The Garden Tomb

Our last few days in Israel were slow and relaxed, and a detailed narrative would be tedious both to write and to read. I'm going to wrap up my account of the trip by talking about the Garden Tomb, which was, for me, the most spiritually affecting of any place we visited.

It was our last day in the Holy Land. Joseph and I packed our things for the final time and took a leisurely breakfast, too tired to move very fast. We both wished to spend a good portion of time in prayer and meditation at the Garden Tomb before we left, so we made that our destination for the morning.

As I mentioned previously, the Garden is a unique place within Jerusalem. Unlike many other so-called "Holy Sites," there is in the Garden a strong and inexplicable conviction that this is actually the place. There are no gaudy shrines and no pompous churches, the grounds are tastefully arranged and well-maintained, and the place fits the description given in the Gospels perfectly.

Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:41-42)

In a sense this quiet, secluded compound is the bottleneck of history. The entire plan of God narrowed down to this event, and when it was complete this was the first place to witness the dawn of the new humanity and the new spiritual Eden.

In that moment 2,000 years ago, Christ first opened the door to immortality. The historically unprecedented event we call the Resurrection was the bursting dam through which rushed the wild and rejoicing torrents of Divine grace - "the reckless, raging fury that we call the Love of God."

We have seen that, metaphorically speaking, every man is Jewish. And Jesus is "The King of the Jews" - or, as Romans says, "the firstborn among many brethren." Christ is the "Last Adam," called in 1 Corinthians 15 a "live-giving spirit." Stepping out of the tomb into the warm freshness of Easter morning, with the sunlight on His face and a twinkle in His eye, Christ drew in His first full breaths, and existence kissed eternity for the first time.

As you meet others treading slowly along the winding stone and gravel paths, you can see the awe written on their faces. Like you, they can tell that the place is drenched with the aroma of Christ - with hope for this world and promise for the next. There is a joyful stillness that pervades everything, along with a palpable sense of Christian solidarity.

Many have asked me if visiting these places was life-changing, which is a hard question to answer. It is usually only when we look back that we realize our lives have changed. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I think the Resurrection is the single most important event in the history of Christianity, and being there allowed its reality to sink in in a whole new way, deepening my faith and reminding me of the meaning and majesty of it all.

As we join together and celebrate Easter Sunday this weekend, take some time to ponder the immensity of Christ's sacrifice and the completeness of His victory. Someone has said in reference to Ephesians 2:8 that salvation is the gift of God - God giving Himself to us - and that is the greatest, most scandalously extravagant gift there has ever been or ever will be. The inventor of life invites us to share His sufferings, death, and glory, and further up and further in, the breathless faithful will follow.

I tore off my grave clothes
And cried a pool of tears
For the voice of the Living One
Who spoke the stars and spheres
Has called me from my darkness
And led me to this place
Where the dead leap
And the blind see His face

-Bob Bennett, Lord of the Past: A Compilation, "Still Rolls The Stone"

Image courtesy of gardentomb.com