John 19:17-42, Seeing Jesus in Israel Today (7)

After the worship service we took the bus (it’s Shabbat but the Arab bus line is running) to Damascus Gate area.  We loaded up on some fresh juice to tide us over until our early evening meal, and then headed for the Garden Tomb.

·       The Garden Tomb.

o   First we were blessed by a tour from a volunteer from Australia.  He gave an excellent presentation.  From the years Cindy and I volunteered there we saw many changes in the layout of things, making it easier to accommodate the large number of visitors.  The day we were there they had nearly 2000 people come throughout the day.  What a blessing to be there again.  As always, the tour given by the GT guide emphasizes the gospel, the cross at the Skull Hill viewing area and the resurrection near the tomb.  Following the presentation we were able to go into the tomb, 8 at a time. 

o   Then we were provided a place for worship, including a time of communion.  What a blessing to join together at the Lord’s Table after having spend 15 days together as a group.  We sang together.  (We still have a dozen or so copies of a “Garden Tomb Songbook” that we used to make available to groups.  These were being phased out so we were able to get several that we have used over the years.) 

o   Then we review our list of “where” the Bible says Jesus was crucified and “what” the Bible said about the tomb of Jesus.  “Geography” may not be important to you but the geography of the Bible is important just because it’s in the Bible.  And even more so, because our great and mighty God made a geographical move from Heaven to Earth, to a real place in a real time, and that is critical.  Whatever the Bible says about where Christ was crucified and what the tomb was like is important! Here is the list in pictorial form.  I encourage you to consider the passages associated with this.