The Place of the Skull

  Matthew 27:33-35- And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ³⁴ they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵ And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.  (www.lifejournal.cc)I got to visit the Place of the Skull last week.  It has changed some.  The first picture is what it looked like in the 50's.  The second picture shows that some things have changed.  The rock has degraded or been changed.  The 'eye sockets' are not as defined.  The mouth has been covered over by a city bus parking lot.  A wall has been placed on top of it.  The property above it is owned by Muslims and two signs stand on top of this historic hill. One says in Arabic- Allah is the only true god.  The other says- Muhammad is his only prophet.   It is most likely that Jesus was crucified at the foot of this cliff or close to where the 'mouth' was.  This area was also known as a common place for Roman execution by stoning. 

When I saw the changes over the years, it really bothered me....then I came to a reality.   This is the same kind of atmosphere that Jesus died in.  They did not set Him a place aside, not even for his birth, let alone His execution.   George McCloud put it this way- I simply argue that the cross be raised in the middle of the marketplace.  For Jesus was not crucified in a church between two candles but on a cross between two thieves.  A place so cosmopolitan they had to write his name in 3 languages:  Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic.  It was the town garbage heap.  Where thieves cursed, cynics hurled insults, soldiers gambled.  That is where he chose to die and those are the people he chose to die for...and that is where the church needs to be and those are the people we ought to care for as well.
The world did not stop for Christ.  It will not stop for the Christian stand.  However, He showed us that is where we are to stand.  We will be amazed at the eternal difference it makes, when we do.   Stand for Christ today!