A VISIT TO THE GARDEN TOMB
(Part 2)
#4 A CLOSER LOOK AT THE OUTSIDE OF THE TOMB:
Most visitors that come to the Garden Tomb, which is located along the Calvary Escarpment outside the northern city walls of Jerusalem, may not notice a rusty iron pin embedded deeply into the rock. But that pin is quite significant from a historical and biblical perspective.
IRON PIN THAT SECURED THE TOMB:
Discovery News editor Chuck Anderson pointing at the iron pin inserted in the rock at the time of Jesus burial to make the grave "secure".
The Bible records that the chief priests came to Pontius Pilate the day after the crucifixion of Christ to request that the tomb be secured. They remembered that Christ had said He would be resurrected from the dead after the third day. Pilate’s response is found in Matthew 27:65-66 – “’Ye have a watch; go your way, make it as sure as ye can.’ So they went, and made the sepulchers sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.”
Not only were Roman soldiers assigned to guard the tomb to prevent anyone from stealing the body of Christ, an iron pin was inserted into the rock to prevent the huge 13-foot diameter stone from being rolled away from the opening of the grave.
When the women came to anoint the body of Christ on the first day of the week, they asked themselves who would roll the stone back for them. They had no idea what a difficult challenge that would be!
The iron pin was held securely into the rock by hot lead that had been poured into the hole that was drilled with a star bit. This was a common method used by the Romans to permanently fasten iron pins into stone. Iron and lead filings from that pin have been tested to confirm that the pin was authentic and inserted into the rock during the first century.
When an angel opened the tomb of Christ for all to see that it was empty, that iron pin was sheared right off. Engineers have calculated that it would take over 90 tons of pressure to move that rock and clip off that piece of solid iron!
This is more remarkable evidence of Jesus’ resurrection! He is alive, not because a pin is still in the rock, but because the Word of God says so!
You can see the pin just about three feet left of the door opening at the Garden Tomb. Look for it if you plan to visit Jerusalem! The Garden Tomb is located just outside the Damascus Gate.
THE ENTRY TO THE GARDEN TOMB:
As
this picture shows, the entry to the Garden Tomb is low . . . visitors have
to stoop down to enter or look in.
"But Mary stood outside of the sepulcher weeping; and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain." John 20:11-12
THE STONE ROLLED AWAY:
It
should also be observed that the Garden Tomb shows evidence that a round,
disc-like stone once sealed the entry. You can even see part of the
original circular ring where the stone would have been.
Notice the channel that the stone would have been rolled in and the flat surface of the exterior wall of the tomb.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE STONE?
It is very interesting that the stone that covered the Garden Tomb has been removed . . . perhaps a pharisee took it to make a large coffee table? (Well . . . probably not!)
Actually, there are numerous flat and round stones around Jerusalem that sealed ancient tombs.
OUT OF PLACE TOMB STONE:
There is one huge stone on the top of Mt. Nebo that fits the probable size and description of the one that would have covered the Garden Tomb. This stone seems strangely out of place on a mountain top 25 miles away from Jerusalem.
Some believe that the stone found at the monument to Moses at the top of Mount Nebo may indeed be the stone that originally sealed the Garden Tomb and was physically “rolled away” by the Angel of the Lord. Scripture even gives us a description of the stone that covered the tomb -- "And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a GREAT STONE to the door of the sepulcher, and departed." The world "great" is the Greek word "mega" which simply means extremely large . . . huge.
Perhaps the removal of the stone was an attempt to honor Moses rather than Jesus' burial place and resurrection. It would appear that the “Garden Tomb” was all but buried and forgotten until being accidentally rediscovered by General Charles Gordon in the early 19th century!
Gordon was a well-known British retired military leader when he came to live near Jerusalem in 1882. He often visited the home of Horatio and Anna Spafford, founders of the American Colony.
From their quarters atop the northern wall of the Old City, Gordon had a view of a rocky escarpment in which he identified the features of a skull. He believe that this was the “Place of the Skull” as mentioned in the Scriptures.
Close by he found an ancient tomb which Gordon believed was the empty tomb of Christ . . . others must have seen it but ignored it for centuries.
Some time later, the property was purchased by a concerned group of Christians in England and the Garden Tomb Association was formed and they have maintained the Garden Tomb since.
The massive stone atop Mt. Nebo is definately a stone that had to be carried there from some other location and was intended to seal a tomb . . . and there is no such tomb on the mountain top that has become a shrine unto Moses.
NOTE: The Garden Tomb, if it IS the actural burial place of the Savior, IS NOT A SHRINE nor is it an OBJECT TO BE WORSHIPPED.
It just appears to be more evidence that the Lord Himself has preserved for the world to know that Jesus Christ is indeed risen from the dead!
Jesus' resurrection is a great comfort and encouragement to those who have placed their faith in the Savior. If you have never prayed to acknowledge your sins and ask Him to be your personal Sacrifial Lamb and Savior, do it today!
We have posted two wonderful illustrated presentations of the good news of the gospel . . .
"Good News For A Bad News World."
and
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Copyright 2016 Discovery News
Discovered: The iron spike that was used to secure Jesus' tomb was sheared off at the resurrection and is still visible at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. But there is additional evidence that the Garden Tomb is the place of Jesus' three-day burial. The Biblical description of the actual burial tomb are accurate to the finest detail! Even the location, outside of the city walls of Jerusalem and near Golgotha, the place of the skull are accurate.