Day 9 : The Garden Tomb

Luke 24: 1-12

Jesus Has Risen

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.

9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves,and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

A mini model of the Garden Tomb

While the Via Dolorosa is mainly the view of the Catholic Church, the Protestants on the other hand believe that Jesus was buried in the Garden Tomb, which is set in a quiet enclosure just outside Damascus Gate.

It is believed that the nearby hillock with a broken cistern in its rocky face, bears resemblance to a skull which could be Golgotha.

The large Cistern found

In 1867, a first century rock-hewn tomb containing 

two chambers was discovered near the hill was 

discovered near the hill.

The evidence for a probable site of execution near 

to an exceptionally large cistern and a Herodian 

tomb seems to meet all the details mentioned 

in the Gospels, makes this present garden a center 

for Christian Meditation.

Listen to the explanation given by the Garden Tomb staff regarding the present site.

The site staff then led us to the most important place in the garden, THE EMPTY TOMB.

Our Pastors shared a soul searching message and conducted a very meaningful Holy Communion with us at the Garden Tomb. The song "Because He Lives" was so meaningful and awesome to all of us as we stood there in the very place where the angels said, 

"He is not here for HE IS RISEN!!!"