We started our morning at the Garden Tomb, which was rather close to our hotel outside the city walls of Jerusalem. The Garden Tomb is one of the traditional places believed to be where Jesus was crucified on the hill of Golgotha (the place of the skull) and then buried in the tomb below in a garden where a burial tomb was carved out of the rock, and then, of course resurrected! We listened to a volunteer (a funny British man!) talk about the tomb. He showed us early pictures of Golgotha, which really did look like a skull. We then went down to the tomb where we got the chance to go inside and see what it looked like. There were 2 places for bodies to be buried. One had been carved out for feet and head, and the other had not been carved all of the way for feet and head, leading us to believe that one of the spots had been used for a body, and one had not. It was interesting to see. This is the one believed used for a body:
Our guide also pointed out a tree near the garden that was shaped exactly like a cross.
It was literally a breath taking moment when he pointed it out because we had all walked right under the tree since we were focusing on the tomb below, and then he had us turn around and look at the tree. Many of us gasped when we saw it since it was a pine tree and pine trees usually do not grow like that. Coincidence or not? J The tomb was in a beautiful quiet place, and it seemed more authentic than some of the other places we have gone for some reason. Of course, there is no way to know where Jesus died and was resurrected. As our guide reminded us, the important thing is that the tomb is empty: “He has risen!”
A few years ago at a Christian music festival in Atlanta, I bought a silver necklace of the empty tomb with the scripture John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life.” It is the only necklace I brought to wear on this trip. I was standing at the empty garden tomb looking at the necklace around my neck and I remembered when I bought it, how excited I was to one day see the actual tomb, and today was the day!
Our group then went to a nearby location and shared in Holy Communion together. Remember a few days ago when I had said that we were trying to merge 3 traditions (and probably more) into one communion experience? Well, it worked out pretty well. The Baptist pastor read the scripture from Corinthians about the Lord’s Supper, and then I followed that with some of the traditional United Methodist liturgy- words of institution and asking that the Holy Spirit be poured out upon these gifts of bread and wine, etc. I also took this opportunity to present the bread and cup and break the bread- something that the other traditions were not used to, but is important to the United Methodist tradition. I had some non UMs tell me afterwards that they thought that particular part was meaningful to them. Then we had the Pentecostal pastor say a word of prayer, followed by the Lord’s Prayer. We then passed around the olive wood cups (we got to keep them) of juice and the pieces of matzah (unleavened bread) and we all partook of the elements together. We closed our communion time with singing some hymns together. It all worked out well and was a good representation of all the groups there.
After the Garden Tomb, we went entered the Old City of Jerusalem to the Church of St. Anne (mother of Mary, mother of Jesus) and the Pool of Bethesda:
“Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie- the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time he asked, ‘Sir, do you want to get well?’ ‘Sir,’ he replied, ‘I have no one to help me get into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone always goes ahead of me.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ At once, the man was cured. He picked up his mat and walked.” (John 5:1-9).
Here, we spent some time walking around the excavations where the pools had been, as well as water channels that have been discovered. We also went into the church and say some songs, which we extra beautiful thanks to the wonderful acoustics of the church. My particular favorite was, “It is Well With My Soul.”
Finally, it was on to the Via Dolorosa (the Way of the Cross or Way of Suffering)- the road that Jesus walked and carried the cross to the place where he was crucified. I was looking forward to the Via Dolorosa the most, but for some reason, I wasn’t all that in tune with it like I thought I might be. It was still a wonderful experience to have, but the streets were so crowded, the vendors and shops were very distracting (probably the same way for Jesus, right?!), and it was hard to really tell what the stations were- luckily we had little books and our guide that was telling us, but it was just so hectic. I did find it very meaningful that Corey (husband!) read the Passion story (Mark 15) at the first two stations of the cross- the stone pavement and the place where Jesus began carrying the cross. Some of our group on the Via Dolorosa:
We stopped at the 4th station for lunch, and then continued through the busy and narrow streets on the Via Dolorosa, which ended at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre- the other traditional site of the possible crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, built by the Emperor Constantine and his mother, Helena. It is believed that the church is built on top of Golgotha (not the same one mentioned earlier), and the tomb in the lower part of where the church is built.
Inside the church were many beautiful shrines and the final stations of the cross- Jesus’ death, Jesus being taken down from the cross, and the tomb- which had its own chapel within the church. There was a line to get in, but not many of us went in because it was a similar site to what we had seen earlier that day at the Garden Tomb. It was very crowded in the church- many people from all over the world were there to pay their homage to the holy site. It was interesting to see the different ways that people worshiped, prayed, or meditated. Some were bending down to kiss the spot/station marking the spot where Jesus died. There were many women kneeling down to touch the surface of the rock marking the spot where Jesus was laid after his death, some were lighting candles around the church. This is the stone believed to be where Jesus was laid after his death to be anointed and prepared for burial:
So in one day, we experienced the two traditional sites in the world where Jesus could have been crucified, buried, and resurrected. Which one is more “correct”? I personally preferred the Garden Tomb, but again, there is no way to really know. I think that sometimes as humans we want to have a tangible place to see and feel and experience, but in the end, we need to really celebrate the concepts and stories of our faith and not the places.
Another beautiful and sunny day in Jerusalem. Tomorrow we will say goodbye to the Holy City and head north to the Galilee for to see more places where Jesus walked, preached, taught, and healed. Til then...!!
-Jill
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