An Arm Chair Tour of Israel.
7. The Garden Tomb.
John 19:41. Pray.
Probably the most sought out place in Israel for Christian pilgrims to visit is the place where
Jesus died and was buried. Atheists say Jesus did not even exist but not everyone is so blind.
Agnostics simply do not know one way or the other. Christians are certain that Christ died on
Calvary, was buried near by and rose from the dead three days after His death. So, can we find
the place where this happened? Well, even among Christians, there is a controversy about this.
Two main locations compete for visitors regarding this topic. One is the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher. The other is the Garden Tomb. One is revered by Catholics the other by Protestants.
The first has a lot of tradition on it’s side but is inside the city wall. Catholics are quick to tell us
that the wall it is within - was not there in 33AD when Christ died but was constructed later.
The Garden Tomb was discovered outside the Damascus Gate in 1867 by a peasant. It was on the
road to Nablus, a town 49 Kilometers North of Jerusalem. As early as 1842 a detailed report
written by German Theologian Otto Thenius suggested there was a better site of the resurrection
than the Catholic site. He proposed that the outcropping of rock known today as “Skull Hill” was
a more likely spot for the crucifixion. The rocky cliff there gives an uncanny appearance of a
skull. (Jn.19:17) His studies received more notoriety in 1883 when a British Officer named
Charles George Gordon endorsed Otto’s findings and identified the tomb as that of Joseph of
Arimathaea. Since that time, the site has been known as “Gordon’s Calvary”. Calvary
(Lk.23:33) is the Latin form of Golgotha. The Greek word translated Calvary is kranion from
which is our English word cranium (skull).
There is no great stone at The Garden Tomb but there are Byzantine Church markings in the tomb
and a great stone was located in a Byzantine Monastery that matches the tomb door perfectly.
“The Garden Tomb Association” purchased this piece of real estate in 1894 and maintain it but
the legal formalities took several years to complete. The Association, to this day, does not make
the claim that this is the actual tomb in which Jesus was buried and the controversy continues
with each side using scholarship and archaeology studies to prove their arguments. There are
certain things we can know from scripture.
The place where Jesus was crucified was the place of a skull. Jn.19:17.
The crucifixion was near a road. Matt.27:39-40.
Joseph and Nicodemus took His body off the cross and buried Him. Jn.19:38-40.
The tomb was in a garden close to the place of a skull. Jn.19:41-42.
Joseph donated his own tomb for the burial of Jesus and closed it with a great stone. Matt.27:5960.
God has a perfect plan of salvation for sinners. 1Cor.15:1-4.
True believers shall have Christ’s heavenly image. 1Cor.15:20-22, 42-49.
Conclusion: Christ is the all-sufficient Savior for any and all who come to Him by grace through
faith. Eph.2:8-10. Who do you know that needs to receive Christ as Savior? Jn.1:11-12.
AMEN. 7-14.