Jerusalem- Garden of The Tomb

                       Place of Jesus Tomb

This was the place that the body of Jesus was 
taken to be stored after his death on the cross.
This is a very significant place for our Christian Faith as we believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead while some others believe that his body was stolen by the apostles or unknown persons. Either way, Atheist and those who refuse to believe the gospel, often use this reference as their defense that Jesus did not rise from the dead but that his body was stolen. I often wondered that if only we Christians could prove that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead, there would be no disputing claim against it.

Golgotha

According to history, many scholars and archaeologists have argued about the exact location of the garden tomb. The location of the tomb matches the description in the bible from all of the four gospels. The first clue, is in Matthew 27:33, whereby JESUS was said to be crucified at a place outside of the city walls called 'Golgotha' which means,“Place of the Skull.” When we went there, there was actually a cliff that had the shape of a skull.

                      Garden Area

The second clue is in John:19:41, which says that the place of crucifixion was near a garden. Interestingly, there was actually a gardener working over there at the site. Based on the biblical references in the bible, the tomb was carved out of rock and there were further evidence as the garden had an ancient wine press and an underground water cistern that dated many centuries back. The owner of the garden in the bible, Joseph, was known to be a wealthy man and according to archaeologists findings, the water cistern is known to be the third largest in Jerusalem holding 250,000 gallons of rainwater, which gives evidence that Joseph was wealthy and that there was a working garden during the time of Jesus.

Wine Press and Water Cistern

The third clue is that the tomb was located on the right side inside, according to Mark 16:5, which   said that the Angel was sitting on the right side and  John 20:12, which says that the Angel was sitting where Jesus body had been.Indeed the tomb was found to be located at the right side inside and is a compelling piece of evidence.

Tree grew in a shape of a cross

When I went to the place, I saw something interesting. I actually saw a tree that grew in a shape of the cross right outside the tomb in the garden.The picture beside will help you to understand
what I am talking about. It looked like the Messiah being hung on the cross from a certain angle. It really shocked me as I felt that it seemed so surreal that a tree could actually grow in that shape right outside of the tomb.

To conclude, we can never say that the Garden of The Tomb is Definitely the place that the body of Jesus was kept, but I can conclude that,the cliff called Golgotha, which resembled the shape of a skull, the fact that the garden was near it, the tomb carved out of rock, the ancient wine press, the underground water cistern, the fact that the tomb was placed in the right side inside and the tree in the shape of a cross surely makes a compelling reason for me to believe that this place is indeed, the actual ‘Garden of The Tomb’ that was recorded in the bible.

 Regardless of whether it was the actual place or not, the Garden Of the Tomb in the bible was where Jesus Christ rose from the dead and today we are all believers of it. Christianity started from this very truth and today let us continue to spread the good news around that according to Romans 10:9, Paul says that, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."