An Empty Tomb In Palestine

by David Padfield

 

The photograph above is of a small tomb near Haifa in Israel. The tomb was discovered several years ago as construction workers were preparing the roadbed for a new highway.

Obviously this is not the tomb in which our Lord was placed after his death. However, it does give us some insight into ancient tombs.

As you look at this photograph you are reminded of how Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus and "laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb" (Matt. 27:60).

If you look carefully you can see a small trough in which the round stone was rolled to close the cave. You can see how easy it would have been for Roman soldiers to secure the door by "sealing the stone" (Matt. 27:66).

You can also understand why the Apostle Peter had to "stoop down" when he went to examine the empty tomb on that early Sunday morning nearly 2,000 years ago (Luke 24:12).

There are a lot of tombs in Israel, but none contain the body of Jesus, for "He is not here, but is risen."