Evidence for a Garden

We have grown to love the Garden Tomb and will be forever grateful for the opportunity that God has given to us to serve Him here. Our limited memory will not allow us to count the number of times we have been able to share the gospel in this place. It is our joy to point men and women boys and girls to the Savior here as we emphasize that which God emphasizes - the PERSON of the crucifixion, Jesus Christ, over the PLACE of the crucifixion. God never intended for us to worship the place! Is THIS the place? I don't know and I don't care. But does it at least look like the place? Look at what Scripture says...

The Tomb

But this is on Mt Moriah, a stone mountain, was there a garden here at the time of Christ? It would have been hard to have a garden growing on solid rock. If there was not a garden here, then surely this was not the place.

The Israelites were masters at farming on solid rock. They built terraces using stone walls on the rock, filled in behind the walls with dirt and had a garden. But you have to have water if you are going to have a garden. There is no natural source of water in this place. The nearest natural source of water would be the Gihon Springs over a mile south of here and down the mountain. Not likely that anyone carried water from the Gihon to water a garden here.

But there is archealogical evidence in this place that does point to a garden at the time of Christ. The first deals with that necessary resource, water. In the next picture you note what looks like the top of a chimney. It is an opening to a deep dark hole that looks down into a water cistern that will hold 250,000 gallons of water. It was lined with plaster that the Romans used and is dated to the first Century. If you have water on a stone mountain, you can have a garden. "In the place where He was crucified... there was a garden."

Opening to the Cistern

Picture of a picture made inside the cistern

I often caution people as they prepare to look down into the cistern; "this is a deep dark hole. I don't do deep dark holes. If you drop anything into the cistern, it becomes the property of the garden. So please hang onto your glasses, cameras, children and anything else you consider valuable because I am not going down in there after anything you drop. And yes there is a Palm Pilot down there." Last week there was a 12 year old girl in the group I had who asked; "May I ask a question?" Of course you may... "what's a Palm Pilot?" People in the group began to giggle. I looked at her as only a loving grandfather can and said; "you know, I can't prove this but I think it might have been a first century Blackberry." She said simply; "ohhhh" as her group roared. Which begs the question, I wonder if my almost 13 year old granddaughter knows what a Palm Pilot is???

Fifty feet away from the cistern the Garden Tomb Association uncovered a wine press that has been dated to the time of Christ and it is one of the largest uncovered in Israel. In the first century there was a garden in this place, a vineyard growing grapes to make wine. Was the tomb the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea? I don't know and I don't care... but it sure looks like it.

First Century Wine Press