Matthew 27:33

And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, The place of a skull, they gave him wine to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted it, he would not drink.

Dummelow and others view the traditional site of the crucifixion, now marked by the church of the Holy Sepulchre, as possibly the true one, thinking it to have been beyond the ancient walls but now within the walls of the city. The name Golgotha, the place of a skull, however, favors another location: the rocky eminence northwest of the city, an extension of the Temple hill. It is rounded, with large holes, making it resemble a skull when viewed from certain positions. Also, John A. Broadus emphatically disputes the traditional Holy Sepulchre site on the basis that it most certainly does lie within the wall of the ancient city. Of course, it cannot now be determined absolutely WHERE our Lord suffered, except that it was beyond the gates of the ancient Jerusalem, and relatively near the city.

The wine (and gall) was a potion designed to deaden the sensibilities of condemned men and to alleviate some of the suffering. Much questioning has arisen over the Lord's tasting, and then refusing to drink. Did he not know, without tasting, what was in the cup? It appears that in the depths of his humiliation, Christ did not choose to know everything, although he could have done so, especially with regard to those things that could so easily be determined by human investigation. Why did he reject it? Surely not because he wanted to suffer as much as possible, else he would not have tasted it at all. More probably, the tasting revealed that the concoction contained wine, and it has already been noted why he refused wine (see on Matthew 26:29). Though not related, that drink could have been proffered from the hands of a certain group in Jerusalem who customarily showed mercy by such acts on behalf of condemned men.

Another possibility, regarding the wine and gall, is that Christ tasted it in fulfillment of the prophecy: "They gave me also gall for my food; and in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink" (Psalms 69:21). Christ's tasting the drink thus constituted a most accurate fulfillment of the prophecy; and one may well believe it was for that reason he tasted it, although he already knew what was in it. Surely he who knew men's very thoughts (Luke 6:8; 11:17) also knew what was in the cup, or at least could have known if he had so desired. This view has the advantage of consistency with the Saviour's unfailing respect for the fulfillment of the Scriptures.