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 beautifully 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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