Five Days Through the Holy LandSýnishorn

Death and resurrection - The Garden Tomb

A tour of the Garden Tomb is a fitting way to end this five-day Journey through the Holy Land. Our first stop is an overlook of “Skull Hill.” It is just above one of the two bus stations that bracket the Garden Tomb. The guide points out the indentations in the rock that give the impression of eye sockets, with the mouth covered by the pavement. An old photograph shows the shape more clearly.

Skull Hill is often called Gordon’s Calvary after British General Charles Gordon, who visited Jerusalem in 1883. While staying at a home along the northern wall, he looked out and saw the site. He wasn’t the first to propose it as the location of Calvary, but his popularity in England helped promote the site among British evangelicals who gathered funds and purchased the property.

From Skull Hill, it’s just a short walk to the garden area. The apostle John wrote, “The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before” (John 19:41). When we think of a garden, we envision a place for cultivating flowers or vegetables. But in Jesus’ day, the word referred to a working garden like an olive grove or vineyard. The discovery of a large water cistern and grape press at the site suggests this might once have been a working vineyard.

The highlight of the tour is the visit to the tomb. The guide stresses one key point every visitor must remember. Whether this is the tomb where Jesus was laid or not is not important. We don’t worship the tomb, we worship the Son of God who died for our sins, was placed in a tomb, and then rose from the dead!

Following the tour, many groups arrange to have a communion service at the site. One of the most memorable experiences at the Garden Tomb is hearing groups from around the world singing the same songs of worship but in different languages. Some are accompanied by guitars while others sing acappella. Hearing people from a myriad of nations gather to praise God is a foretaste of heaven and a reminder that a day is coming when a new song will be sung: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9).

The Garden Tomb is significant because it helps visualize the events that took place here in Jerusalem. It’s a reminder that our hope—both in this life and in the life to come—rests in a living Savior, not in a slab of limestone that once served as His temporary resting place! As the angels announced to the grief-stricken women at the empty tomb, “He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” (Luke 24:6).

This study was taken from Experiencing the Land of the Book by Dr. Charlie Dyer. Click here to purchase your copy and continue your journey through the Holy Land!