Golgotha - Place of the Skull

A belated “Happy Easter!”

My original plan was to post this on Good Friday, yet my Internet went out.  This is an important piece, and I am thankful to post it today!!

“They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).” (Matthew 27:33 NIV)

“They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).” (Mark 15:22 NIV)

“When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.” (Luke 23:33 NIV)

“Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).” (John 19:17 NIV)

   From my early Christian years until the year 2006, whenever I read any one of the four verses from above, I had a question.  My question: Why is the word “skull” singular?

   In a place of Roman execution, I speculated that multiple skulls would be scattered around.  Apparently the Roman authorities often neglected to bury the bodies of people whom they executed, some of whom were rebelling against Roman rule over their country.  I considered it highly probable that some did not get a respectful burial.  But then “skull” should be plural.

   On the flip side, I now know Israelites implemented strict practices for handling dead bodies in order to follow cleanliness laws. (1)  There might not have been any dead bodies left lying around that place of Roman execution.  The name still would not fit.

   Though linguistics is not a gift for me, I held this singular “skull” question for years.  Keep in mind that was in my early Christian years, when the Internet was still limited.

   Then in 2006, I found a book at a used Christian bookstore which answered my question.  That book: The Search for the Authentic Tomb of Jesus, by Dr. William McBirnie. (2)

   The traditional site for the crucifixion held over many centuries is a place which is now enclosed by a church.  It has been visited by countless people.

   Yet with an increasing interest in archaeology during the 1800’s, another site came under serious consideration.  Traditionally termed “Gordon’s Calvary,” many people view that site year after year.  It is behind a bus depot, and visible from the property of The Garden Tomb Association.  Regarding the word “Gordon,” he was one person who found the site, though not the first.  And he was a person who truly advocated for the site being the genuine place of the crucifixion of Christ.  Regarding the word “Cavalry,” that is the Latin word for skull.

   So what does the site of “Gordon’s Calvary” have to do with my question of a singular skull?

   The answer: The one hillside of that location consists of limestone cliffs.  And within one limestone cliff, there is a formation which had the resemblance of a skull.

   Suddenly, the consideration shifts from the location being named after an execution area scattered with the skulls of the unburied, to the location being named after a formation within in a limestone cliff.

Some points to add to your consideration:

First: People visualizing a skull face in a cliff two thousand years ago is not fanciful.  Here in our time, the “Old Man of the Mountain” was such a prominent site in the state of New Hampshire that it was chosen as the design for the reverse side of the United States of America quarter issued to honor New Hampshire in the year 2000.

Second: Limestone is a “soft” rock.  Limestone is what Jewish stone masons used to make ossuaries.  And that leads to the third point.

Third: The skull “face” has experienced erosion just in the past fifty years.  Yet the “face” is more prominent in older pictures.  (I will post one from the Library of Congress at the end of this piece.)

Fourth: The main dispute regarding this site is whether it was outside of the city walls.  This issue was thoroughly examined by Dr. McBirnie in his book.  I have never read anything by any other scholar where so much evidence was given for the theory which he or she was arguing against.  Yet then there is a grand shift, and he supports his thesis all out.  It is a scholarly masterpiece.

   May we be ever mindful that the location of the crucifixion of Christ is not the key biblical point of the crucifixion.  The key point is what Jesus accomplished at Golgotha 2000 years ago.

   God’s purpose for the tragedy of the crucifixion of Jesus was to provide an opportunity for eternal life for people.  How?  Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  Jesus was the substitute for the consequence of sins of people, which is spiritual death.  Then Jesus was resurrected.

   We human beings still experience suffering and the horror of physical death.  Yet that death is not the end.  Spiritually, there is life for the person who has been saved by Jesus.  Believe in Jesus, and you will be saved and have eternal life.

   John 11:25   Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

(1) Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services (1874; repr., Peabody, MA:

Hendrickson Publishers, 1994), 169.

(2) William Steuart McBirnie, The Search for the Authentic Tomb of Jesus 

(Montrose, CA: Acclaimed Books, 1975).

    (Library of Congress - Public Domain)

Jesus Heard the Children

Coming through the Mount of Olives

People cheered Him all around

People threw cloaks before Him

They threw those cloaks right on the ground

Looking at Jerusalem

Jesus cried for people’s loss

Jesus cried for pain to come

Friends heard that sorrowful sound

Riding through the Golden Gate

On a donkey, as foretold

Children even gave Him praise

Jesus heard their joyful sound

Starting with a cleansing act

Where sacrifice was to abound

Knowing what money cannot buy

Benches were flipped right to the ground.

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

Saturated in God's love

I long for home in heaven

Where hugs so freely flow

Where every soul worships

Where God's love is all they know

Jesus, the Lamb of God,

Sits in heaven on His throne

Saturated in His love

Each child was saved by Him alone

Yet as I journey on

Traversing this fallen trail

God’s love is in my heart

His love will always prevail

I journey on to heaven

Living by His true love

Countless times He carried me

Soon I'll be carried there above.

Hunter Irvine

The Temple in Jerusalem

   I have been reading some chapters in the book, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, by Alfred Edersheim.  Dr. Edersheim, a Jewish man born in Austria in the 1800’s, turned to Jesus as a young man.  After further education, he served as a pastor, and he had a gift for preaching.  He also developed into a biblical scholar.

   In the first chapter, addressing the second temple period from around the time of the Messiah, Dr. Edersheim gave a detailed and academic description of the vast compound of the temple, including walls, gates, towers, the palace of the high priest, and the specific temple area.  In the second chapter, he gave a detailed and academic description of the specific temple complex, illustrating its magnificence.

   The thesis which flowed naturally from his writing for those first two chapters: A person coming to Jerusalem 2,000 years ago would have had a reason to be in awe of the city of Jerusalem.  As Dr. Edersheim said, “As the pilgrim bands ‘came up’ from all parts of the country to the great feasts, they must have stood enthralled when its beauty first burst upon their gaze.” (1)

   Dr. Edersheim went on to state: “…isolated in its grandeur, stood the Temple Mount….the Temple itself stood out a mass of snowy marble and of gold, glittering in the sunlight against the half-encircling green background of Olivet.  In all his wanderings the [Jewish person] had not seen a city like his own Jerusalem.  Not Antioch in Asia, not even imperial Rome herself, excelled it in architectural spendour.” (2)

   The original temple built by Solomon was simple.  The temple and the temple grounds built under the reign of King Herod were elaborate.  The work took 46 years!  But the tragedy was that the simple purpose of the temple ended up being distorted.  Did some religious leaders work to protect their mode of power and control over their grandiose institution, rather than submitting to God?  Was there a shift for some religious leaders from heartfelt sacrifice to grandiose ritual?

   Only God truly knew and knows the motivation of everyone’s heart.  Now Jesus at one point did expose the motivation of some Pharisees: “Has not Moses given you the law?  Yet not one of you keeps the law.  Why are you trying to kill me?” (John 7:19 NIV).

   The tragic irony is that if those leaders would have submitted to Him, their blessings would have infinitely exceeded their power and money as religious leaders.

   A follower of Jesus no longer needs the temple in Jerusalem or its services.  Jesus fulfilled the core purpose of the temple: “…[the Father] loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (I John 4:10).

   And it was only about 40 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus that the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by Roman leaders in 70 A.D.  May we take to heart a revelation from Scripture about the new temples God has for the world today.  Paul was speaking to followers of Jesus when he said: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (I Corinthians 3:16).

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

(1) Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services (1874; repr., Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994), 4-5.

(2) Ibid., 5-6.

Jesus had a mission

A unique posting here: Below is a link to a sermon I offered in April of 2024 as a guest preacher, if you are interested.

(Note my statement about memorizing Bible verses was poorly stated.  In 35 years as a Christian, I have memorized a number of verses.  I was trying to say that the way my mind works is to go for the concept.  What is the message?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiAzZzFLKII

   If you watch, enjoy.

God bless you!   Hunter

In what manner should you study the Bible?

   In a manner which is best for you.

   On a hot summer day, I was hiking in the foothills of the Denver metropolitan area.  As I was on the last stretch of my hike down a trail, I talked with a young man who was headed up the trail.  I quickly learned he is a college student, and that he is a Christian.  He told me about a commitment he made to read the Bible in one year, even though that endeavor was in addition to all of his college course work.  That summer he was near the conclusion of that compressed reading ordeal.  However, he expressed that, sadly, his Bible reading had become a “chore.”

   We continued to talk, and I told of my common practice of pondering a passage.  It is common for me to ponder one particular passage for several days or even a week.  I have given intense thought for several days at a time to many passages over the years.  To illustrate my study method, I told about my study of the book of Matthew.  It started in the fall of 2020, and was completed in the early winter of 2024.  And that was at least the third time I have carefully studied Matthew since I turned to Christ.

   I concluded by giving my personal advice: “Read it as slow as you want.”

   That young man seemed relieved.  And that young man seemed blessed by my personal advice.  Encouraging him made my week.

   In learning from the Bible, there are two dynamics to start off with:  First, each individual person is unique.  Thus we people have different learning styles.  I for one am an interactive learner and an intense thinker.

   Second, the various authors of the sixty-six books of the Bible had different writing styles and used different literary forms.  Thus individual books of the Bible need to be read with a mode of discernment.

   When it comes to Bible study, some people like to read page after page from their favorite commentaries.  Others like to journal their thoughts.  Others like to stand in silence and ponder what they have read.  Regarding myself, I love to ponder.  Yet there was a season in my life where journaling was a standard practice within my study.  And there have been certain books of Scripture where I needed the aid of a commentary.  I was blessed in 2002 to have a special commentary which enabled me to successfully study the book of Zechariah.

   You will even have different needs in different seasons during your Christian journey.  Learning from the Bible is a personal venture.

   Now community efforts can support Bible study, yet it needs to be a fitting community for you.  Likewise, books can support Bible study, yet it needs to be a book which fits your mode.  My top five Christian books of the past 35 years might be completely different than your top five.

   Keep striving to learn from God.  And even though there will be consistent challenges, overall our learning should be an enjoyable experience.  We are talking about Scripture, the loving revelations to us from our great God!  Time with God in Bible study and prayer can be cherished.

   Whatever your manner of learning, when reading a Bible passage, we must listen for the message God has for us.  Thus we all need help from the Holy Spirit to hear Him through those words on a page.  Thus prayer is needed to help us get focused on hearing from our living God.

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

Dreams and genuine joy

   About thirty-five years ago, a friend gave me a small poster in a frame which stated: “May you go for dreams which you can call your own.”  The best gift a parent can give a child, or which a friend can give a friend, is not a dream, rather support for the person as he or she goes for dreams which truly are his or her own.

   Every single man and woman is unique.  We share so much in common, yet we all are special as an individual.  Regarding our physical bodies, of the billions of people on this planet, no two people have the same set of fingerprints.  Likewise, each person is unique in his or her spiritual heart.  All of us have individual gifts.  All of us develop individual passions.  Thus you need a dream which truly is your own.

   What is a dream you have?

   (I suggest you write it down on paper!)

   When developing dreams, consider these key questions:

   What is your passion?

   Are you willing to do the preparation?

   (Depending on your dream, preparation could take months or it could take years.)

   And if you commit to a dream, at every stage you will need the determination to go for it, utter determination.

   Now the reality is that going for dreams will often result in much sacrifice, and even some suffering, in this tragically fallen world.  The more grand your dream, the more suffering you will probably endure.  Perseverance is necessary.  Praise be to God, He will enable those who are willing to rely on Him to persevere in carrying out good dreams.

   Sins are dream derailers.  Be it your own sins, or the sins of others, sins hamper or thwart dreams.  A sin never helps a good dream.  Flee from sins in your heart all of your days.  Seriously.  Jesus taught what is moral.  You can trust Jesus!  His teachings are recorded in Scripture, sacred writings which were inspired by God.

   All of us do plenty of wrong things.  I have been following Jesus for 35 years, but I still make mistakes.  Yet relying on the Holy Spirit day by day, you really will become more like Jesus, who is perfectly loving.

   Lastly, your dream may not turn out quite the way you envisioned.  That has often been the case with me.  What matters is that goodness results.  Good dreams will bear good fruit for you and for other people.

   I am convicted our caring God wants good dreams to come true for us all.  Happiness can result from living a dream, and in the accomplishment of a dream.  However, accomplishing a dream alone does not result in lasting joy.  What does result in joy?  Love.

   Ever since turning to Christ, joy has been available in my heart, whether or not my dreams were coming true.  My grandest dream has yet to happen, yet joy from God has been in my heart all along, even on days when I did not feel joyful.  Joy from God’s true love is independent of personal accomplishments.

   As Jesus told His disciples as He was foretelling of His death and resurrection - “So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22 NIV).

   And my love for others is not impacted at all by their accomplishments, rather it is rooted in the true love of Jesus.

   How wild that for over 25 years, I have had the same four core dreams:  To be a minister for Jesus, to be married, to foster loving family relationships, and to share my writings to tell more and more people about Jesus.  Concerning my writing dream, in a year where I encountered much discouragement and experienced terrible hurts, I was blessed during Lent to write a once in a lifetime series which I entitled Seven Statements by Jesus from the Cross.  I praise God for having me prepared to write on the pinnacle subject of Christ’s mission.  And I am grateful to all of you who read those pieces.

   Honestly, when I do these writings, I do so with all of my heart.  I may never meet you in this world, yet I am thankful to you for even reading this piece.  Thank you.

   I said above we all need true love for joy.  First and foremost, we all need true love for everlasting life!  Jesus loves everyone.  And in love, Jesus had a dream.  His dream resulted in His passion and mission to save people from the horrendous consequence of our sins.  His dream came true as He made the ultimate sacrifice.  In His true love for us, Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the atoning sacrifice for the consequence of sins, which is spiritual death.  And then He was resurrected.  Anyone who believes in Jesus as his or her Savior and Lord will have eternal life.

   If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, I invite you this very day to give your heart to Jesus.  To believe in Jesus is to receive Jesus, and eternal life.

May you soak in the love of Jesus this Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

love, Hunter