John 19:41-42 “Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”
Apparently Golgatha was not as stark and ugly as many may suppose. There was a garden in the same place and we have learned that Joseph of Arimathea owned it. Since time was of the essence, due to the observance of the Passover Sabbath, Joseph and Nicodemus made the decision to bury Jesus there. What captures my attention is that Jesus was crucified in a garden. Hm. He died in a garden because of choices made in another garden by Adam and Eve. Wouldn’t it be amazing if the garden in which Adam and Eve sinned was in the same location as the garden in which Jesus died and was buried? Wouldn’t it be stunning if the very dust at the foot of the cross was the same dust into which the serpent was thrust by God when he was cursed for tempting Adam and Eve? Even more thought-provoking is the idea that the tree upon which Jesus was hung was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil by which our first parents were tempted? And what if the garden in which Jesus crushed Satan’s head had the very same coordinates as the place where God said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Yes, this is all speculation, but it is not out of the realm of possibility. For the work accomplished by God in or near the garden where Jesus was buried could easily have been the garden of Eden. The flood would have completely reshaped the landscape. The garden of Eden would look nothing like the garden in Jerusalem. Wouldn’t it be like God to display the redemptive work of the seed of Eve in the same location where the image and blessing of God was lost?
The blood of the Passover lamb was prepared and now sacrificed. The carcass has been put out of sight. The Passover may begin that commemorates God delivering His people from slavery in Egypt. It is a shadow of what we have been reading about in John 19. In this garden where Jesus died and was buried, God has delivered His people from slavery to sin and death. Hallelujah! What a steadfast love! Please take a few moments today to visit the two gardens. Drink in the love of God poured out for all heaven and earth to see, be amazed, and be moved to love in reply.
Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com
