Golgatha – When, Where, and How, Part 3   04.2008

Part 3

"Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Kefa, then to the twelve." (1 Cor 15:1-5)

The foundation of the gospel is that the Messiah died for our sins "according to the Scriptures." We will now continue to look at the question: Where did Yeshua die?

In Part 2 in this series about Golgotha we mentioned that neither one of the traditional sites in Jerusalem; The Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Gordon's Golgotha, fit the description "according to the Scriptures." We gave three reasons that the place of the crucifixion instead took place on the Mount of Olives.

1. John 1:29 Yeshua was the fulfillment of the sacrifices ordained in the Torah. Every sacrifice was always performed "before the LORD", in order to be accepted. “Before the Lord”, means east of the Holy of Holies.
2. Hebrews 9:13-14; 13:10-12 and Numbers 19:4 Beit haDeshen, the place where the sin offerings and the red heifer were burnt to ashes, was on the Mount of Olives. They certainly did not carry these animals through Jerusalem to a place west or north of the city, behind the LORD. The shadow and the object must line up. Hebrews 10:1 says, "For the Torah, having a shadow of the good to come…"
3. Numbers 1:2 and Exodus 38:26 Golgotha comes from the Hebrew word gulgoleth, which means "the numbering place," the place where "the head" of every Israeli was counted through the temple tax. According to Ez 43:21 this place (the miphqad) was next to Beit haDeshen on the Mount of Olives. The people were always counted before the LORD.
4. Matthew 27:50-54 and Luke 23:45-47 Only from the Mount of Olives could you see what happened in the Temple, when the huge, thick curtain was torn from top to bottom.

This week we will look at some more information from the Scriptures of where Yeshua died, but also mention historical data pointing to the Mount of Olives as the place where Golgotha was located.

More Proof

We have already seen from Hebrews 13:12 that the place where Yeshua died was located outside of Jerusalem. In John 19:19-21 we also see that he died "near the city."

"Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. There was written, 'YESHUA OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.' Therefore many of the Judeans read this title, for the place where Yeshua was crucified wasnear the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek."

In the Greek text it actually does not say in this passage that Yeshua was crucified "near the city" but "near the place of the city." What does "the place of the city" mean? In John 11:47-48 we see that "the place" is another word used about the Temple. "The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, 'What are we doing? For this man does many signs. If we leave him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." The NIV translation has a note in the margin after the word "place," which says, "Or temple." We also see that the same expression is used about the Temple in Acts 6:13-14. "This man never stops speaking blasphemous words against this holy place and the Torah. For we have heard him say that this Yeshua of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us."

The Temple was located in the eastern part of ancient Jerusalem, where the Temple Mount is today. If Yeshua was crucified outside of the city, but near the Temple, it means that he must have died east of the city on the Mount of Olives. Only on the Mount of Olives can you be outside of Jerusalem, but near the Temple. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Gordon's Golgotha are near the city but away from "the place of the city." The entire city lies between those places and where "the place of the city," i.e. e. the Temple stood.

Let's look at one more Scripture that talks about Yeshua’s burial place. In John 19:41-42 we read that the place of Yeshua's crucifixion and burial was in the same area, "Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden. In the garden was a new tomb in which no man had ever yet been laid. Then because of the Judeans’ Preparation Day (for the tomb was near at hand) they laid Yeshua there."

Isaiah 53:9 says, "They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death." When Yeshua died he ended up with the rich. Joseph of Arimathaea, who buried Yeshua in his own grave, was a rich man. "When evening had come, a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who himself was also Yeshua’s disciple came. This man went to Pilate, and asked for Yeshua’s body. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given up. Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock." (Mt 27:57-60)

In Mark 15:43 we read that Joseph of Arimathaea was not only was rich man, but he was also a member of the Sanhedrin. "Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent council member who also himself was looking for the Kingdom of God, came. He boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for Yeshua’s body."

Everyone who is familiar with Jewish faith knows that a righteous Jew with wealth most likely would have purchased a grave for himself on the Mount of Olives. There is no doubt to this day, that the number one spot to be buried if you have enough money, is the Mount of Olives, as can still be seen today in Jerusalem. In Jewish faith this means that you are "first in line" at the resurrection when the Messiah sets his feet on the Mount of Olives.

It says in Matthew 27:60 that Jospeh's tomb was a new tomb. From historical sources we know that around the time of Yeshua's ministry many new graves were cut out in the rocks at the southern end of the Mount of Olives. This is probably the background to his words in Matthew 23:27, where you most likely could see these beautiful new white painted tombs from where he was speaking in the Temple, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness." The white paint served two purposes: to mark them out so that people would not accidentally become unclean through contact with the dead, but also to make them beautiful in order to impress.

Even if this is not an absolute proof, it at least makes the Mount of Olives the most natural option as the place for Yeshua's death and burial, since it was prophesied about the Messiah that he would be buried with the rich and Joseph of Arimathaea was both a righteous and wealthy Jew. The most natural choice for him as a member of the Sanhedrin to cut out a new grave for himself would have been on the Mount of Olives.

The Place for Roman Crucifixions

Besides information from the Scriptures, we also have valuable historical information concerning the Roman way of crucifying criminals. Nicholas Kokkinos has in a book called "The Enigma of Jesus the Galilaean" documented from Roman and Greek sources that the Romans were primarily guided by three principles when they selected the place for crucifying a criminal.

1. The site of the crime
2. The place of the arrest
3. An area of high ground and/or crossroads

The main reasoning behind these choices was that they wanted to make the crucifixion as public as possible in order to create fear and respect, thereby deterring people from committing the same offense against the state. The Romans therefore also placed a sign above the criminal to announce what he had done as we read in John 19:19-20,

"Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. There was written, 'YESHUA OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.' Therefore many of the Judeans read this title, for the place where Yeshua was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek."

What would the place of the crime be for this offense? It is very easy to find. We read in Luke 19:37-38, "As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen, saying, 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!'" Mount of Olives was the place of the “crime”. It was here that he accepted the praises of the crowds heralding him as king.
           
The chief priests and officers had told Pilate, "If you release this man, you aren’t Caesar’s friend! Everyone who makes himself a king speaks against Caesar!" (Jn 19:12) If Pilate had to choose a place outside of the city, known for Yeshua's crime of being a king, he would naturally choose the Mount of Olives. Nowhere in the Gospels do we read about any activity of Yeshua outside of Jerusalem, except east of the city, on the Mount of Olives. And it was specifically here that he was heralded as king.

If the place of the offense was not a suitable location for the crucifixion, the place of the arrest was the next choice determining where the Roman authorities would crucify the criminal. Where was Yeshua arrested? In the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives! "When they had sung the Hallel, they went out to the Mount of Olives. …Then Yeshua came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to his disciples, 'Sit here, while I go there and pray.'" (Mt 26:30,36)

Thirdly, the Romans would select a high place that was visible to as many as possible, preferably near a thoroughfare. No place would be better suited than the Mount of Olives. This certainly was a high place and it was at the most common route for all the pilgrims coming into the city for the great Feast, just as we read in John 18:20, "Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek." (NIV) We also read in Matthew 27:39 that people passed by the place, "Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads."

Finally, we will look at a fourth possible scenario, which also points to the Mount of Olives. We read in John chapter 19.

"When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they shouted, saying, 'Crucify! Crucify!' Pilate said to them, 'Take him yourselves, and crucify him, for I find no basis for a charge against him.' The Judeans answered him, “We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.' …They cried out, 'Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!' Pilate said to them, 'Shall I crucify your King?' The chief priests answered, 'We have no king but Caesar!' So then he delivered him to them to be crucified. So they tookYeshua and led him away." (Jn 19:6-7,15-16)

According to this information, Pilate told the chief priest and their officials to crucify Yeshua. Since Pilate knew that Yeshua was extremely popular among the crowds, he naturally looked for a way to avoid being responsible for Yeshua's death. It says that Pilate handed him over to the chief priest and their officials to be crucified and they took him and led him away. If they were given the opportunity to select the place for his crucifixion, there is only one place where they could have taken Yeshua and that is east of the Temple outside of the city on the Mount of Olives. If Yeshua had committed the crime of blasphemy he had to be put to death "before the LORD" to remove the guilt from the Land. We read in Num 25:4,

"The LORD said to Moses, 'Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD's fierce anger may turn away from Israel.'" (NIV)

The Mount of Olives in Early Christian Tradition

Finally, is there any evidence from Christian writings and tradition that Mount of Olives is the place where Yeshua died? Yes, there actually is. Even though Constantine in 326, through his mother Helena, officially established the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as the place of Yeshua's death and resurrection, we have historical records pointing to the Mount of Olives as the place. 

Eusebius, the most famous historian of the Early Church, mentions in his early writings only two places that Christian Pilgrims visited in the Holy Land before the time of Constantine. It was Bethlehem and Mount of Olives.1 This is what Eusebius wrote about the Mount of Olives,

"Believers in Christ congregate from all parts of the world, not as of old time because of the glory of Jerusalem, but…that they may worship at the Mount of Olives opposite the city, whither the glory of the Lord migrated when it left the former city."2

Not one word is said about any place west of the Temple Mount where eventually the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built. Christians from all parts of the world rather came to the Mount of Olives according to Eusebius.

Eusebius later wrote in another book, after Constantine had become Emperor, that the discovery by Helena of "the true Golgotha" was "contrary to expectation."3 We need to remember that Eusebius, who lived most of his life in Caesarea, was very familiar with the history of the Holy Land. The reason for the surprise was that no Christian pilgrim had ever visited that place before 326. According to Eusebius they had instead visited a special cave on the Mount of Olives and worshiped there. Dr. John Wilkinson also mentions this cave in his book The Jerusalem Jesus Knew – An Archeological Guide to the Gospels.

This is why Eusebius wrote that the "discovery" by Queen Helena was "contrary to expectation." Eusebius was Constantine's private chaplain and any stronger wording than that would probably have made him a head shorter. Before Constantine became Emperor, Eusebius wrote that the Ecclesia of God "was founded on the Mount of Olives"4 and that this was where its spiritual headquarters were established after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.  He called Mount of Olives the New Mount Zion.

There is also some interesting information from a Christian pilgrim, known as the Bordeaux Pilgrim, who came to Jerusalem in the year 333, during the time when the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was being built. This man mentions in his itinerary that he visited a little hillock on top of the Mount of Olives. To the surprise of scholars he claimed that the transfiguration of Jesus took place there. This was of course a pure mistake. But the most likely reason for his mistake is interesting. In Latin, the word for transfiguration is transfigurare, while one of the words in Latin for crucifixion is transfigere. The dear pilgrim probably confused these two words as they sound very much like each other.5 This is a strong indication that it was the transfigere (the crucifixion) and not the transfigurare (the transfiguration) which took place on the Mount of Olives. It might also be that the local Christian population had begun to confuse these things after Queen Helena visited Jerusalem and Emperor Constantine started to build the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

There is also a quote from another Christian pilgrim called Brother Felix Fabri, who visited Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives in 1484. Mount of Olives is known in Jewish tradition as the Mountain of Light. Fabri wrote in his diary that one of the reasons for this name of the mountain was because this is where the great fire was lit by the priests for burning the Red Heifer sacrifice.6 As we have stated earlier, this was the place where, according to the Book of Hebrews, Yeshua died.

Conclusion

Next week we will look at how Yeshua died. So far we have seen that Christian tradition has departed from the Scriptures and confused both when and where Yeshua died for our sins. Holy Week, Good Friday, Resurrection Sunday, The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Via Dolorosa, and so on are all human traditions contradicting the Scriptures and the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

These false traditions obscure the Father's true testimony of the Son. It is time for the truth to be restored from the Scriptures about the Messiah, in order for the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world to be revealed to Israel.

"Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way of the people! Cast up, cast up the highway! Gather out the stones! Lift up a banner for the peoples. Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth, 'Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your salvation comes.'" (Isa 62:10-11)

In Part 4 in this series about Golgotha we will see what the Scriptures say about how Yeshua died for the sins of the world.

Read: Golgatha – When, Where, and How, Part 4

 

"Prepare the Way for the LORD"

 

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1 This was written in the year 303 before Queen Helena "discovered" the place of Jesus' death and resurrection.
2 Eusebius, Demonstratio Evangelica, Bk VI. Ch. 18
3 Eusebius Life of Constantine, 3:28
4 Ibid.
5 Ernest L. Martin, Secrets of Golgotha, Associates for Scriptural Knowledge, Portland, OR, 1996
6 Palestine Pilgrim Texts, Vol VII, pp. 495-499.