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Summary
- The Gospels give no distance for Jesus’s walk to the cross; estimates of the traditional route, the Via Dolorosa, run from about 500 to 650 metres (0.5 to 0.65 km), or 1,640 to 2,130 feet, under half a mile.
- The Via Dolorosa begins near the Lions’ Gate, where tradition places the Antonia Fortress, and ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; its 14 stations took their present form in the 18th century.
- Most scholars now place Pilate’s headquarters at Herod’s palace on the western side of the city, so the real route may have followed different streets.
- John says Jesus went out “bearing his cross” (John 19:17); Matthew, Mark and Luke add that the soldiers compelled Simon of Cyrene to carry it (Mark 15:21).
- Jesus most likely carried only the crossbeam, since the upright post usually stood ready at the place of execution.
- A 1986 medical study estimated that Jesus had already walked more than 4 km (2.5 miles) to and from his trials that night.
- No Gospel says how long the walk to Golgotha took.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- King James Version: Mark 14:26, 14:32, 14:53; 15:1, 15:16–21, 15:25; Matthew 27:32; Luke 23:7, 23:11, 23:26–28, 23:32; John 18:28; 19:13–20; Hebrews 13:12, BibleGateway.
- Robin Ngo, “Tour Showcases Remains of Herod’s Jerusalem Palace—Possible Site of the Trial of Jesus,” Bible History Daily, Biblical Archaeology Society (first published 8 January 2015), quoting Jodi Magness, The Archaeology of the Holy Land (2012), and Shimon Gibson, “The Trial of Jesus at the Jerusalem Praetorium” (2011), biblicalarchaeology.org.
- “The Via Dolorosa,” Travel Palestine, Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, travelpalestine.ps.
- “Via Dolorosa” and “Ecce Homo,” See the Holy Land, Via Dolorosa and Ecce Homo.
- “De la Vía Dolorosa al Santo Sepulcro: el camino de la Pasión,” El Debate, 6 April 2023, eldebate.com.
- William D. Edwards, Wesley J. Gabel and Floyd E. Hosmer, “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ,” JAMA 255, no. 11 (21 March 1986): 1455–63, PubMed; full text reprinted by Catholic Culture.
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