Holy Saturday Service at Garden Tomb a First - April 5, 2010

For a number of years, evangelical Palestinian Christians held their own worship service celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  They did so again this year, but with a difference.

This year they invited Messianic Jews to join them.  These are Jews who have recognized that Jesus is the Messiah, and have committed their lives to him.  The service was held in Arabic and Hebrew and in the words of the Anglican Bishop of Litchfield, in England, it was a “remarkable witness to how the early church would have looked: Jew and Gentile worshipping together as one.”

The situation in Jerusalem has become more tense lately.  The recent approval to build Jewish housing units in a renovated Arab Quarter Jerusalem hotel has led to condemnation from the United States and protests in the city.  This past Friday the Israel Defense Forces quelled several simultaneous riots by Palestinians and left-wing Jewish activists, including one at the former Shepherd Hotel where the housing units will be.

In contrast, the worship service at the Garden Tomb on Saturday was marked by an obvious warmth and friendship between Jewish and Palestinian followers of Christ.  In the words of the Bishop of Litchfield, it “was a powerful symbol of the power of the empty tomb to bridge the gap not just between humanity and God, but between different peoples.”

Many of the traditional sites of events in Jesus’ ministry are marked by church buildings, with the Garden Tomb being an exception.  In the 1880’s, British General Charles Gordon, an evangelical Christian, discovered a tomb he believed fit the Biblical description of that in which the body of Jesus was placed.  The garden that contains the tomb was purchased by a British ministry that has operated it for many years as a means of sharing the Gospel with visitors.  They recognize that this may not be the site, that what matters is the event and not the place.

“The place is not particularly a shrine to us,” Richard Meryon, CEO of the Garden Tomb, said. “It is the person who is important to us here, not the place. We open the Bible and talk through the Gospel accounts and the good news of the weekend that changed the world.”

Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians believe that the crucifixion and burial took place where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is located.  This year, Easter on both the western and Orthodox calendars fell on the same date, a rare event, making for a huge crowd at the site.

The Garden Tomb was also busy with Resurrection Day services yesterday.  Services included a 6:30 a.m. English sunrise service and another English service at 9:30 a.m., both led by Richard Meryon with the King of Kings Worship Team and a message by Andrew Jack. There was a Scandinavian service at 11 a.m.  and one in French at 12:30 p.m.

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