He is not here; he has risen! Garden Tomb

At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

The Garden Tomb is believed by many to be the garden and sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathea, and therefore a possible site of the resurrection of Jesus. The Garden is owned and administered by The Garden Tomb (Jerusalem) Association, a Christian non-denominational charitable trust based in the United Kingdom.

The Garden Tomb is an alternative site to the famous Holy Sepulchre for you to consider the Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Garden is a beautiful place in which you will discover several things that were all here on the night Jesus died and which match the accounts in the four Gospels. We never claim to be in the right place as we could never prove that; but where Jesus died is of little importance compared with why. So here we ask you to open the Bible and see what it says about these vital Christian truths.

While officially the Garden Tomb Association only maintains this as a possible site for Christ's burial, some tour guides of the site are convinced of the authenticity.  They note the large cistern nearby, which proves the area must have been a garden in Jesus' day.  They maintain that there are marks of Christian veneration at the tomb which also prove its sanctity throughout the ages.

The Volunteer , a Reverend from U.K. who passionately described the finer details of the tomb.I was surprised when he said he knew Rev.David Pawson my Bible Teacher. 

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:  ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”
Then they remembered his words.

The wardens of the property (the UK-based Garden Tomb Association) rightly point out that it is the resurrection of Jesus, not the issue of finding the exact spot of his burial, that is important. Regardless of its authenticity, the Garden Tomb is a fine place for contemplating the death burial of Christ and certainly more readily identifiable with the Gospel accounts than the dark and urban scene of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Your Death O LORD we Remember,Your Resurrection we Proclaim and Your final coming we await.

  
The Garden Tomb is a quiet place intended for worship and reflection. There are good facilities, including benches, drinking water , toilets, and wheelchair access to the garden. There is also a well-stocked gift shop and the proceeds go to the upkeepment of the place.


For more details