THE REAL TOMB OF JESUS? NOBOBY KNOWS FOR CERTAIN

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 10, 1993                   TAG: 9304100075
SECTION: RELIGION                    PAGE: A3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CAREY KINSOLVING COX NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: JERUSALEM                                LENGTH: Medium
THE REAL TOMB OF JESUS? NOBOBY KNOWS FOR CERTAIN
Every Easter, thousands of Christian pilgrims make their way to Jerusalem in search of a tomb vacated by a man named Jesus of Nazareth. But the question all pilgrims must answer is, "Which empty tomb will I visit?"
Since the late 1800s, two tombs have vied for the attention of Christian pilgrims. The Holy Sepulchre has a tradition dating to the 4th century. when the first Christian emperor, Constantine, sent his mother, Helena, to Jerusalem.
"Constantine wrote to Bishop Eusebius of Jerusalem and said that mother is coming to discover the holy place," said the Rev. John Woods, who from 1985 to 1990 served as chaplain of the competing site, the Garden Tomb. "Helena, no doubt, was the greatest archeologist who ever lived because whatever Helena looked for, she found."
"Having said all that, we don't worship locations," said Woods, who now directs the Gospel Mission, an inner city ministry to Washington's homeless. "It has been said by critics that the early Christians placed far too much emphasis on the empty tomb.
"They placed no emphasis on it at all. It was the risen Christ, not the empty tomb. They never even went to it for at least two centuries, probably three."
Gabriel Barkay, senior lecturer in archaeology at Tel Aviv University, has studied both sites. The Garden Tomb dates from around 600 B.C., whereas the Holy Sepulchre is typical of the 1st and 2nd century period burial plots, Barkay said. Jesus was laid in a "new tomb," according to the Gospel of Matthew.
Some Garden Tomb advocates say that the Holy Sepulchre could be the authentic site because it is inside the city walls of Jerusalem. Crucifixions took place outside the city walls. But the boundaries of Jerusalem's city walls have changed because they have been destroyed and rebuilt several times. In the first century, the Holy Sepulchre would have been outside the city walls, Barkay said.
Tradition favors the Holy Sepulchre. A Latin inscription and painting have been found on its walls that date to the early 4th century, which indicate it served as an early pilgrim site, Barkay said. During the later part of the same century, Constantine built a church over the site.
The Garden Tomb was discovered in the late 19th century. General Gordon, a British officer, became convinced that a skull-like rock outside the north wall of Jerusalem bore a relationship to the biblical description of the place of Jesus' crucifixion. After discovering a nearby ancient tomb, influential Christians in Britain formed the Garden Tomb Association to purchase the surrounding land.
Rev. Michael Tupper, current chaplain of the Garden Tomb, said that neither location has sufficient evidence for claiming to be the authentic site. "What matters to me is that Jesus did die on a cross for my sins, and that God raised him from the dead," Tupper said. "I don't need to know where the cross was placed or where the tomb is located."
More than 4,000 people are expected on Easter Sunday for the traditional Garden Tomb sunrise service.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB