THE BURIAL PLACE OF MESSIAH

by Ron Wyatt

Ref. 1411

BIBLE READING: Isa. 53:19

“And he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death ...” This text specifically refers to what Messiah would accomplish on earth and where He would be buried. We have carefully and prayerfully investigated the burial place of our Saviour.  ...there are differing opinions as to where He died and where He was buried.

INTRODUCTION:

There are many burial caves and sepulchres near Jerusalem.  It appears that many of the professed followers of YHWH desired to be buried near Abraham’s resting place in Hebron. Later Jerusalem, the location of the first and second Temples, was considered the first Choice of a burial place. The statement that He (Messiah) “made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death”, had long puzzled me. Joseph of Arimathea was rich, but was not wicked. And his tomb was new - what did it mean when it said He was buried with the wicked?

During our last trip to the Jerusalem and Hebron areas, many questions about these things were cleared up. Those who have been on tour with us have seen the chisel marks radiating inward across the face of the Garden Tomb where a great stone was removed to be shaped into a giant seal stone ... the sheared-off iron shaft that the Romans drove into the stone face of the tomb at the left edge of where the 13 ft seal stone would have been. This was done in an attempt to prevent it from being rolled to the side and the tomb being opened (Matt 27:60 and 66). Also, Mark 16:4 tells that the seal of Messiah’s tomb was not only a “very great stone” but that it had been “sealed”.  In the Copper Scroll (found with the Dead Sea Scrolls) it mentions that a certain amount of silver was hidden beneath the “great seal stone” from Zadok’s tomb”, Zadok meaning, ‘The Just One”, which is Messiah.

There is overwhelming evidence that the-Garden Tomb is Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb and the one in which Messiah rested and from which He arose, gaining victory over the grave for us. He was buried in a rich man’s tomb, but what about His grave being with the wicked”?  Approximately 50 feet from the Garden Tomb to the left as you face the tomb is located a large complex of tombs that belonged to wealthy Jews. One of these is hewn to the exact dimensions of the Holy and Most Holy Chambers of Solomon’s Temple. The royal Egyptian cubit is used (20.6 inch = cubit). There was a brass box recessed into the floor that now, we are told, has been stolen, and the chamber cut into the stone floor left behind is exactly the dimensions of the Table of Shewbread (20.6 ins wide by 41.2 ins long, or one cubit by two cubits!) The burial crypt in the chamber is of the size and position of the Most Holy Place! This would imply that the owners and users of this tomb considered themselves equal to the Almighty. To be buried only a few feet from this blasphemous tomb is certainly being “with the wicked”.

This complex of tombs to the north-west of Joseph’s (Messiah’s) tomb were hewn into the face of the dry moat that was cut across the ridge of Mount Moriah.  This was done to make the north wall of Jerusalem less vulnerable to attack. The tombs were hewn in a north-west to south-east progression.  It is obvious that these were the tombs of the wealthy and priestly class, hewn during the First Temple period and used until the Babylonian captivity.  During the captivity, the portable ossuary was introduced and used, as revealed in the ancient Jewish records. These stone boxes were of a size to contain the bones of one individual and were designed to make it possible for the bones of the Jews to be transported back to Jerusalem and interred in the family tomb.  The families who owned these tombs began using them upon their return from the captivity and they were used throughout the Persian and Greek periods.  In some cases, the tombs the entrances were sealed with slabs of stone bearing Greek inscriptions and some researchers present this as proof that the tombs date from the Greek period. This view fails to take into consideration that such a tomb, and such a choice location, was a matter of pride for the family, and they, of course, would have their inscriptions updated to the widest read language as newer members would die and be interred there.

The Garden Tomb is located in the next available position, immediately south-east of these First Temple period tomb complexes. There would be no need for the old, rich and priestly families to hew other tombs. No Jew wished to be buried anywhere but in their ancestors’ tomb.  Foreign kings had their tombs hewn near the highest points around the city; as higher indicated great importance. The Garden Tomb location is the obvious first choice for the burial of “the new-rich” of Messiah’s time. And Joseph of Arimathea was just such a person. Bible scholars and believers have no doubt that he had his tomb hewn by Divine Providence, just at the right time to allow for the fulfilment of the Isaiah prophecy about Messiah’s burial.