Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem
The Gospel of John
(New Testament)
John 20
The Empty Tomb
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
(End of Scripture Passage)
In Jerusalem, there is a magnificent , ancient church within the walls of the Old City. It was built on the site where Constantine's mother, St. Helena, (c. 250 – c. 330) ,was reported to have found the fragments of the Cross of Jesus. It is known as The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and is generally accepted as the site of the Crucifixion, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus.
I have been there, and since it is very old, has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, and claimed by over twenty denominations, it is a dark, confusing building…but then, the Gospel has some dark and confusing moments as well, so I guess that is appropriate. The cataclysmic Events recorded in the Gospels split time in half, before and after. Centuries of warfare have centered on this Site, and the atmosphere inside reflects that.
Outside the Old City Walls, across from the Damascus Gate, there is a noisy bus station built up against a cliff. On the other side of the cliff is a garden, and in that garden is an empty tomb. The curators do not claim that this is the ORIGINAL "Empty Tomb" but just that it looks like the one that Joseph of Arimathea donated for Jesus' crucified Body. Little benches are placed around the garden, for prayer and contemplation.
Where the Events took place is not as important as WHAT took place. Perhaps that is why the Gospels are not specific about the location.New International Version (NIV)
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