Via Dolorosa

Friday the 11th, we again went to the Old City of Jerusalem. On this day we saw the Pools of Bethesda and walked the "Via Dolorosa", the Way of Grief or The Way of Suffering which is an E to W route through old Jerusalem. This is the way that Jesus would have walked as He went to the cross to shed His blood for the removal of sins for all mankind (for 'without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sin'). The route begins inside the Lion's Gate. Along this road are the various "stations of the cross"--areas commemorating such events/locations as the place of His imprisonment, beating, falling while bearing the crosspiece, etc. Of course, some of the 'events' are clearly stated in scripture and some are tradition.

When we came to the Garden Tomb we had a wonderful guide, full of the Love for and of the Lord. He gave many insights regarding the process of crucifixion, the Place of the Skull and the tomb. In the early 19th century a Christian organization from Britain purchased a garbage dump in the Old City for 6000 pounds. This area, they thought, could be the location of the garden and Tomb mentioned in the Scriptures. Sure enough, as they started to clear out the garbage they found a tomb and the remains of a garden. The mention of a garden in Biblical times does not necessarily mean a flower garden as we think of today. More likely gardens were groves of olive trees or vineyards. What they found as they cleared out the area was a spring system (which they use today for watering the trees and plants in the new garden) which watered an ancient vineyard. Along with a tomb cut into the rock they found a wine press--all indicative of the land of a wealthy person.

On the other side of the tomb is a rock face that has the appearance of a skull. This rock face is in an area that was a quarry, as suggested by Biblical or historical accounts for the location of the Skull. Also, the Place of the Skull was near the main road. The Romans always crucified their subjects on main thoroughfares so as to instill fear into the people. Victims were not crucified on cross as depicted in most Christian art; they were crucified,no more than about 6 feet off the ground, on trees that lined main roads. This all made me think of the "Tree of Life" that was in the center of the Garden of Eden. Though the people of the time saw crucifixion as one hanging in shame on a tree of death, Jesus' death was for our life.

There are many facts that highly suggest that the tomb located in this garden was the actual resting place of the Lord (for a short time!), though the guide made it very clear that it cannot be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. After our time at the tomb we had communion at one of the meditative areas in the garden.