The Garden Tomb

"He is not here, for He is risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying."

Matthew 28:6

Within the Old City of Jerusalem, tucked amidst the hustle and bustle of life, there can be found a Garden which feels like the most peaceful place on earth. Right next to it stands a busy bus station where a hill with the likeness of a skull is clearly seen. Golgotha, the place of the skull is the place where Jesus was crucified. It is not the picture you hold in your mind of where our Lord hung to die for us. Much of the hill is buried beneath the bus station and they believe that the mouth of the skull is hidden also. The eye sockets are still visible however. Jesus would have hung at the foot of the hill near the road where the people passed by and could see Him. Not traditionally on the top of the hill like we oftentimes picture. Last Thursday, we visited the place with the most significance for a believer in Christ, The Garden Tomb and 'Skull Hill" as it is known today. You can see Golgotha from the Garden Tomb and there is much evidence to prove that these two locations are probably where Jesus was crucified and then resurrected. 

The two furthest holes are the eye sockets and the mouth is out of sight, buried beneath the bus station below.

You can see the buses in the background.

A British tour guide presented the evidence especially regarding the location and layout of the tomb. I am convinced that this is where Jesus was buried. On their website The Garden Tomb you can read an account of how Golgotha and the tomb were discovered. 

As early as 1842 a German Theologian named Otto Thenius proposed the idea that the outcropping of rock known today as "Skull Hill" could possibly be significant in the identification of the site of the crucifixion. That idea lay seemingly dormant for quite some time until General Charles Gordon on sabbatical in the area (1883) began to publish similar ideas. Because of his importance in British society at that time the idea took hold and people began to look seriously at the claims that this could possibly be the site listed in the New Testament as Golgotha (Aramaic) or Calvary (Latin) - the place of the skull. It was the efforts of two ladies in particular, Charlotte Hussey and Louisa Hope, who followed these ideas and began to take them seriously and thought that the place ought to be preserved. In September 22, 1892 a notice was placed in the London Times asking people to donate the funds necessary to purchase the site (then offered for sale by a German family). The Garden Tomb Association was formally established in 1893 and the purchase of the property was bought about in 1894 - though it would actually be a number of years before all the legal formalities were completed. 

Notice that Elijah is trying to roll the stone! 

(This is not the actual stone which would have been much larger).

Outside the tomb….. about to enter in…..

The beauty of this site in Jerusalem lies within the tomb which one must enter by bowing the knee and head.   It is empty! Within the stone walls to the right when you enter, are three areas where bodies would have been placed. It is the most humbling place I have ever visited. There is a stillness unlike any other place I have been. If I walked inside any other burial tomb in all the earth, I would be completely freaked out. There is something eerie about tombs and graveyards where the dead are buried. But here, there is a sense of peace and joy because this tomb does not represent death to the believer but a resurrected life through His death. 

 The Bible describes that Jesus was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem near a gate of the city along a major thoroughfare, that at the place where He was crucified there was a garden and in the garden a tomb. The tomb is described as being a tomb cut out of rock, belonging to a wealthy man by the name of Joseph of Arimathea. It had a weeping chamber, a burial chamber, it was sealed with a rolling stone, it had a traditionally low doorway through which the disciples were forced to stoop in order to look into (and enter) the tomb that morning. The words of the Gospel writers began to step out of the New Testament in living color. 

If you have the opportunity to only visit one place here in Israel, I would suggest that this is the one. It is the highlight of everyone's tour and the centre of our faith and testimony of what God has done for us personally. There is so much I could say, but instead, I shall let my words be few and let the pictures speak for themselves. 

18 years later and we were back in the tomb together….. but now married and with six children! 

Oh how young we look!

It is interesting to return here after so long. Not only has the Garden where the Tomb is, changed so much, but so have I. There are several trees missing from the garden and there are more paths and places for people to sit and meditate upon His word. They have really improved it over the last eighteen years since I first visited. I feel like the Lord has been doing much work in my heart during this time too! Much pruning and reworking has been done in my life. But the tomb remains the same, untouched and peaceful just like Jesus remains the same in my life, always present, never changing but always changing me into His image.

The Garden is a very special place to us because it is where we were engaged. So of course we decided to have a re-inactment of the proposal in the exact same place as before……

Damascus Gate where Jesus would have been led out of the city to be crucified.

What else do you do under a street sign like this right by The Garden tomb?

Truly a life-changing experience for us all and especially the children. We have already decided that we should visit again before we leave. It is a place where I could just sit, meditate, pray, cry and worship our Risen Lord. We are so thankful for what He has done for us!