The Garden Tomb

Since Monday afternoon we had some free time, we decided to walk to the Old City and visit The Garden Tomb which was about a 30 minute walk.

In the upper right hand corner of the photo, you will see the Jerusalem Center. We walked down to the first level to a gated exit which leads to the street. There we were able to walk down the hill and back up to the other side from where I took this photo on our way to the Old City.

A minaret towers above the buildings and the call to prayer was about to start. This particular day we saw lots of Muslims on the street rather than Jews.

Garth spotted a dental sign and a Maseroti vehicle. Hmmm . . maybe they have some rich dentists here? We knew we were getting close because we saw signs to The Garden Tomb.

According to an oral tradition, the quarry was used by the Jewish authorities as a place of execution by stoning. If this is true, the same site may have been used by the Romans as a crucifixion site. To the right of the northern wall of the Old City near the bus station, there is a rough cliff. This area was part of an ancient stone quarry. Crucifixions were usually carried out by busy roads as a visual deterrent. This would have been just such a place adjacent to main roads leading to Damascus and Jericho.

Photo: Damascus Gate.

Photo: Entrance to Garden Tomb. The Bible tells us that they took Jesus out of the city bearing His own cross to "a place of a skull." There He was crucified with two robbers in front of a jeering crowd, while people passing by hurled insults at him.

The Garden certainly fits the details described in the Gospel accounts and we recognized it from our trip in 1971. However, the garden area has been expanded, the addition of cement benches and places to sit and contemplate the events of the first Easter morning.

In a setting of neatly maintained gardens and trees, The Garden Tomb provides a tranquil environment for prayer and reflection. We do not knew whether this site was the actual place of crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus, but the location is particularly favored by some Christians, in preference to the cluttered Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City.

John 19:41 tells us that "at the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no-one had ever been laid."

The open tomb carved into a rock face, with skull-like erosion in a limestone cliff nearby, can be found down an alley and north of Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. This Garden has been carefully preserved as a Christian holy site because many believe it could be the garden of Joseph of Arimathea (secret disciple of Jesus) in which Jesus was buried after His resurrection. We really don't know if it is authentic but nevertheless is a beautiful place to visit. Joseph of Arithemia was given special permission to bury His body in his nearby tomb before the start of the Jewish Sabbath. The discovery of both an ancient tomb and a Roman era wine press so close to Skull Hill conforms with that description. The tomb was unearthed in 1867 but part of the entrance was damaged.

We approached the tomb and went inside.

Inside the tomb was space for several mourners to stand in the large weeping chamber. There is a Byzantine cross painted inside the tomb and another outside on the front wall.

Photo: Inside tomb.

Whether this is the place where the crucifixion took place, the actual site is of less importance than the spiritual significance of what really happened. We know that Jesus went willingly to His death on the cross as He atoned for our sins.

On the door inside hung this sign.

Looking out from inside the tomb.

Photo: water cistern. The Garden has been carefully preserved as a holy Christian site.

Romans 1: 4 states "Jesus Christ was declared with power to be the the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead."

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die." (John 11:25-26)