This was one of my favorite locations in Jerusalem. By the time we arrived at "The Garden Tomb" we were hot, very sweaty, tired and thirsty. We had walked the streets of Jerusalem and had been begged to buy too many cheap trinkets for too long. We needed to be away from the similar religious craziness that Jesus was fighting against in his time, we needed to walk with Him in the garden.
I will be totally honest here, I am an Evangelical Protestant Christian. I see the world through that lens and it makes everything clear to me because of my relationship with Christ. The Garden Tomb was a place for me to connect with God and contemplate his sacrifice for me. From the moment I walked in I was at peace, not because I knew 100% that Jesus was buried and rose from the dead here in this exact spot, but because I could leave the noise of the city and focus on God. It reminded me of Jesus leaving the people, the hustle and bustle of his life and going to the garden to pray. I may never know if this is the place where Jesus lay dead and three days later was resurrected, but that was not the most important part for me. It was an opportunity to focus on His life, His sacrifice and His AMAZING grace!
We were able to see the place where there is evidence of a burial around the time of Jesus' life. The tomb is carved out of the rock and the place where the body was laid was carved inside of that area.
In 1883, near to the Damascus Gate, Major-General Charles George Gordon CB found a rocky escarpment (now situated just behind a Palestinian bus station), which from several angles resembled the face of a skull; since one of the possible etymologies for Golgotha is the Aramaic word for skull, and may refer to the shape of the place, Gordon concluded that the rocky escarpment was likely to have been Golgotha. (Taken from Wikipedia HERE)
There will always be arguments over the validity of The site at The Church of The Holy Sepulchre and the Garden Tomb. It was an amazing blessing to be privileged enough to see the area and picture the time in my mind. This is definitely one of the most popular places for Protestant Christians in the city. Our families favorite truth of the site came as we were preparing to exit the tomb. The sign on the door of the Tomb reads " He is not here, For He is RISEN!"
Ultimately that is the message of the quite and peaceful garden, the message that I pray the world understands and accepts before he returns for the second time. If this is the place he was buried, or if the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the true location, or if it is another unmarked spot, it does not change my belief in the Risen Jesus Christ! He isn't in the tomb anymore, he doesn't hang on the cross still, He is the one true hero of my life and he has been victorious over my struggles with sin. Someday I hope to ask Him where the location was that He was buried, but then someday I hope to ask Him many things : ) It was nice on this day to just refresh and walk in the garden with my Risen Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is what God brought to mind while I was in the garden. One of my favorite hymns:
IN THE GARDEN words & music by C Austin Miles
Verse 1 I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear,
Falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.
Chorus: And he walks with me And He talks with me,
And He tells me I am his own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
Verse 2 He speaks and the sound of His voice Is so sweet
the birds hush their singing;
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.
Chorus
Verse 3 I'd stay in the garden with Him,
Tho' the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; Thro' the voice of woe His voice to me is calling.
Chorus
