JESUS' LAST WEEK: PART 3

Jerusalem, IsraelNovember 2008

The Garden Tomb is an alternative to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as the site of Jesus' burial

It was discovered by Major General Charles George Gordon in 1867

Jesus was crucified at Golgotha (“Place of the Skull”) (Matt 27:33) outside the city gate (Heb 13:12)

It is believed to be the garden of Joseph of Arimathea (John 19:41)

A well-preserved wine press was excavated in 1924, one of the largest in the land of Israel & of pre-Christian originIt suggests that the garden was originally a vineyardAlso found in the garden is a pre-Christian cistern that can hold 1 million litres of rain waterThis place could be an olive grove, an orchard, or vineyard

At the entrance of a first-century Jewish tombThis tomb was unearthed in 1867It was cut out from a solid rock with a large weeping chamber & a channel for a rolling stone—evidence of a wealthy tomb owner

The burial place inside the tomb

The gutter outside the tomb for rolling the stone “door”

A stone like this could have been used to close the tomb

More important than determining which is the actual burial site of Jesus is the fact that “he is not here; for he has been raised, as he said” (Matt

28:6)