Page 34 - Holyland Magazine - 2021 Edition

of Constantine the Great in 325 at the site
of Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Since the
Fourth Century, Roman Catholics and other
Christians have viewed this as true site. Israeli
archaeologist Gabriel Barkay has dated The
Garden Tomb to 8th-7th centuries BC, making
it far older than a tomb freshly cut for Joseph
of Arimathea would have been in the beginning
of the First Century AD. Biblical scholars have
presented arguments inconclusively for both
sites over the years.
Dr. Edward Robinson (1794-1863), named by
many as “The Father of Biblical Geography,”
is perhaps most famous for his discovery of
“Hezekiah’s Tunnel” and “Robinson’s Arch,”
named for him and his work in the Holy Land.
Written in 1841, Dr. Robinson’s “Biblical
Research in Palestine” was, at the time,
considered the standard work for a topography
and archaeology in the Holy Land.
In it, he argued against authenticity of the of
Queen Helena’s traditional location of Golgotha
and Joseph Arimathea’s tomb: “Golgotha and
the Tomb shown in the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher are not upon the actual place of the
Crucifixion and Resurrection.” Dr. Robinson
said that the traditional location would
have been within the city walls during the
The entrance to the Tomb
34
Herodian era, primarily due to topographical
consideration, but was careful not to propose
an alternate site.
Throughout the centuries, questions have
arisen whether the Garden Tomb or The
Church of the Holy Sepluchre is the place of
Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection, although
no matter where you are in the Old City of
Jerusalem, you are near where He walked
and preached, where He was crucified and
resurrected. Since 1894, the Garden Tomb
and its gardens have maintained appeal more
to the charismatic Protestant denominations.
One of The Garden Tomb’s appeals, in addition
to being a site of Christian worship since
the 1800s, is the very nature of the setting
itself. Over the years, The Garden Tomb
Association has preserved a better setting
for imagination and contemplation than the
more traditional, yet crowded and somewhat
chaotic atmosphere of the Church of the Holy
Sepluchre. Both have something to offer to the setting matches the description of the tomb
pilgrim or visitor.
I have had the pleasure of visiting the
Garden Tomb numerous times, mostly with
pastors of different denominations and their
congregations. My first visit was in 1973
with a Pentecostal pastor and a group from
Ohio. They were so moved by the Holy Spirit
that they loudly praised God and some even
spoke in tongues. The next year, I went with
an Episcopal church group from Pennsylvania.
Their worship style being very different, they
appreciated the contemplative nature of the
setting, but did burst into communal prayer of
song. During one of my visits with a Roman
Catholic Church from New Jersey, the group
asked to skip the Garden for Mass in the
Holy Sepulcher Church. I suggested that in
addition, The Garden Tomb site might offer the
perfect quiet setting for putting the last days of
Jesus’ ministry into perspective in their minds
and hearts.
Today, the Garden Tomb, which for over 120
years has shared the story of Jesus’ crucifixion
and resurrection, is maintained by volunteers
from around the world who join a team of local
Palestinians and Israelis. To me, no matter
what the belief, one thing for sure is that the
during the time of Jesus, and that allows one
to contemplate the events that happened here
in Jerusalem. Though my first visit was 47
years ago, with each visit, the Garden Tomb
still has a very special place in my heart. I highly
recommend that every Christian should visit it.
The garden