Garden Tomb

It is easy to see why the Garden Tomb is a popular site for Protestant piety — it is clearly located outside the walls, it is next to a place that looks

like a skull, it conforms to what one imagines when reading the Gospel accounts, and it is far easier to pray and contemplate here than in the

crowded Church of the Holy Sepulchre. But is the Garden Tomb really the tomb of Jesus? The main reason some people think so is that early

accounts of the burial (e.g. Hebrews 13:12) describe it as occurring outside the city walls. And today, the Garden Tomb is outside the walls

while the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is within them.

However, the city walls were expanded by Herod Agrippa in 41-44 AD and only then enclosed the site of the Holy Sepulchre, so both sites were

outside the walls at the time of Jesus.

However, scholars are generally agreed that the Garden Tomb is not the actual site of Jesus' burial. According to Jerome Murphy-O'Connor,

"there is no possibility that it is in fact the place where Christ was buried." Holy Land specialist Dr. Carl Rasmussen comments, "it is my opinion

that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher preserves a more accurate tradition."

One problem with the Garden Tomb is that, based on its configuration, it dates from the late Old Testament era (9th-7th century BC). Thus it was not

a "new tomb" (Matt 27:60; John 19:41) at the time of the crucifixion.

In addition, the burial benches were cut down in the Byzantine period (4th-6th century AD) to create rock sarcophagi, radically disfiguring the tomb.

This clearly indicates that early Christians did not believe this was the burial place of Christ.

The site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, on the other hand, seems to have attracted Christian devotion since before Constantine.

Some believe Jesus was laid in the Tomb at the Holy Sepulchre at the 14th station of the Via Dolorosa

Golgotha

"Place of the Skull" adjacent to the Garden - next 4 pictures, then back to the Garden

The Gospel writers call the place where Jesus was crucified Golgotha—an Aramaic word meaning "the skull." Calvary is the Latin form of the word.

Scripture does not reveal the precise location of Golgotha. It simply states that Jesus’ crucifixion took place outside the city of Jerusalem, though near it

(John 19:20; Hebrews 13:12). Jewish law did not permit executions and burials inside the city. Further, Jesus was undoubtedly crucified near a well-traveled

road, since passersby mocked him (Matthew 27:39; Mark 15:21, 29-30). The Romans selected conspicuous places by major highways for their public

executions. The crucifixion probably took place on a hill, because it was at an elevation high enough to be plainly visible at a distance (verse 40). As for

the tomb or sepulcher, we’re told only that it was in a garden near the place of crucifixion (John 19:41).