Matthew 27:32-44

27:32 | Jesus had been beaten so badly by the time He reached the city gates that His strength gave out – further indication of His humanity. The Romans forced a bystander, Simon of Cyrene, to pick up the crossbeam and carry it to the place of execution (Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26).

27:33-34 | No one knows for sure where Golgotha is, but clearly it was located outside the walls of the old city. The English word Calvary comes from the Latin term calvaria, which means skull. The soldiers offered Jesus a drink of sour wine mingled with gall – a type of narcotic (Ps. 69:21) – probably to torment Him further and so amuse themselves; but after tasting it, He refused to take more.

27:35-36 | Victims of crucifixion would be stripped naked, with the soldiers commonly dividing the clothes of the executed among them. Here they did so in unwitting fulfillment of Psalm 22:18.

27:37 | Having been maneuvered into crucifying Jesus by his Jewish opponents, Pilate was determined to get a parting shot at his hated adversaries. Romans customarily posted the charges against a condemned man on his cross. Pilate decreed that the one that would go above Jesus’ head should read: This is Jesus the King of the Jews (Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38).

27:39-41 | Matthew shows how the whole world, which Jesus had come to save, rose up against Him to ridicule, mock, and even tempt Him. Many of these reactions were foreshadowed in Scripture (Ps. 22:7; 109:25; Lam. 2:15).

27:42-44 | The taunt If He is the King of Israel hearkens back to Satan’s temptation at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (4:2-10). Yet in order to save others, Jesus would not save Himself, for only His sacrifice on the cross would enable Him to save us eternally.