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What are the characteristics of a garden? In
the past there was in every garden a wine press, and in Gordon's
Garden Tomb, there is the remains of a wine press which can
be seen even today. At the church of the Holy Sepulchre they
have never found any remains of a wine press. Usually wells
are dug in a garden to irrigate the newly planted trees and
this is very essential. In the garden Tomb there are three
wells which fulfils that requirement of a garden.
A wine press in the
Garden Tomb
"Now in the place where he was crucified there was a
garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never
man yet laid". John 19:41. From this verse we know that
Calvary and the sepulchre were near each other.
The quick hewing
visible at the eastern end of the sepulchre.
If we can determine the place of the Sepulchre, then it will
be very easy to determine where Calvary was. Now what are
the requirements of the Tomb? "And he took it (the body)
down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre
that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid".
Luke 23:53.
The Tomb must have been hewn in stone The sepulchre in the
Garden Tomb was so hewn out of rock in the fashion of the
Jews. This was done in such a way that you could reach each
sepulchre without stepping over the others.
A Jewish family sepulchre would not be made up of one tomb
only, but would include many others. When we study the Sepulchre
in the Garden Tomb we find that is was designed to have three
sepulchres. The sepulchre on the right was finished while
the other two on the left were not. What stopped the people
from finishing the hewing of these sepulchres? The one sepulchre
that was complete was hewn for a man shorter than the actual
man that was buried there; this is seen from the quick hewing
visible at the end of the tomb in order to place the body
that was taller than the man the sepulchre was originally
designed for. "... wherein never man before was laid".
Luke 23:53.
When they discovered Gordon's Tomb they sent a sample of
the soil that was found in the Tomb to a laboratory in England
to analyze and see if there was any trace of decay of life
in the soil. No decay of life however was found in the soil
which proves that a man had never decayed in that Tomb, thus
proving that Jesus, who was buried there, did not decay but
was resurrected. If this sepulchre was made to bury people,
why didn't they use it? Why was this sepulchre not used for
burial while the one discovered next to it was full of bones
and the decay of many, many people who had been thrown into
it? What is so sacred about this sepulchre that it was not
used for burials when all that area is filled with Tombs and
all of them have bones? Why should this sepulchre be kept
clear from the bodies of the dead people?
The discovery of this sepulchre "empty of bones",
and "empty of the decay of living creatures", is
for me a satisfactory proof that this is the sepulchre of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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Since Calvary and the Tomb were in the same garden, I beleive
that Calvary must be near Gordons Tomb. ".... 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". Mathew 27:60.
The ditch in the Garden Tomb fits beautifully the descriptions
that are found in the Gospels.
It is very clear from this verse that there was a great stone
rolled to the door of the sepulchre. When we study the garden
tomb, we find a ditch which was used to roll the stone to
the door of the sepulchre to close it, and to roll it away
from the door when they wanted to open it; this fits beautifully
the descriptions that are found in the Gospels.
In the church of the Holy Sepulchre, there is not trace of
a ditch for a rolling stone to close the door of the sepulchre.
"And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man
sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment;
and they were affrighted". Mark 16:5.
The young man was sitting on the right side. In Gorden's
Tomb we have a place on the right side for a person to sit,
but in the Holy Sepulchre, the Tomb itself is in the right,
and the angel was not sitting on the Tomb.
Therefore the right Tomb must be one which when you enter,
you would find on the right a place for an Angel to sit, and
near it to the left, the tomb. Above is a picture of the Holy
Sepulchre and one of Gordon's Tomb. From the two pictures
you notice that the second picture fits the verse in Mark
16:5.
In the gospel of John the Bible says, "But Mary stood
without at the sepulchre weeping; and as she wept, she stooped
down, and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels
in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the
feet, where the body of Jesus had lain". John 20:11,
12 When a person stands outside stooping down to look into
the sepulchre, he sould be able to see "Angels"
standing at the feet and at the head. When you stand outside
the opening of the traditional Holy Sepulchre and try to look
in, you can barely see any part of the Tomb. How then could
one seen angels there at the head and at the feet? But if
you go to Gordon's Tomb and stand outside and look inside
you can see the place of the head and of the feet of the sepulchre.
In another works, if there is an angel at the feet, you could
clearly see them from the door outside.
Traditional Holy Sepulchre
This is illustrated in the following two sketches.
Gordon's Sepulchre
Notice you can see the two Angels, one sitting where the
head was and the other where the feet were. While in the Holy
Sepulchre you can't see the sepulchre, neither a person sitting
at the head or at the feet.
WHERE IS CALVARY IN THE SCRIPTURE
The First Baptist Bible Church of Jerusalem was organized
on the 16th of September 1962. The purpose of the church is
to evangelize the country, and build other Baptist Churches
in the country. Please pray for us as we serve the Lord in
this land.
I pray that as you read this pamphlet, you will pray with
us for the peace of Jerusalem. That the King of Peace will
come to the hearts of the people as we preach the Lord Jesus
Christ crucified and Saviour.
I wrote this pamphlet to answer the question put to me by
many inquirers. "Can we be sure where is Calvary?"
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