Gordon’s Calvaryand The Garden Tomb

Alternative location of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection

Jesus’ CrucifixionMatthew 27:32-44

Mark 15:21-32

Luke 23:26-43

John 19:17-24

Compare and contrasts each gospels description of Golgotha?

Why is it called Golgotha?

Imagine you were there at the crucifixion. What do you see, hear, taste and smell?

Mark 21:15-3221 They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father

of Alexander and Rufus. 22Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull).

23And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. 24And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should

take.25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The

King of the Jews.’ 27And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. 29Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30save

yourself, and come down from the cross!’ 31In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and

believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

The Death & Burial of JesusMatthew 27:45-66

Mark 15:33-47

Luke 23:44-56

John 19:26-42

Compare and contrast what each gospel says about the location of Jesus burial.

Who is Joseph of Arimathea? Who is the centurion? Why are they significant?

Mark 15:33-3733 When it was noon, darkness came over the

whole land until three in the afternoon. 34At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means,

‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ 35When some of the bystanders heard it, they

said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’ 36And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will

come to take him down.’ 37Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

Biblical significance was first attached to this location by British General Charles Gordon in

1883. Gordon refused to believe that the Church of Holy Sepulchre was the actual site of Golgotha.

Gordon identified a skull-shaped hill just north of Damascus Gate that he excavated and determined

to be the more probable site of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial tomb.

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Many have come to believe that this could be the site of the crucifixion, because it fits the description of Gospel

writers who say that Golgotha was outside walls of Jerusalem, Near a gate of the city, Along a busy

thoroughfare, At a place of public execution, and there was a garden nearby

Crucifixions were usually carried out by busy roads as a visual deterrent to other potential rebels. This would have been just such a place with main roads to Damascus and Jericho. The Bible tells us that they took Jesus out of the

city bearing His own cross to "the place of the skull" (Golgotha in Aramaic, Calvary in Latin).

Top of Skull Hill

The traditional site for Jesus crucifixion is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre dating back to the 4th century, the time of the Emperor Constantine. The site is now within

the walls of the Old City and for over 200 years questions have been raised over its authenticity.

The Bible also tells us that "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). That Garden belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus, who was given special permission to bury the body of Jesus in his nearby tomb before the

start of the Jewish Sabbath.

A wine press was excavated in 1924 and is one of the largest found in the land of Israel. Its discovery suggests

that the garden was originally an extensive vineyard, possibly the garden of that rich man, Joseph of

Arimathea.

In 1867 an ancient Jewish tomb had been discovered and subsequently detailed and published by Conrad

Schick. In light of all that was happening, people began to believe that the site may have significance and they

reexamined what had been detailed previously. Video

. Unfortunately its entrance had been damaged, possibly by an earthquake and later repaired with

stone blocks.

All the features mentioned in the Bible's account of the tomb of Jesus can be seen here:

It is cut out of the solid rock and was not a natural cave (Matthew 27:60)

10)

The tomb was sealed by a large rolling stone, as indicated by the channel outside the front wall (Matthew

27:60) Inside there would have been space for several

mourners to stand inside the large weeping chamber (Luke 24:1-3, 10)

This was the one holy site we were allowed to celebrate communion at

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