"Come, see the place where the Lord lay . . . "
A VISIT TO THE GARDEN TOMB
Why do some people think that Jesus was buried in the "Garden Tomb" just outside the walls of Jerusalem?
Some people dispute that Jesus was buried for three days and three nights . . . and others question whether the "Garden Tomb" in Jerusalem is the actual burial place. Some say it doesn't really matter.
LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE GARDEN TOMB!
#1 LOCATION:
About 200 yards outside the walls of Jerusalem, near the Damascus Gate, there is a cliff area known as the Calvary Escarpment. In the side of the cliff, clearly visible is a rock formation that is called Golgotha, "the place of the skull." One does not have to use his imagination to see the skull.
Just 100 yards to the west of Golgotha, is the location of an ancient tomb called the Garden Tomb, where most modern scholars believe Jesus Christ was placed after His crucifixion.
The Bible tells us that Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemas, took Jesus' body and buried it in a new tomb nearby:
"Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulcher, in which was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus, therefore, because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulcher was near at hand." John 20:40-41
#2 SPLIT ROCKS:
Immediately to the right of the Garden Tomb and possibly below the
crucifixion site, one can see where the rocks were split wide open from an apparent
earthquake . . . "Jesus, when He had cried
again with a loud voice, yielded up the spirit. And behold, the veil
of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom; and the
earth did quake, and the rocks were split . . . " Matthew
27:50-51
The split rock is even more obvious from the top of the cliff. Can you imagine standing at the foot of Jesus' cross when the earth would begin to shake and the rocks would split?
#3 A CLOSER LOOK INSIDE THE TOMB:
The description of the Garden Tomb that we find in the Bible is identical to what we find at the tomb outside the walls of Jerusalem!
PLAN OF THE GARDEN TOMB:
#1 The entrance into the tomb.
#2 Low threshold to the graves.
#3 Short, low walls open to the grave area.
#4 Finished burial place where Jesus was probably laid.
#5 "Pillow" cut into the rock.
#6 Weeping area.
#7 Rough, unfinished shelf.
#8 Unfinished grave area that was intended to accommodate several more members of a family.
#9 Small window.
When the three-day Sabbath days were ended (Passover, Unleavened Bread and the weekly Saturday Sabbath), two women who were some of Jesus' faithful followers, came to the tomb to anoint the body . . .
Mark 16:4-5 - "And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away; for it was very great. And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man (an angel) sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment . . . "
When
I visited the garden tomb several years ago, I immediately noticed that
there
there is no room to sit to the left . . . just a solid rock wall.
The angel was thus sitting to the right.
Mark 16:5 is a totally
accurate report of what the women saw when they entered the tomb. The
angel was apparently sitting on the top of the short rock wall at point #3 . . .
. . . or across on the top of the unfinished shelf at #7. Notice the iron fence that has now been erected to preserve this historical site.
The Biblical description of the tomb being hewn out of solid rock is also accurate! The Garden Tomb was so new that it was also UNFINISHED.
Across
from the place where a body would have been laid for embalment with the
spices, one can see ledges that were being cut into the stone that would accommodate
several more biers for additional family members. The tomb was so new
that it appears to be unfinished.
Even the Biblical description of the resting place of Jesus' body is accurate:
This was the burial tomb for a very wealthy family . . . notice the lower area on the right side of the resting spot . . . it was purposely cut lower like a shallow pool so that expensive liquid spices poured over the body would collect there and continue to wick up through the grave clothes, thereby preserving the entire body. The head was elevated so that it would not be submerged in the spices. Looking closely you can see what may be stains from the spices that Nicodemus brought when Jesus was placed into the tomb.
If the tomb had been used to preserve additional bodies, the stains would be much more obvious. The tomb was never used again after Jesus' resurrection.
Only the most wealthy families would have had such an elaborate tomb . . . and Joseph of Arimathaea was very wealthy . . . and a follower of Jesus:
Matthew 27:57-60 - "When the evening was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple; He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus . . . And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock."
TWO ANGELS:
Scripture gives us another accurate report about the Garden Tomb:
"But Mary stood outside of the sepulcher weeping; and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain." John 20:11-12
Besides these descriptions of the interior of the tomb, the outside of the tomb is even more suggestive that this Garden Tomb was probably the burial place of Christ:
#4 A CLOSER LOOK AT THE OUTSIDE THE TOMB:
CLICK HERE to continue your visit to the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem.
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Copyright 2016 Discovery News
Discovered: The iron spike that was used to secure Jesus' tomb was sheared off at the resurrection and is still visible at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. But there is additional evidence that the Garden Tomb is the place of Jesus' brief, three-day burial. The Garden Tomb is located near Golgotha . . . there is the evidence of an earthquake with split rocks nearby . . . all of this points to the fact that this site may have been preserved by God for modern-day skeptics. Every Biblical description of the actual burial tomb is accurate to the finest detail!