the Garden

"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

Perfect example of how the Bible came alive here in Israel. I never noticed "there was a garden" next to where Jesus was crucified and in the garden there was a tomb where he was buried. Today from this beautiful garden, we saw a rock that looked like a skull and right next to this skull was a garden and in this garden was a tomb. AND THE TOMB WAS EMPTY!! We sang and took communion as a group in this place where our Savior conquered this very grave. This place was different from many other places where we have been - i.e. the temple, the holy of holies, King David's tomb, where the orthodox believe Jesus was buried. In these places people so many religious people were kissing these places, burning candles, saying their prayers and it was so empty. But in the garden today, no one was doing this at the tomb in the garden - they didn't stop and worship the place, they worshiped the one who was risen.

Boarding the plane to L.A. in 7 hours. I'll never look at the Bible again and now I've seen...I'll never be the same.