Jesus Christ, Declared With Power To Be The Son of God

 
            Before I get into the meat of what I want to say, I would like to talk to you about The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, where my husband, Carey and I volunteered from October to December, 2019, as greeters, guides, and servers.

            The Garden Tomb, located on Conrad Schick Street in Jerusalem, contains an ancient tomb, considered by some to be the empty tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. An older tradition is that the death and resurrection of Jesus took place at a site known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, located in the northwest quarter of the Old City. As no one knows for sure the correct site, there are pros and cons for each location, which is not my purpose to discuss in this blog.

            Adjacent to The Garden Tomb is a rocky knoll with a skull-like appearance, known as Skull Hill. Some Christian scholars in the mid-nineteenth century proposed that Skull Hill is Golgotha. The Garden Tomb is a non-denominational charitable trust based in the United Kingdom, known as The Garden Tomb (Jerusalem) Association. It is a member of the Evangelical Alliance of Israel and the World Evangelical Alliance.

            The Association does not claim the Garden Tomb is the authentic tomb of Jesus. Instead, it emphasizes the site acts as a place for contemplation on the death and resurrection of the Saviour. As a person who has lived at the site, I can tell you it is a beautiful place with colourful flowers, olive trees, and the singing of birds.

            More importantly, however, than whether The Garden Tomb is the correct site of Jesus’ death and resurrection, is what Jesus accomplished when He rose from the dead. Romans 1:4 (ESV) says that Jesus Christ...”was declared to be the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead...” The resurrection is God’s clear signal that Jesus is His Son.

            Peter, at Pentecost, stated that “God raised [Jesus] from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:24). Death lost its grip on Jesus! And death lost its grip on those of us who accept Him as our Saviour.  “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22 NIV).

            The resurrection of Jesus means His sacrificial death on the cross was sufficient, and our sins can be forgiven. 1 Corinthians 15:17 says, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins”. But as we saw above in verse 20 of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul states that Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.

            As believers, we have been buried and raised with Jesus. “But God still loved us with such great love. He is so rich in compassion and mercy. Even when we were dead and doomed in our many sins, he united us into the very life of Christ and saved us by his wonderful grace! He raised us up with Christ the exalted One, and we ascended with him into the glorious perfection and authority of the heavenly realm, for we are now co-seated as one with Christ!” (Ephesians 2:4-6 TPT).

            Did you catch that? When Christ rose from the dead, we, as born-again believers, ascended with Him into the perfection and authority of the heavenly realm, co-seated as one with Christ. You can’t get any better than that!
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            When things improve in Israel, I am slated to return to The Garden Tomb as a volunteer. I can’t wait. And whether it is the correct site of the death and resurrection of Jesus doesn’t matter. For while I am there, I will constantly be reminded of all Jesus accomplished for us when He rose from the dead.

Carey and I with friends at The Garden Tomb, 2019