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Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.
John 19:17 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He went out, bearing his cross, to the place called “The Place of a Skull”, which is called in Hebrew, “Golgotha”,
  • KJV And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
  • NKJV And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,
  • NASB They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, carrying His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which in Hebrew is called, Golgotha.
  • NLT Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha).

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jesus carries his own cross to Golgotha, the Place of a Skull. He goes to the place of execution as the sin-bearer.

Overview

Condemned criminals carried the crossbeam to the execution site outside the city. John notes Jesus bearing his own cross, emphasizing his willing obedience, though Simon of Cyrene later helps (Mark 15:21). Golgotha, outside the gate, fits Hebrews 13:12, where Jesus suffers 'outside the camp' to sanctify the people by his own blood.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • Luke 23:33When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left.
  • Luke 14:27And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.
  • Luke 23:26As the soldiers led Him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him to carry behind Jesus.
  • Mark 15:32Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” And even those who were crucified with Him berated Him.
  • Acts 7:58They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
  • Heb 13:11–13Although the high priest brings the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, the bodies are burned outside the camp.
  • Mark 15:26And the charge inscribed against Him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
  • Matt 10:38and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.
  • Matt 16:24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
  • Num 15:35–36And the LORD said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death. The whole congregation is to stone him outside the camp.”
  • Mark 15:21–23Now Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.
  • Luke 9:23Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
  • Lev 24:14“Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole assembly stone him.
  • 1 Kgs 21:13And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.
  • Matt 27:31–34After they had mocked Him, they removed the robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.
  • Matt 27:37Above His head they posted the written charge against Him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
  • Lev 16:21–22Then he is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man appointed for the task.
  • Mark 8:34Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
  • Mark 10:21Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
  • Luke 23:38Above Him was posted an inscription: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 19:17YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 19:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.