This past weekend, I took a long walk with a few friends. It ended up being a 12 kilometer walk, plus, as we walked from our neighborhood to The Garden Tomb. This is a tourist destination near the Old City of Jerusalem, in fact it’s just a few dozen meters or so from The Damascus Gate. This location fits several of the descriptors for “The Place of the Skull” and the “tomb” and “garden” area described in the four Gospels. This video is a collection of footage I took while there, with a bit of a (faint) voice over.
If you are ever in Jerusalem, it is a very nice location to visit. The garden shade is refreshing after hours of walking on the white limestone streets. Each species of tree is labelled, so you can learn some of the flora of Israel, and there are many quiet benches and nooks in which to sit and reflect. Many tour groups visit the garden, and at any given time you can hear hymns being raised in two or more languages. While there, I heard worship in Spanish, Aramaic, and English, as well as two other languages I wasn’t quite sure of.
At the end of the visit, one of my friends mentioned that she didn’t sense anything in the garden or tomb, and she thought she would have sensed something of Christ if this was the place. I couldn’t resist quoting from Luke, “Why do you look for the living among the dead, He is not here, He is risen just as He said!” We go to the garden, not to see or sense the victory of the enemy, but to realize that Christ is standing in victory.
One other thing I like doing is writing poetry, and this little poem came while I was thinking on that question: “What did you go to the garden to see?”
At the end of the day, the walk was long, but the to reflect at The Garden Tomb was very worth the walk.
Back To You:
What place would you love to visit in Jerusalem? What location would you like to know more about?
Leave a comment and I’ll see if I can get there and do more videoing!
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