January 26 – Day 8 – Stop 4 The Garden Tomb

The Garden Tomb web site

Lanny’s Pictures

This is our last scheduled stop on our tour and it is a wonderful way to conclude our examination of the Holy Land.

The Catholic Church rejects this site as a possible location for the burial and resurrection of Christ, preferring the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It may be that neither place is the right one and it is likely that there is more evidence for the Catholic position than for the Garden Tomb which is favored by some Christians. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter since it is not the site, but the event that makes all the difference.

For me, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is garish, over stated, overcrowded, and much too secular. The Garden Tomb, on the other hand, is simple, natural, calm, and pulls one into a reflective state.

While we are here, we will have the opportunity to gather together in a somewhat separate place and linger over a sharing of the Lord’s Supper. We have suggested to our guide, Mickey, who is a Messianic Jew, that he lead us in this communion service. Regardless of how it is done, I anticipate that this will be a life-long memory for you and, quite possibly, one of the highlights of the trip.

Concluding thoughts

By this time, we will have travelled in the Bible world from the time of Abraham 4,000 years ago to the fall of the last resistance following the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Additionally we will have re-visited historic locations remembering key events in the history of the Jews up to the present day. You will have a new understand of the role of the ancient enemies of the Jews as well as the role played by the various caliphates, crusaders, and political powers of more modern times.

By this time, we will have traveled in the Bible land from the north (Dan) to the south (Beer Sheva) and from the west (Caesarea by the Sea) to the east (Jordan River). We will have tasted the land of honey and the land of milk. We will have walked along the shore of the Mediterranean, explored the head-waters of the Jordan River, sailed on the Sea of Galilee with its abundance of life, and sampled the Dead Sea where nothing lives.

And it all comes down to the Garden Tomb, which is the only reason we even care.

I pray that the trip will exceed your hopes and expectations. I pray that the Rabbi of Galilee will become more and more the living Messiah, filling you more completely than ever before.