THE GARDEN TOMB

Many Christian pilgrims accept that the Tomb where Jesus was laid to rest after He died on the cross is the site in the popular Holy Sepulchre. However, many go to the Garden Tomb, next to the Place of the Skull, to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The Tomb in the Garden

It is believed that the Garden Tomb is the tomb of Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea, where the body of Jesus was placed after He died on the cross at Golgotha. According to Scripture (Jn10:41) "There was a garden in the place where Jesus had been put to death, and in it there was a new tomb where no one had ever been buried." According to the other Gospels it was a tomb "which had been dug out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb."

The winepress

Excavations revealed that the tomb was indeed situated in a garden. A large cistern as well as a winepress was discovered in the garden. It is also obvious that the entrance to the original tomb was covered by a rolling stone as the groove for it is still there.

The inside of the tomb is divided into two parts, the outer room (or weeping chamber), where visitors to the tomb can see the two recesses for two bodies to be buried.

The place where the body of Jesus was laid in the tomb

One of them (closest to the door) is clearly not finished and ready while the other was ready and must have been the place where the body of Jesus was placed.

Christians commemorate the death and burial of Jesus at the Garden Tomb. But the fact that the tomb is empty is even more important. The empty tomb is evidence of a risen and living Saviour.

The Tomb is empty

The site is situated about 200m north of the Damascus Gate, just off Nablus Road. Turn to the right into a small lane leading to the entrance of the Garden Tomb. Pilgrims are met by fiendly guides who speak different languages and will show you through the Garden. A pamphlet on the site is available in most languages.