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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
EARTH'S TREASURE HEAPS Paul R. Bauman, rA.B., Th.B., D.D.
OUTSTANDING PUBLICATIONS
Many Christians, anxious to recon struct as fully as possible the scenes connected with our Lord’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, have asked concerning the identity of the sites connected with these scenes. Can we know the correct location of the Mount of Olives, and the Garden of Gethsemane? Is it possible to trace the road our Lord walked on His way to be crucified? Just where was Christ crucified? Can we today visit the very tomb in which His body was laid and from which He arose? These are just a few of the many questions asked, and an attempt to answer them brief ly appears in the following para graphs. THE MOUNT OF OLIVES “And he came out, and went, as his custom was, unto the mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed him” (Luke 22:39 R.V.). Archaeologists are generally agreed that there can be no doubt about the identity of the Mount of Olives. It is located east of Jerusalem on the far ther side of the Kidron Valley. From His vantage point on this mountain, shortly before He suffered, our Lord looked down upon the city which so soon was to reject Him, and He fore told its destruction. Down these gentle slopes, on His last entry into the city, He went “meek and lowly riding upon an ass.” Here, after the Last Supper, He sought the quietness of the Gar den of Gethsemane, where He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE “ When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where was a garden, into which he entered, himself and his disciples” (John 18:1 R.VJ. "The fact is certain that the Garden of Gethsemane lay on the western slope of the Mount of Olives.”1 Here, tradition, dating from the fourth cen tury, has fixed a spot, now contained within a walled enclosure, which is believed to be the place where our Lord spent the last hours before His arrest. Garden beds have been laid out by the Franciscans who now own the property. Eight ancient olive trees are pointed out as having existed since the days of Christ. The word “Gethsemane” means “oil press.” It was not a garden in the modern sense—rather an olive orchard. While it is true that the trees of this garden are now old and gnarled, they cannot go back to the days of Christ, for Jo sephus states that during the siege of Jerusalem, Titus ordered all the trees around the city to be cut down. It is
possible that the present trees were planted in the days of the Crusades. In the same neighborhood, the Greeks have a rival garden, and a large Russian church is a little higher on the hill. Thus, three places are claimed by opposing sects. It is cer tain that the real garden was located at least in the neighborhood, if not actually on one of these sites. Here, at least, the conditions required by the Gospel narrative are fulfilled. THE ECCE HOMO ARCH *. . . And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!” (John 19:S). A little to the west of the castle of Antonia, in the city of Jerusalem, the Ecce Homo arch spans the street. Here tradition says Pilate sentenced our Lord to death, turning Him over to the priests and people with the words, “Behold the man!” While the arch was erected by Hadrian approximately a century after the time of Christ, it is significant because of its near loca tion to the place of Pilate’s judgment seat. THE ROMAN PAVEMENT “ When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment-seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha” (John 19:13 R. VJ. Near the Ecce Homo arch in the convent of our Lady of Zion, 30 feet below the level of the present street, a Roman pavement has been found belonging to the Herodian central court and is believed to be the Gabba tha of the New Testament. The pave ment consists of huge stone slabs a yard square. Lines were found cut into these, such as the Roman soldiers used for their games. Was; it upon this very pavement that the soldiers cast lots for possession of our Lord’s garments? Discoveries do not answer this question, but certainly this mo saic pavement must have experienced similar scenes. In Jerusalem today the Via Dolo rosa or “Way of Sorrows,” is pointed out as the route which our Lord fol lowed from Pilate’s judgment hall to the place of crucifixion. This runs from the Ecce Homo arch to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It can hardly preserve the exact way which led to the place of the crucifixion, for the actual street upon which the “Man of Sorrows” walked, now lies far below the present surface. Whether the general direction is correct de pends partly upon the identification of Golgotha with the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. (Continued on Page 115)
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