Albert Barnes Commentary Hebrews 13:12

"Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered without the gate." — Hebrews 13:12 (ASV)

Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood. This was so that there might be a conformity between his death for sin and the sacrifices that typified it.

It is implied here that Jesus voluntarily suffered outside the city; that is, Providence ordained it to be so. This was ensured by his being put to death as the result of a judicial trial, and not by popular tumult (see notes on Isaiah 53:8).

If he had been killed in a tumult, it might have occurred as in other cases (compare the case of Zacharias, son of Barachias, Matthew 23:35), even at the altar. However, because he was subjected to a judicial process, his death was carried out with more deliberation and in the usual manner. Therefore, he was led out of the city, because no criminal was executed within the walls of Jerusalem.

Without the gate. This means outside the gate of Jerusalem (John 19:17–18). The place where he was put to death was called Golgotha, that is, the place of a skull, and so the Latin word we commonly use when speaking of it is Calvary (Luke 23:33; compare notes on Matthew 27:33).

Calvary, as it is now shown, is within the walls of Jerusalem. However, there is no reason to believe this is the place where the Lord Jesus was crucified, because that was outside the walls of the city. The precise direction from the city is not indicated by the sacred writers, nor are there any historical records or traditional marks by which the exact place can now be known.

All that we know on the subject from the New Testament is that the name was Golgotha; that the place of the crucifixion and sepulchre were near each other; that they were outside the gate and near the city; and that they were in a frequented spot (John 19:20).

“This would favour the conclusion that the place was probably on a major road leading from one of the gates; and such a spot would only be found on the western or northern sides of the city, on the roads leading toward Joppa or Damascus.” See the question about the place of the crucifixion examined at length in Robinson's Biblical Researches, vol. ii, pp. 69-80, and Bibliotheca Sacra, No. 1.

A note on terms: “sanctify” can mean “make expiation for.” For “without the gate,” see John 19:17-18.