He is Not Here…Or There…
Posted on March 21, 2008
Filed Under Personal, Worldview |
“So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him… John 19:16-18 (ESV)
In 1884, General Charles Gordon, visiting friends in Jerusalem, arose one morning to see a “skull” etched into a cliff just outside the city wall. Thinking this could be the “Place of 
the Skull” or “Golgotha” there ensued an archeological search of the surrounding area. Next to the “skull”, they uncovered the evidence of an extensive garden, a wealthy man’s estate…and a tomb, hewn out of the rock, unfinished. It seemed to match John’s description: “At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.” (John 19:41) On the ground, along the front of the tomb, was a track cut into the rock, apparently to guide a large stone which could be rolled in front of the tomb entrance, sealing it from predators. Our maps today label it “Gordon’s Tomb” or the “Garden Tomb”.
But it is Christ’s tomb?
In Colorado Springs, we have an area that is called “Kissing Camels”. It is not because we have a herd of camels here that are quite affectionate. It is because there is a rock formation at the top of one of the outcroppings that looks like two camels with their lips pressed together. If camels kiss, I suppose that is exactly what it would look like.
Gordon wondered if the “place of the skull” in Jesus’ day was called that because of the image formed by the caves and outcroppings on the side of this particular hill. The Damascus Road had run right beside it…a perfect place for the Romans to plant their crucified so that as many people as possible would understand what the power of Rome could do to you if you chose to oppose it. The Scripture says that “those who passed by hurled insults at him…” (Matt 27:39)
About a half a mile away, in the midst of the bustling Old City of Jerusalem today, stands the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial—the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. In Jesus’ day, it too, was outside the city gates and near a road. The church was built in 330 AD by Constantine’s mother. The Persians destroyed it in 614. It was rebuilt but then destroyed by the Egyptian caliph al-Hakim in 1009. He not only 
destroyed the church, but had the tomb chiseled out down to the bedrock. Later, the Crusaders rebuilt the church that essentially exists today.
Is this the place where Jesus was crucified, buried and arose?
Does it matter?
It seems so.
It didn’t take long for this holy site to be contested by various Christian factions as to who owned the church. The bickering became so contentious that Saladin, in 1192, assigned 
control of the church key to a Muslim family, who have passed the key and the practice down through generations to the present. Twice each day, a member of the Joudeh family brings the key to a member of the Nuseibeh family who unlocks the church in the morning and locks the door in the evening.
That, however, wasn’t sufficient to quell the squabbles. After several edicts, a final “firman” from the Sublime Porte was issued in 1852, dividing the church into little “domains” for each faction. That edict remains in force, and the Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Syriac, Ethiopian and Coptic each guard their territory jealously. In 2002, a Coptic Monk, sitting in a designated spot on the roof to lay claim to territory there, moved his chair out of the sun into the shade. That was immediately seen as a hostile action and the ensuing fight hospitalized eleven people.
An interesting situation arose when a light bulb burned out in a ceiling owned by one faction who didn’t control the floor on which the feet of a ladder would need to rest in order to replace the bulb. A fierce squabble broke out and the police had to finally intervene.
Areas designated as “common ground” may not be disturbed without the consent of all factions. There is a ladder positioned on a second story ledge that has been there since 
the 1800’s when the status quo edict was delivered. It remains untouched because moving it would be considered “grabbing control” of a common area.
All of this is taking place on a proposed site where Jesus died and rose again from the grave; the Jesus who prayed to His Father that we might be one as He and the Father were one…that by our “unity” the world might know that He had sent His Son into the world; the Jesus who said that the world would know that we were His disciples by our love for one another.
In our recent trip to Israel, we spent time at both of these sites. I am sorry to say so, but the Church of the Holy Sepulcher depressed me. The “Garden Tomb”, on the other hand, was inspirational. But, which is the right spot? Maybe neither. The Romans utterly destroyed Jerusalem in 70AD. Hadrian’s reconstruction of Jerusalem was extensive, building a temple to Venus over the area. Al-Hakim obliterated much of it. How can we know for sure?
But…does it really matter?
Does it matter if we know the exact place? I don’t think so. What matters is that Jesus was really crucified…He really died…and He really did rise from the dead, exactly as the Scriptures record. I know it happened, but maybe I’m not supposed to be terribly concerned over the exact place—the exact spot—where He was horribly killed, where His body was temporarily laid.
The tomb is empty. There are no bones. Here, or there.
When the women came to the garden early Sunday morning and found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty, two angels appeared to them and said: “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!”
He has risen, indeed!
Maybe we should ponder the angel’s question.
“…may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you have sent me…” Jesus, John 17:23
Oh, Father! Please give us this unity. In the midst of our preferences for music, for colors, for the details that you have given us freedom in…please bring us into this unity—a unity that unites despite our differences; a oneness though we are many; a unity of diversity—so that our love for one another will become a testimony to the world. “…one body and one Spirit…one hope…one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Eph 4:4-5)
May it be so, Lord Jesus!
Comments
5 Responses to “He is Not Here…Or There…”
Leave a Reply
Comments are moderated and will not appear on deltackett.com until they've been approved. While we are eager to facilitate conversation by publishing most comments, we may withhold one from time to time if we deem it offensive, vulgar, overly personal, cynical, disrespectful, irrelevant, redundant or unnecessarily contentious. While we encourage you not to make others' misspellings and grammatical mistakes an issue of debate, please do your best to double-check your spelling, use correct capitalization, and use proper grammar.
Dr. Del Tackett is president of the Focus on the Family Institute and Senior Vice President to Focus on the Family. He is also the architect and chief spokesperson for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project--a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.
Subscribe in a reader
© 2007 Focus on the Family. All rights reserved.
Del,
The quest for and the coveting of artifacts and icons of Christian history have always been a circuitous form of idolatry that we are explicitly and repeatedly warned against in Holy Scripture:
Leviticus 26:1
1 ” ‘Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God. ‘
One might consider that such sites are more important for the weak in faith as they can be props for them. The faithfully weak might say: I was there! I saw where it happened! I prayed there! Therefore, I believe! Or worse yet, for those who want control of these sites, if my competition (other Christians) or my enemy (non-Christians) possess these sites; then he will have some religious or political advantage over me!
I can’t help but be reminded of Jesus’ words:
John 20:29 29Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Now, this is not to say that a visit to the Holy land is a bad thing! Walking the streets, smelling the smells, listening to the sounds and imagining that our Lord and Savior may have walked these very pathways; now that would be a wonderful experience! However, to no place or thing do we bend our knee and bow our heads!
I agree with you Del, it doesn’t matter if we ever really know the precise location of the crucifixion or the empty tomb. Our faith in what happened at these places, by Whom it was done, and for what purpose is more than sufficient for us.
God bless you for sharing this with us!
Upon reading your blog today, I find it not hard to believe– look at how many factions of the church are in the world today. Just by reading the Bible we can get different meanings out of the same verse. I think that the tomb then and now belongs to Jesus Christ, for it was given to him as a final resting place after the crucifixion. So, the only question I have is why are we still allowing the sin nature to rule us? When we have been set free from it and given a new nature.
The history of these ancient places is interesting and good to know, however, I am reminded of the words of Jesus:
Mat 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]
Mat 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. [Jer. 6:16.]
Mat 11:30 For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.
It seems that over time, not unlike the Hebrew faith, men want to revert to a list of rules put together by other men that become burdensom to bear instead of grace. The Truth shall make you free. I truly feel compassion for those who labor under any yoke but that of Jesus.
Have these people been “taken captive”?
The things that other comment makers have said are very good.
I am thinking that the many factions in charge of the church in Jerusalem should be sent packing!Their bickering is such a shame!Instead of them,a Jewish -Christian congregation or a non-denominational congregation could take it over.Perhaps it really doesn’t matter since Jesus is not there or at the other possible tomb site.
ok this is really funny