Matthew 27:33 –
“And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a
Skull.”
Outside
the old city walls of Jerusalem in an Arab neighborhood is a place called,
“Gordon’s Calvary,” or the “Garden Tomb.” It is surrounded by an Arab Bus
Station and on the top of the sight believed to be Golgotha, the Place of the
Skull, there is a Muslim cemetery.
Outside the walls
of this serene place is all kinds of activity. People are consumed with their
everyday life. Like any other city in the world the people are trying to survive. When we made our journey to
what is believed to be the place where Jesus died, was buried, and rose from
the dead, there were several things that captured my attention.
There were a
number of birds that were singing. There were many signs of life in the garden.
I experienced such peace as we spent time in prayer and communion with our
guides. Perhaps those who live in the
surrounding neighborhoods only see this place as another tourist stop, but for
me it was a place of refuge and rest. It was a place to be still and listen to
the voice of the Lord.
As we examined the
empty tomb, and spent time exploring the garden there was a group singing
beautiful worship songs. Outside there
were horns and the sounds of traffic in a busy city, but inside there was the
moving sound of worship. I do not know
how to put in words what I experienced that day.
Another thing
that stood out to me was the weather. We
had made our journey during Passover.
According to Scripture this was the time when Jesus died as our Passover
Lamb. It was spring in Israel. There was a chill in the air. On our first few days in Jerusalem it was
cold at night and chilly during the day.
I have no way of knowing, but was it cold when He went to Golgotha? As He hang on the cross, exposed to the
elements for six hours was it cold? Was
there a cold wind blowing?
As I walked
around this beautiful garden I was reminded of what transpired on the
cross. He was betrayed, falsely accused,
experienced an illegal trial, beaten and mocked. He experienced brutal mistreatment at the
hands of the Romans. Hebrews 12:2 reads,
“looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who
for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and
has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
There is a
beautiful tiled plaque that has been strategically placed in the Garden. It reads, “Jesus Christ Declared with Power
to be the Son of God by the Resurrection from the Dead” (Romans 1:4). In my journey to the Garden Tomb I was
reminded, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!”
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