JESUS' EMPTY TOMB
“Come, see the place where the Lord lay . . . “
A VISIT TO THE GARDEN TOMB:
Jesus was buried in the “Garden Tomb” just outside the walls of Jerusalem. Some dispute that Jesus was even buried for three days and three nights . . . and others question whether the “Garden Tomb” in Jerusalem is the actual burial place.
LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE GARDEN TOMB which can still be viewed today!
#1 LOCATION: GOLGOTHA outside the city walls.
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 Arimathea and Nicodemus, 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:
The Bible tells us that the Rocks Were Split: Immediately to the right of the Garden Tomb and possibly below the crucifixion site, one can still 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 Rocks Were Split by an Earthquake: 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: (See diagram below)
#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 . . . “
Plan of the Garden Tomb:
When I visited the garden tomb several years ago, I immediately noticed that 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.
Angel sitting in the Garden Tomb
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. The unfinished Garden Tomb Across from the place where a body would have been laid for embalmment 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:
Jesus’ Resting Place in the Garden Tomb:
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 obviously never used again after Jesus’ resurrection.
Only the most wealthy families would have had such an elaborate tomb . . . and Joseph of Arimathea was very wealthy . . . and a follower of Jesus:
Matthew 27:57-60 – “When the evening was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, 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 OF THE TOMB:
Most visitors that come to the Garden Tomb, which is located along the Calvary Escarpment outside the northern city walls of Jerusalem, may not notice a rusty iron pin embedded deeply into the rock. But that pin is quite significant from a historical and biblical perspective.
IRON PIN THAT SECURED THE TOMB:
Discovery News editor Chuck Anderson pointing at the iron pin inserted in the rock at the time of Jesus burial to make the grave “secure”. The Bible records that the chief priests came to Pontius Pilate the day after the crucifixion of Christ to request that the tomb be secured. They remembered that Christ had said He would be resurrected from the dead after the third day. Pilate’s response is found in Matthew 27:65-66 – “’Ye have a watch; go your way, make it as sure as ye can.’ So they went, and made the sepulchers sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.”
Not only were Roman soldiers assigned to guard the tomb to prevent anyone from stealing the body of Christ, an iron pin was inserted into the rock to prevent the huge stone from being rolled away from the opening of the grave.
When the women came to anoint the body of Christ on the first day of the week, they asked themselves who would roll the stone back for them. They had no idea what a difficult challenge that would be . . . especially because of the iron pin making the grave "secure"!
The iron pin was held securely into the rock by hot lead that had been poured into the hole that was drilled with a star bit. This was a common method used by the Romans to permanently fasten iron pins into stone. Iron and lead filings from that pin have been tested to confirm that the pin was authentic and inserted into the rock during the first century.
When an angel opened the tomb of Christ for all to see that it was empty, that iron pin was sheared right off. Engineers have calculated that it would take over 90 tons of pressure to move that rock and clip off that piece of solid iron!
This is more remarkable evidence of Jesus’ resurrection! He is alive, not because a pin is still in the rock, but because the Word of God says so!
You can see the pin just about three feet left of the door opening at the Garden Tomb. Look for it if you plan to visit Jerusalem! The Garden Tomb is located just outside the Damascus Gate.
THE ENTRY TO THE GARDEN TOMB:
As the picture above shows, the entry to the Garden Tomb is low . . . visitors have to stoop down to enter or look in.
“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, here the body of Jesus had lain.” John 20:11-12
THE STONE ROLLED AWAY:
It should also be observed that the Garden Tomb shows evidence that a round, disc-like stone once sealed the entry. You can even see part of the original circular ring where the stone would have been. Notice the channel that the stone would have been rolled in and the flat surface of the exterior wall of the tomb.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE STONE?
It is very interesting that the stone that covered the Garden Tomb has been removed . . . perhaps a Pharisee took it to make a large coffee table? (Well . . . probably not!) Round stones were typically used to seal ancient tombs: Actually, there are numerous flat and round stones around Jerusalem that sealed ancient tombs.
OUT OF PLACE TOMB STONE:
There is one huge stone on the top of Mt. Nebo that fits the probable size and description of the one that would have covered the Garden Tomb. This stone seems strangely out of place on a mountain top 25 miles away from Jerusalem.
Some believe that the stone found at the monument to Moses at the top of Mount Nebo may indeed be the stone that originally sealed the Garden Tomb and was physically “rolled away” by the Angel of the Lord. Scripture even gives us a description of the stone that covered the tomb — “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; and he rolled a GREAT STONE to the door of the sepulcher, and departed.” The word “great” is the Greek word “mega” which simply means extremely large . . . huge. Actually, the stone picture below look too large to be the stone at the Garden Tomb . . . but you get the picture of what those stones looked like and how hard they would be to move.
Perhaps the removal of the stone was an attempt to honor Moses rather than Jesus’ burial place and resurrection. It would appear that the “Garden Tomb” was all but buried and forgotten until being accidentally rediscovered by General Charles Gordon in the early 19th century!
Gordon was a well-known British retired military leader when he came to live near Jerusalem in 1882. He often visited the home of Horatio and Anna Spafford, founders of the American Colony.
Gordon’s Calvary:
From their quarters atop the northern wall of the Old City, Gordon had a view of a rocky escarpment in which he identified the features of a skull. He believe that this was the “Place of the Skull” as mentioned in the Scriptures.
Close by he found an ancient tomb which Gordon believed was the empty tomb of Christ . . . others must have seen it but ignored it for centuries.
Sometime later, the property was purchased by a concerned group of Christians in England and the Garden Tomb Association was formed and they have maintained the Garden Tomb since.
The massive stone atop Mt. Nebo is definitely a stone that had to be carried there from some other location and was intended to seal a tomb . . . and there is no such tomb on the mountain top that has become a shrine unto Moses.
NOTE: The Garden Tomb, if it IS the actual burial place of the Savior, IS NOT A SHRINE nor is it an OBJECT TO BE WORSHIPED.
It just appears to be more evidence that the Lord Himself has preserved for the world to know that Jesus Christ is indeed risen from the dead!
Jesus’ resurrection is a great comfort and encouragement to those who have placed their faith in the Savior. If you have never prayed to acknowledge your sins and ask Him to be your personal Sacrificial Lamb and Savior, do it today!
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