Philippians 2:5-11 Hebrews 9:11-15; 13:11-12 John 19:17-24
Naked Glory
I don’t think I need to tell you that our western cultures tend to promote the idea that greatness or success is measured by the number of valuable possessions we are able to gather and hoard over our lifetime. But the measure of greatness for those who follow in the steps of our Lord Jesus is not in what we accumulate but in whom we imitate…in fact, Paul tells us in Romans 8:29 that the goal of our lives as believers is for us to be conformed to the image of Jesus.
Paul told the Philippians to cultivate “this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” The message of the cross is the exact opposite of the message of the world and it is for us to figure out which one of those messages shapes our faith and our practice as believers.
After having worked through so much of the Gospel of John, it should come as no surprise to see that the Apostle once more appears to have purposefully recorded the event of the crucifixion in a very precise and yet selective manner. Every sentence is highly pregnant with meaning and needs to be considered in the context of all of Scripture. Not one word is inconsequential.
For instance, behind the apparent mere statement of fact in verse 17 lies the account of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah. Like Isaac (the intended sacrifice), Jesus carried the wood upon which he would die on his back as he unwaveringly obeyed his father. Only in Jesus’ case, there was no stay of execution nor any replacement, because he was the substitute offering.
And then when Jesus went out from the city, he did so in agreement with the law regarding the commandment about sin offerings. According to Leviticus 16:27, “the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp.” The author to the Hebrews also picked up on this. In chapter 13:11-12 we read, “For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.”
In our Gospel passage, Jesus left the city that rejected him, carrying the signs of the curse on his back (the wood he would be hanged on) and on his forehead (the thorns that represented God’s curse on the ground in Genesis 3:17-19), to offer up himself as a sin offering for us so that he might open for us the way back to the place from which we were exiled…back into the Presence of our Holy God…back into the sheepfold…back into Paradise. Remember, according to the law, anyone who was hanged was considered a curse. Deuteronomy 21:23 says: “…his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God.”
Paul also made this comparison between Jesus and the hanged person in Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’…” Also in 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul wrote: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Now, the name Golgotha, or Place of the Skull has intrigued scholars and theologians for centuries. There are several theories as to why this place had this name. The first one, which was mentioned by the Early Church Father Jerome in the 4th Century, has to do with the shape of the hill or landscape.
Then others have thought that as this was a general place for public executions, skulls and bones of the dead may have been left exposed there, but as Jewish burial customs typically required the prompt removal of dead bodies, this explantaion is unlikely.
Another possibility comes from Jewish oral tradition, that links this area with the creation and burial place of Adam (Genesis Rabbah 14:8, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 12, Targum Yerushalmi on Genesis 3:19, The Book of Jubilees), as well as the place of Abraham’s attempted sacrifice of his son, Isaac (Genesis 22:2. It is possible that these traditions are connected to the name of the hill because some Early Christians believed that Jesus was crucified over Adam’s skull (Gospel of Nicodemus). You have no doubt seen this in some later Medieval paintings depicting the crucifixion.
The theological significance in this explanation is that the Second Adam undid that which the First Adam had done. As Adam’s disobedience had brought death and guilt into the world, so Jesus’ obedience brought life and forgiveness for all who believe in him.
Then finally, some Early Church Fathers linked the crucifixion (although not the name Golgotha) with Genesis 3:15 where God promised that one day the Seed of the woman would bruise or crush the head or the skull of the serpent (Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 21, Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, chapter 100, Hippolytus of Rome, On Christ and Antichrist, section 26, Augustine of Hippo, City of God, book 16, chapter 32, Tertullian, Against Marcion, book 3, chapter 18).
Now while these suggestions are all very interesting, none of them are absolutely conclusive and so we have to be content with speculation as to why John recorded the name and if there was any theological significance linked to it. However, we can say, using the words of Paul in Colossians 2, that at the cross Jesus cancelled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, setting it aside by nailing it to the cross, where he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them. (Colossians 2:14-15) Sounds pretty much like a mighty blow to the skull to me.
It is equally interesting that our Lord’s victory on the cross became an image of our victory as well. In Romans 16:20, Paul promised the believers in Rome that the God of peace would soon crush Satan under their feet. Because Jesus has dealt this blow to the head or the skull of the serpent, we who are in Jesus are enabled to do the same. We are able to plunder the kingdom of darkness…we are able to push back the gates of hell, because Jesus has been given all authority in both heaven and on earth, and because he currently reigns to place all his enemies under his feet. Progressive victory is ensured by Jesus’ victory and the Church presses on until that final day when Jesus will return at the time when the lawlessness of humanity has reached the final tipping point (2 Thessalonians 2:3) to pull up the weeds from his kingdom (Matthew 13:24-43), to cast satan, his followers, death and hell into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15).
The fatal blow has been struck…let the mopping-up operation continue.
It may also be significant that Jesus was crucified between two wicked men. In Isaiah 53:9 the prophet predicted that the grave of God’s Servant was made “with the wicked – but with the rich at his death. As convicted and cursed criminals, the bodies of the crucified victims, including the body of Jesus, would have been thrown over the cliff into the Kidron valley below where the city garbage was collected and burned. But at his death, a man named Joseph, whom Matthew described as a rich man from Arimathea, was granted permission by Pilate to bury Jesus in his own sepulcher. In other words, although Jesus died with and would have been cast out with the wicked, but he was, as it were, buried with the rich.
But Isaiah 53:12 also says that Jesus was numbered with transgressors. He was not crucifed on his own, but together with sinners, one of which confessed faith in Jesus at the last moment. Is it too much to see here an allusion to the parable of the sheep (on the right hand) and the goats (on the left) in Matthew 25:31-46? Surely the crucifixion was the definitive moment of judgment from eternity past to eternity future as it was there that the final destiny of all people was settled once and for all. It was there that the work of re-creation was “finished” (John 19:30).
It is equally ironic that according to Jewish tradition the most honoured position was the one in the middle (Sanhedrin 37a, Yoma 37a). This concept is also reflected in Midrashic literature, (Midrash Tehillim, on Psalm 82:1), which describes how God is envisioned as sitting in the middle of the heavenly court. Additionally, in Exodus Rabbah 30:4, Aaron, and Hur are described as standing on either side of Moses with Moses in the center during the battle against Amalek, illustrating this hierarchical positioning. Now, while I don’t think anyone purposefully positioned the three victims for this reason, it is possible that John recorded this seemingly insignificant fact for this reason.
Then there’s the title placed over Jesus’ head. It is generally assumed that this was the common practice of the day…to place above the head of the accused the crime for which they were being punished…but this particular declaration is nothing short of amazing considering who had it written and placed there. In the Gospel of John, the two men chiefly responsible for the crucifixion unwittingly proclaimed the truth. In John 11:49-50, Caiaphas declared that it was expedient that one man should die for the people and not that the whole nation should perish, a declaration John believed to be a prophecy. And then in our passage for today, the pagan governor, Pontius Pilate, proclaimed Jesus as King of his people! I think it is equally significant to note that it was written in three languages, not just one. It was written in Aramaic that the Jews might understand it. It was written in Latin that the Romans might understand it. And it was written in Greek, the lingua franca of the world at that time, so that all nations might learn of it. Of course, it might be that Pilate was still trying to exonerate himself just in case Jesus was one of the gods, but nevertheless, I think this sign was significant.
But I also think that we should be encouraged by all these things because these apparent trivial details tell us that God orchestrates all events, even the ungodly decisions made by those in authority over us. We should therefore rest in the knowledge of his sovereignty and dismiss our anxious thoughts. The Lord who watches over you owns all things and controls all things.
And finally, in Roman law and custom (Quintilian, Institution Oratoria, 6.3.44, Cicero, Against Verres, 2.5.45) the clothes of an executed person typically became the property of the executioners. This practice was a form of payment or a small reward for the soldiers carrying out the crucifixion. And yet, once again, John interpreted these actions in terms of the Messianic prophecy in Psalm 22:18: “…they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” The main theological thrust of this statement is that Jesus was stripped of everything he possessed. He was stripped of all the rights he may have had, as well as his dignity, his clothing, and his life. And yet, in a nakedness reminiscent of the time of humanity’s innocence before the Fall, his glory shines most brilliantly. You see, glory is not found in any thing we possess…no, true glory is found in complete and absolute obedience to the will of God regardless of the cost. Jesus was stripped of everything so that we might be clothed in him. This is the mind of Jesus that Paul encourages us to cultivate in ourselves.
Of course, this was not the first time Jesus was stripped of his clothing and humbled. Remember, he took off his outer garments at the Last Supper to wash his disciples’ feet as a demonstration of what true greatness looked like. And he was also stripped by the soldiers before he was flogged. But the ultimate stripping occurred at the incarnation…where he emptied himself…where he laid aside his glory, taking on the form of a servant and coming in the likeness of his creatures (Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 2:14-17).
This humble naked glory goes against the grain of prideful humanity, but if we wish to share in our Lord’s glory, this is the path we need to take. In Romans 8:17, Paul tells us that we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him (see also Philippians 3:10-11; 2 Timothy 2:12; 1 Peter 4:13). Or as he said in Galatians 6:14, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”
Dearest beloved brethren, is this where your glory is to be found? When Jesus was stripped of everything, his glory was most apparent. It is in his obedient humility that true grace is displayed. Is it possible that when we are able to distance ourselves from all the things we consider as gain…all the things we associate with greatness or success…is it possible that when we strip ourselves of all that is worldly that we would most resemble our Lord Jesus?
In closing, I’d like to end with a prayer from Proverbs 30:8-9.
Let us pray: “Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.” Amen.
© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2025
