There are three words given in the New Testament relating to the sufferings of the Lord that would do us well to remember: Gethsemane, Gabbatha and Golgotha. These are names of places where Jesus suffered. By looking at each of these, we can arrive at a better understanding of what Jesus suffered on our behalf. Never forget, he died in our stead. We should have been the ones to suffer, but in mercy and grace, he took our place. At each of these places, he suffered at different hands.

The first place was Gethsemane. Here, Jesus suffered at the hand of Satan. Matthew 26: 36 states: “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.” Jesus felt the full impact of Satan’s attack in Gethsemane. There is no doubt that the devil attempted everything in his arsenal to stop the saviour in the garden to prevent his sacrifice on Calvary’s cross. On at least one other occasion, the devil had attempted to tempt the Lord to bow unto him but, his effort failed. Once again, we discover the Lord is being tempted to avoid the cross. However, the Lord was totally submissive to the father’s will. He prayed to God and asked if it were possible for the cup to pass from him. The reason for his prayer was because he knew the contents in the cup. It was not suffering or death rather, it was your sins and mine. It was the sins of the whole world.

We are told that Jesus was “very heavy.” He was weighed down with a feeling of uncertainty and distress. He was surrounded by grief to the degree that his very life was threatened. However, through all of this, he was victorious! Sin brought a curse upon the ground. In the garden, Jesus lay upon cursed ground and through sweat and sorrow, won the victory over sin and its curse. Gethsemane means “oil press.” Jesus was pressed in the garden by all that hell could thrust against him but, he still conquered it all because we were on his mind.

The second place was Gabbatha. Here, he suffered at the hand of Sinners. John 19:13 states: “When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.” The Lord felt the agony from the attack of sinners. We are told that he was despised and rejected of men. He was betrayed, beaten, and berated by the very ones he came to save. After these things, the people condemned him to death. However, as only he could, Jesus endured the pain, the agony and the shame all because he loved you and me.

Lastly, the third place was Golgotha. It was at this place where the Lord suffered greatly. More than likely, this place of suffering was far worse than any other suffering he or anyone else could ever experience. It is important for us to realize that his greatest suffering came from the hand of Sovereignty. We are told in John 19:17: “And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha.” In this place, Jesus suffers at the hands of his very own father. Since the beginning of time, God had never fully visited sin with total judgment. At Calvary, God dealt with the sin issue fully and finally. He did it through the body of his only begotten son.

He was stripped, abandoned,

marred beyond belief and crucified. At the cross, God passed

judgment on sin and he did it

through Jesus.

“Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe!” I am grateful that he loved me and the world enough to suffer for me. Because he suffered and died, we are free to live.

He went through the hour of travail and the hour of trial so the hour of triumph could be experienced. Because he suffered for us, may we be faithful to serve him.