The Garden Tomb

Sunday will be Easter and my heart cannot wait for the celebration of Christ's resurrection at church when I will be able to join with my brothers and sisters in worship of the One who died and rose again to give us LIFE.

I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10

The devotionals that have been a part of my quiet times through the past thirty-nine days of Lent have truly prepared my heart for Easter in the same way the Advent devotionals prepared my heart for Christmas only a few short months ago.




Today is Good Friday. On a Friday some 2008 years ago the still and lifeless body of Christ Jesus, the Son of God, was laid in a rock hewn tomb outside the holy city of Jerusalem.

John's gospel records, in the 19th chapter, the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Beginning in verse 38 it says this about His burial:

After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus . . . asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body.
Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes . . .
So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

Seven years ago this past week (as I've shared before) I was privileged to be in Jerusalem for the filming of Beth Moore's JESUS, the ONE and ONLY. Our tour included a visit to the Garden Tomb, also commonly called Gordon's Calvary. My memories of that visit have resonated in my mind all week as I have anticipated the coming of the Easter weekend. Most of what I will share in this post is taken from the travel journal I wrote when I returned from Israel (A Journey to My Father's Home). The reality of having been there is still fresh in my mind and heart and, doubtless, will be through eternity for it was an awesome and profoundly holy privilege. One never to be forgotten.

Before I share about my personal experience at the Garden Tomb, let me give you a little background history of Gordon's Calvary. In 1883 British general, Charles Gordon (of later Khartoum fame), spent several months in Jerusalem. From his window just inside the Old City walls, he was struck by the skull-like features of a cliff face northeast of the Damascus Gate and became convinced that this was the real Golgotha where Jesus was crucified. Others agreed with his theories and after his death an association was formed and funded that purchased this property and serve as "guardians" of it even today.

The association makes no effort to prove the authenticity of the site. The "traditional" site of Jesus' crucifixion and burial is at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (which my group did not visit). A number of Holy Land guides I read in preparation for my trip, however, described the Garden Tomb as "for many ... the climax of their pilgrimage to Jerusalem" or "the highlight of their Holy Land visit." To those comments, I can offer a resounding "AMEN." Our guide there was a gracious, older British gentleman whose presentation was wonderfully informative, enlightening, and extremely Christ-centered. He had probably made the same speech thousands of time in the course of his work but his manner made you feel as though you were a special visitor with whom he was sharing all this information for the very first time. We were gathered under a canopy at the top of the hill (Mount Calvary?) while Mr. Cook gave us the historical background of how the property came to be under British control. Beneath us on the street that runs directly in front the cliff-face (Golgotha?) is the bus depot for Jerusalem's city transit system. That meant that the entire time Mr. Cook was making his presentation in his eloquent and gentle manner, in the background of our hearing, buses were coming and going and horns were blowing! It was quite an enigma but, to me, there was a peace and tranquility in the garden setting that transcended even the troublesome traffic noises.

Here's a link that will give you a photo tour of this wonderful location:
http://www.holylandphotos.org/browse.asp?s=1,2,6,19,46&img=IJNTGT02

There are several things of great interest at the Garden Tomb besides the tomb itself - a HUGE water cistern and an ancient winepress. But, of course, the tomb is the focal point. When we walked through the garden to the tomb itself, we were told we could go into it in groups of 6 or 8. I watched the first ones from within my group enter the tomb. When they stepped back out into the surrounding courtyard, almost all of them were crying. I thought that was odd. There was definitely a quiet reverence about this place but the same people who were busy whispering and commenting among themselves minutes before would be solemn and tearful just moments later when all they seemed to have done was enter and exit a small tomb. I didn't understand what there was about this tomb to produce that kind of change. Then came my turn. I've searched for words to describe the scene and can find none that seem adequate. Perhaps it was not as much what my eyes saw as what my spirit felt.

All hewn from the rock, there is the small weeping chamber where we stood, a low rock wall leading to the burial chamber with its ledge that the body would have been lain upon. It was really pretty much what you might expect to see. But what I did not expect was the markedly different spirit I sensed in that small, cold, dark place. I hope you can understand what I mean when I say that I have not physically felt such a weight of sorrow since my father died in 1986. If you've ever lost someone you dearly love, you know that grief brings with it a weight - a heaviness - that hurts physically. I felt that weight of sorrow painfully and physically standing inside the tomb but I felt it deep within my spirit. I could not have held back my tears if my life had depended upon it. It felt for the world to me as if Christ had died only moments before and I had helped crucify Him! The strange thing was though, I didn't feel "guilty." I felt only intense grief at the suffering of One so precious. Then, simultaneous with the sorrow and grief, was an absolutely overflowing gratitude . . . a recognition that were it not for what Christ did on the cross and in the tomb, I would not have a relationship with Him. With that realization, I began to sob in profuse thanksgiving. It was the strangest and strongest mix of emotion I believe I have ever experienced. And yet, as I think back on it now, I can remember feeling those same emotions when, as an eight year old child, the Holy Spirit brought conviction of my sin and I asked Christ to be my Savior.

We moved, one by one, from the tomb and its courtyard to the benches in the center platform of the garden and sat in quiet reflection until our group was complete. There was no more whispering or chatting with one another. Each of us were lost in our own private worship and communion with God. Our group was immeasurably blessed that day to have Travis Cottrell traveling with us. Can you just imagine the joy of having a God-called worship leader with a heart for God like Travis has there with you in this holy place. It was awesome! He read the resurrection story from his Bible and began to lead us in some worship choruses. Truthfully though, I'll have to say that to me, Travis seemed not focused on "leading" at this particular time but just like all the rest of us - compelled to express worship from the depth of his being. No one wanted to leave. We were, indeed, standing on holy ground!

For those of you who read this and have also been there, please click on "comment" and share with us your experience at the Garden Tomb.

As I think today of the body of my Savior being laid in Joseph's tomb those many years ago, I recognize that I was not with Him in His death. But you know what? He is with me in mine! He was with me when I died to sin and asked Him to become my Savior. He is with me when I make those daily choices to die to myself and choose to do His will. And, He will be with me when I close my eyes to life on this earth and open them to look into His face in heaven.

Behold, I am with you always,

even to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:20