Two names for one place
Golgotha was the place where Roman soldiers crucified Jesus. Matthew and Mark use the name Golgotha and explain that it meant “the place of a skull” (Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22). John also identifies it as the place where Jesus was crucified (John 19:17-18).
Luke’s Gospel calls the place Calvary instead (Luke 23:33). Calvary comes through the Latin word calvaria, meaning skull. So Golgotha and Calvary are not rival locations. They are different names, from different languages, for the same place.
And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
Why call it the place of a skull?
The Gospels tell us what the name meant, but they do not explain exactly why it was called that. Some have suggested the site looked like a skull-shaped hill. Others think the name may have been connected with executions that took place there. Scripture does not settle the question, so it is wise not to build too much on any one theory.
What the Bible does show is that Golgotha was a public place near Jerusalem. John says it was close enough to the city for many people to read the notice Pilate placed over Jesus (John 19:19-20). Jesus suffered openly, rejected by many, yet willingly giving himself in love.
And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
Was it outside Jerusalem?
Yes, the New Testament points that way. Jesus was taken out to Golgotha to be crucified (John 19:16-17). Hebrews reflects on his death by saying that he suffered outside the city gate, connecting his sacrifice with the Old Testament pattern in which offerings were taken outside the camp (Hebrews 13:11-12).
That detail carries comfort. Jesus went to the place of shame and exclusion, not because he deserved it, but to bring people near to God. His death was not an accident or merely a tragic ending. It was the sacrifice through which forgiveness is offered.
Can we visit the exact site today?
The Bible does not give enough geographical detail to prove the exact spot. For centuries, many Christians have identified Golgotha with the site now enclosed by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Others have proposed a location sometimes called Gordon’s Calvary, near the Garden Tomb. Faithful Christians can differ over the archaeological evidence.
The central point is clearer than the map. At Golgotha, Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. Then God raised him from the dead. Paul says this message, Christ dying for sins and rising again, stands at the centre of the good news (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Golgotha matters because of what Jesus did there for us.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: