He told the women to weep rather, for what the Romans would hereafter make them and their children suffer.

He also says that the two thieves, who were to suffer with Christ, were led with Him to the place of crucifixion.

CALVARY REACHED: VINEGAR AND "GALL" OFFERED TO CHRIST.

(c. xxvii. 33, 34.)

"And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, they gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.”

All the Evangelists record the reaching Calvary: Matthew and Mark alone recount the incident of the vinegar.

Golgotha," -so in Mark, Luke calls the place Calvary: John has, "the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha."

66

Golgotha" = a skull, and was, probably, so called because its round summit resembled that object.

"Calvary"

= bare skull. Luke wrote κρανίον (= α skull); the Vulgate changed this to Calvaria, and the English version has retained the error.

The position of Calvary is debated. It seems, however, most likely that it was on the N.W. of Jerusalem, just beyond the Second Wall.

"Vinegar,"-sourish wine, the regular drink of the

soldiers.

"Gall," Mark has "myrrh." This mixture of wine and myrrh was intended to act as a sedative, with a view to somewhat deaden the sufferings of the crucified. The custom was a Jewish one, not a Roman.

Matthew terms the mixture "gall,” because of its intense bitterness.

In this incident was fulfilled the first clause of Ps. Ixix. 21,-"They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."

"He would not drink."-Christ tasted this stupefying mixture, in order to fulfil prophecy; but He refused to drink at all, in order that He might meet His sufferings in their fullest anguish, without alleviation.

CHRIST NAILED TO THE CROSS.

(c. xxvii. part of 35, 38.)

"And they crucified him. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left."

Mark assigns "the third hour" as the period of the Crucifixion. He evidently means the third hour of the civil day, viz., about 9 A.M.

Manner, &c., of Crucifixion:

"After the criminal had carried the cross to the place of execution, a hole was dug in the earth to receive the foot of it. The cross was laid on the ground; the person condemned to suffer was stripped, and was distended on it, and the soldiers fastened the hands and feet. After they had fixed the nails deeply in the wood, they elevated the cross with the agonizing sufferer on it; and in order to fix it more firmly in the earth, they let it fall violently into the hole which they had dug to receive it. The sudden fall must have given to the person that was nailed to it a most violent and convulsive shock, so as greatly to increase his sufferings. The crucified person was then suffered to hang, commonly, till pain, exhaustion, thirst, and hunger ended his life. The punishment was deemed the most disgraceful and ignominious that was practised among the Romans. It was the way in which slaves, robbers, and the most notorious and abandoned wretches were commonly put to death. As it was the most ignominious punishment known, so it was the most painful. The position of the arms and body was unnatural, the arms being extended back, and almost immoveable. The least motion gave violent pain. The nails, being driven through the parts of the hands and feet which abound with nerves and tendons, created most exquisite anguish. The exposure of so many wounds to the air brought on a violent inflammation, which greatly increased the poignancy of the suffering. The free circulation of the blood was prevented. The consequence was intense pressure in the blood-vessels, which was the source of inexpressible misery. The pain gradually increased. There was no relaxation, and no rest. The suf

ferer was commonly able to endure it till the third, and sometimes even to the seventh day."

The Cross of Christ was, probably, the crux immissa (†); the upright post not being nearly so high as is usually pictured, but only so much elevated as to raise the victim's feet a foot or so above the earth.

The sufferer sat on a slight projection, to prevent the hands tearing away from the nails. The feet were rarely nailed, but rested on another ledge.

"Then were there two thieves," &c.-This was done to insult Christ; but was over-ruled to the fulfilling, (as Mark says), of Is. liii. 12, "He was numbered with the transgressors."

Luke represents Christ, as soon as He was crucified, praying for the forgiveness of His persecutors, "Father, forgive them," &c.

CHRIST'S "ACCUSATION" SET UP ABOVE

HIS HEAD.
(c. xxvii. 37.)

"And" (the soldiers) "set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS."

The "accusation" here mentioned was the customary statement of the cause of condemnation, and consisted of a white board, on which was recorded the offence. This board was worn round the criminal's neck, or carried before him, until the place of execution was reached. It was then fixed above the head of the crucified person, so that the spectators might learn why he suffered.

This Accusation, or Superscription, is given by all the Evangelists, with slight differences :

Matthew.-This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.

Mark.-The King of the Jews.

Luke. This is the King of the Jews.

John.-Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.

It will be noticed that all agree in that part of the superscription which sets forth the quasi-offence of Christ, viz., calling Himself "the King of the Jews."

Luke and John say this "accusation" was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek,―the purpose being that as many as possible might read it.

John adds, also, that

1. Pilate wrote the title.

2. Many Jews read it, because Jesus was crucified

66

nigh to the city," (where, consequently, passersby would see Him).

3. The "chief priests" asked Pilate to alter the Superscription to "He said, I am King of the Jews," and that Pilate refused.

"And sitting down they watched him there.

And they parted his garments, casting lots; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots."

All the Evangelists narrate the dividing of Christ's garments, with differences which will be noticed as they

occur.

"They," the quaternion, or four soldiers, whose duty it was to see that the bodies of crucified persons were not taken down from the Cross prematurely.

To these four had fallen, also, the office of each nailing one of Christ's limbs to the Cross.

For their services, they received, as perquisites, His clothes. "Parted his garments,”—i.e., divided them into four equal parts.

66

Casting lots."-John tells us it was only for Christ's seamless coat, (i.e., body-garment), they cast lots.

It was, he says, woven from top to bottom in one piece, and the soldiers, therefore, agreed, instead of tearing it in four, to cast lots for it.

This inner, close-fitting, tunic of Christ's was properly a priest's garment. It was woven with linen or wool, and fastened round the throat with a clasp.

It was usually made in two pieces, sewn together at the sides. Christ's seamless "coat" then seems to have been typical of His eternal priesthood, and the completeness of His sacrifice.

"The prophet,"-David, in Ps. xxii. 18,-the words there being almost identical with Matthew's quotation of them. Matthew and John quote the prophecy; Mark and Luke omit it.

CHRIST MOCKED BY THE PASSERS-BY, AND BY THE SANHEDRIN.

(c. xxvii. 39-43.)

"And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God"

Matthew and Mark are almost identical on this point: Luke does not represent the people as railing apart from the Sanhedrin, but makes them join the latter in their abuse, which he records as almost identical with that attributed, by Matt. and Mark, to the Council.

"Reviled. heads," as foretold in Ps. xxii. 7.—“ All they that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head.”

66

Himself he cannot save,"—would, perhaps, be more correct if read as a question, "Cannot he save himself"?

"I am the Son of God."-They reasoned thus, "If God be his father, he will send him deliverance,"-not knowing that the crucifixion was the joint plan of the Trinity, and that the Father "so loved the world" that He had actually "sent His only-begotten Son into the world" to suffer "the death of the Cross."