."
40 But the other criminal spoke harshly to the first one, saying, "Do you not even have any fear of God [left], since you [too] are experiencing the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And for us it is truly a just sentence, for we are getting back what we deserve for our actions, but this man has not done anything wrong." 42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember [to be merciful to] me when you come into your kingdom."
43 Then Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise [Note: This is a place in God's presence, referred to as "the third heaven" (II Cor. 12:2-4), and where overcomers will be able to eat from "the tree of life" (Rev. 2:7)]."
17 So, they took Jesus [away] and He went out [of the city] carrying the cross by Himself to a place called "The Place of the Skull," [also] called "Golgotha" in the Hebrew language [and "Calvary" in Latin]. 18 There they crucified Him, along with two other men, one on each side with Jesus in the middle. 19 Then Pilate had an inscription written and placed on the cross [i.e., on the upright portion, above His head]. It read, "Jesus from Nazareth, the King of the Jews."
20 Many of the Jews read this notice, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city [of Jerusalem]. It was written in the Hebrew, Latin and Greek languages. 21 But the Jewish leading priests said to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but 'He said, I am the King of the Jews.'"
22 Pilate replied, "What I have written I have written." [i.e., "I am not going to change it."]
23 So, when the [Roman] soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took His clothing and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took His seamless coat [i.e., which was left over], woven from top [to bottom] in one piece, 24 and said to one another, "Let us not tear it [i.e., because of its great value], but gamble to see who gets it." [This was] so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, which said [Psa. 22:18], "They divided my clothing between themselves, and they gambled for my clothing." So, this is what the soldiers did.
25 Now standing near Jesus' cross were His mother; His mother's sister [i.e., Salome, the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee. See Matt. 27:55; Mark 15:40]; Mary the wife of Clopas [i.e., the mother of James and Joseph. See Matt. 27:55]; and Mary, from Magdala. 26 So, when Jesus saw His mother standing beside the disciple He loved [i.e., probably the apostle John], He said to her, "[My dear] woman, look, [here is] your son!" 27 Then He said to the disciple, "Look, [here is] your mother!" And from that time onward, this disciple took Jesus' mother to [live in] his own home.