Finding The Empty Tomb
This is a true story about four women on a pilgrimage to find the tomb where their Lord was laid. See how the Lord gave them a miraculous sign to comfort them.
Resurrection Sunday has such a personal meaning to me. Yes, it’s always been special: brunch, Church, Easter baskets, family, and food. But ever since I made a pilgrimage to the tomb, it has changed me forever! This is my story.
Four On A Pilgrimage
I will never forget the first time I saw the TOMB.
It was an oppressively hot and rather muggy evening in early July. I was studying in Old City Jerusalem.
There were four of us, American women dressed in holy garb—head covered, shoulders covered, knees covered. Our head scarves, wet with perspiration, stuck to the sides of our cheeks, and rivulets of sweat ran down our backs, partly because it was stifling and partly because we were overcome with heart-racing anticipation of where we were headed.
In the Old City
We darted through the very crowded and close Arab market that was alive with strange faces and unusual aromas. Brightly colored wares hung on either side of the narrow streets two stories high. The streets were so narrow that we could not walk more than two across.
We had ventured out away from the rest of the students to visit the Church Of The Holy Sepulchre, the holy burial place of Jesus of Nazareth. The four of us decided that we did not want to visit the tomb as a part of a study course but as a pilgrimage.
We scurried along, huddled together, grasping at one another’s hands and clothing just to make sure we were not parted in the crowd. The streets were packed with people, and there were labyrinths of alleyways and passages. The ancient stone buildings were so tall on both sides that it felt like we were in a tunnel!
It wasn’t long until we were completely lost! It was evening, and shortly, the sun would be going down. Not a good time to be totally lost in a strange city.
Nika
At one point, we stopped at the corner of an ancient stone building in an attempt to find our bearings.
Standing in the middle of the street, I could stretch my arms out and almost touch the building on the other side. I could feel the panic starting to rise up inside me. I don’t like the feeling of being closed in or lost! The panicked feeling mingled with the heat of the day and made me feel lightheaded! I put my hand against the wall in front of me to steady myself and touched something protruding slightly from the building.
It was a stone plaque of sorts, with a cross and the word NIKA engraved into stone. NIKA means victory, I said. The word and the meaning came up from a hidden corner of my brain. I remembered studying this Greek word a long time ago.
In an instant, I knew exactly what this ancient stone was. We had stumbled on to the Via Dolorosa, Latin for the sorrowful way. It is believed to be the path Jesus took carrying His cross to Calvery. Our small group of women pilgrims was standing in front of the eighth station of the cross!
We were unknowingly walking the path that our Savior took over two thousand years earlier as he carried His instrument of death to Calvary!
We Were Those Women
Right there in the midst of the market, the noise, the smells, the heat, and the crowds of strange faces was the Way Of The Cross! Because of my early religious background, I was able to remember the eighth station on the Via Dolorosa. JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM.
At this point, I was totally overcome by the divine appointment that brought us to this exact place!
As Jesus walked to His death, a group of women met Him and were grief-stricken. Jesus tells them not to weep for Him but for themselves and their children. As days would come, that would be very hard for them. He felt great love and compassion for them even though He was steps away from His own death. You can read about this account in Luke 23:28.
We were just like these women. We were out to meet our Lord, and we were strengthened by
Finding The Tomb
When we finally found the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, it was dark and horribly hot, but thankfully, the church was not overly crowded.
How could I ever explain this church? It was like a fortress, almost the size of a football field. Nothing resembled a church, Calvary, or garden tomb to me.
The church was lit by hundreds of ornate oil lanterns in different jewel-toned colors and shapes hanging from above. And the whole huge church fortress smelled like burning oil and incense! There was nothing Western or familiar about this place. It was ancient, oriental, and orthodox!
We made our way to an area in the huge church complex traditionally thought to be the tomb where Jesus was buried. Of course, it looked nothing like a garden or a tomb. It was a small Basilica inside the big fortress church—a church inside a church!
I decided to sit on a bench near the opening of the church tomb to reflect and get myself in a worshipful place. My sister-in-law sat with me. I spent a lot of time weeping quietly. Every fiber in me was raw with emotion, and I was exhausted.
I was overcome by the magnitude of it all. I focused on Jesus’ supreme sacrifice for me and the extreme and lavish gift of life everlasting at my God’s expense—and it pierced my heart!
Just before the Church closed for the night, four American women in holy garb got in line to go into the tomb. Into the Holy Sepulcher! There are just some things about the tomb visitation I still want to keep locked in my heart. Things that I ponder and treasure. Things I don’t want to share because if I do, I’m afraid they will slip out of my mouth and float away into thin air, and I would not get them back inside me again! Things between me and God!
But this you must know…
Inside The Tomb
I was in the inner tomb. Inside, you could see that we were in an actual cave, where they laid the dead body of Jesus of Nazareth. It was a small, cramped space. Only a couple of people could fit in at a time. I could not stand upright. It was a real tomb.
I knelt down at the stone slab where my Lord’s body once was. I draped my arms over it and laid my cheek against it, and the thirsty stone drank up my tears!
The tomb was empty! Jesus was not there!
Again, I thought of a few women over two thousand years ago who came to this very tomb early on a Sunday morning looking for Jesus, and they found it empty, too!
An angel met them and said. “Why are you looking for the LIVING ONE among the dead? He is not here. HE
He is risen, indeed! Amen and amen!
Happy Easter, He has risen! Thank you for sharing this beautiful story.
I appreciate your feelings, of holding the experience inside, for fear it would fly away!
Thank you for sharing.
He has risen indeed!!
Thank you for sharing a beautiful remembrance on this Easter Day! Kay
Beautiful words to read this Easter morning! While I love Christmas story and all the celebration I LOVE Easter “the Promise fulfilled”! Thank you for sharing you touching experience with your readers! Bless you and me! He has!
Good Morning.
Happy Easter just dont seam the right /enough to say after what you have shared Thank You
Very Very Much….May we all have Peace🕊
Thank you for sharing your story. He is risen indeed!
Oh my! What a story. What an experience. Thank you for sharing on this holy day!
A beautiful story and well told. What an experience and memory for you Yvonne. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Happy Resurrection Sunday!
Such a vivid recount of your precious story at the tomb! Thank you for sharing that we all can experience the peace of our Savior through the power of His resurrection, His risen life, now available to all who believe!
Yvonne, I am speechless. You need to write books, as your words have a way of transporting me to the destination you are describing. I have thought this before, but this story this morning on this Holy day was transfixing me to the very place our Lord was laid. Thank you for sharing your wonderful story with us. I will never get to the Holy land, but I have been there several times with you. God bless, Sharon
Thank you, Yvonne, so much for sharing this awesome experience, many of us will never be able to experience this ourselves, but in your description of it, it feels like we were there beside you on your journey! May God Bless you for sharing this! Happy Easter! He is Risen Indeed!
Thank you, Yvonne, for telling of this amazing and heartwarming experience! Happy, Blessed Easter!
I
This account of Jesus makes me have wet cheeks also. Praise be to God He arose. It’s overwhelming to think we are loved so much.
Amen! Allelua!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful story. I felt like I was with you on your pilgrimage.
Chris is risen! Alleluia Alleluia!
Thank you for sharing this beautiful message.
What a BEAUTIFUL memory you have in your heart! I teared up reading your story at the magnitude of it. So few would ever get this opportunity themselves and I thank you for letting us experience yours.
Thank God He has Risen!
Thank you, thank you , thankyou for sharing. And so many praises to our Lord for what He did
Thank you so very much for sharing this beautiful and sacred experience. Happy Easter, He is indeed Risen.
Yvonne and Family, Happy Easter. He Has Risen, what a Glorious Day this is! I love your closing in the Newsletter, Num. 6:23-27 one of my many favorites. Blessings, Patricia
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
Thank you for sharing this story on this very special day <3
This Easter morning I rushed to read what you had to say on this significant day. I was not disappointed as I walked with you and shared in your incredible experiences along the way, and in the tomb. Thank you for the opportunity to feel the depth of your thoughts as you lived scripture.
Beautiful… thank you for sharing your personal experience…
How beautiful. Your experience made me emotional. Thank you for sharing. Happy Resurrection Day!✝️
Thank you for sharing your lovely story. I am touched and feel blessed by your words. Easter blessings to you.
Thank you for opening up your heart and sharing this momentous journey. Looking forward to visiting one day, just wonder how much longer Jerusalem will survive as we know it now
What a beautiful, heart-wrenching experience!
I totally get not wanting to speak of part of your experience, to be able to keep it inside you forever! I felt that way when I was saved as an adult. I had been baptized as a young teenager only because my friend Vivian was getting baptized, and I thought ‘why not?’ No one talked with me, no one explained to me what I was doing, nothing. When I finally got a clue of just how Jesus suffered and died for me, I had so many mixed emotions, heartbreak, gratitude, a love I’d never known I could feel. And I felt washed in a peace I had never known, and wanted to hold on to that tightly, not tell anyone in case they tried to take it away from me. They couldn’t, which I finally understood in time.
Happy Easter Yvonne and to your family as well. What a moving experience for you, thank you for sharing it.(most of it) crying as I read. Bless you today and everyday.
Thank you, Yvonne, for this precious experience you shared with us. How incredibly blessed we are to know the reality of our RISEN LORD in our lives today. Hallelujah!
Wow!!!! Thank you so much for sharing this. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.
Happy Easter!!
Yvonne, I could relate to this since my young adult kids and I were in Israel back in the fall and experienced the places you described. We also went to The Garden Tomb which is a beautiful, peaceful garden where others believe Jesus was buried, but guess what! Jesus wasn’t there either. He’s alive! Happy Resurrection Day!
Beautiful story