The Empty Tomb

I had a different plan for what I was going to write this morning. I was going to put together a post based on the Fanny Crosby hymn Tell Me the Story of Jesus. However, I realized that I needed some resources that I had at home to write the post the way that I wanted it to be written.

Instead, I will share a couple of pictures from my trip to Israel last year.

I took this picture from the window of our tour bus. We did stop to take the pictures :-). We were on the road somewhere between Mt. Carmel and Tel Megiddo. This tomb was found when they were constructing the road.

This tomb may look familiar to many of you, as it is one that is commonly used to illustrate the type of tomb Jesus was buried in.

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 sepulchre, and departed.  (Matthew 27:59-60 KJV)

John also had to stoop down to look into the tomb, so this is also illustrated by the picture. Of course, this is not the tomb of Jesus, but it is from the time period. It is also far from Jerusalem :-).

Just outside the gates of Jerusalem there is a site that is called the Garden Tomb. At this site is another example of a rock hewn tomb.

Evidence has been found that this tomb is much older than the time of Jesus, so it would not have been a new tomb at the time of his death on the cross. There are also other pieces of evidence, including probable location, that also show that this is not the tomb. A more probable location for the tomb is at or near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

It was an interesting experience to visit the Garden Tomb. It was a beautiful garden and you can also overlook the skull formation that some believe is the site of Golgotha.

Today it is not important that we know where the tomb of Jesus was. What is important is that the tomb was empty and that Jesus was resurrected.

This is also something that we should remember each Sunday, and not only on one Sunday of the year. In fact, this is something that should be remembered at all times. We serve a risen Savior.

Steven