Scenes from Israel Part 12 Gethsemane (This is said to be the Garden of Gethsemane. These olive trees are extremely old, and even if they don't go back to Jesus' day, they may be the descendants or offshoots of those very trees.) Golgotha (This could well be the site of Jesus' crucifixion. Golgotha is the place of the skull, and some see a skull face in the rock wall. This and other clues led this location to be identified in the 1800s as the site of Calvary, and it is favored by Evangelical tourists, as opposed to the ancient and ornate Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the traditional location.) The Garden Tomb (Some believe this to be Jesus' very tomb. It is very close to the Skull Hill, and it appears to have been hastily adjusted for a taller man. Perhaps Jesus was taller than Joseph of Arimathea, and Joseph quickly lengthened the resting place for Jesus. There are also ancient Christian markings inside identifying this place with Messiah. On the other hand, some archaeologists date this tomb to hundreds of years before Christ; therefore, it could not have been a tomb "in which no one had yet been laid." I don't know, but visiting it was as sacred as it was mundane, and this made it feel very personal to me.) An open tomb! He is risen! (And thus ended our tour of Jerusalem.) After the bus tour ended and everyone else flew home, Jacob and I stayed in Israel a few more days. I will have some extra photos coming up.

Posted by Philip Arndt at 2022-12-06 00:53:12 UTC