Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

John 19:40-42

In accordance with…

Jesus was the perfect Jew, was he not? Even his burial customs were adhered to exactly as they needed to be done. I find this extraordinary. Even after his death boxes get ticked.

And the ‘coincidences’ just continue…

At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 

Much like in my first blog post for Lent, there just happens to be a garden involved. Whether it’s the Garden of Eden, Gethsemane or God’s vineyard in the Old Testament, the symbolism keeps returning.

And Jesus has returned to a Garden; to where it all went wrong. To a tomb that has seen no death in it before, so that Jesus can show the tomb what God does with death in his gardens. Because God’s gardens are all about life and abundance and fruit.

There’s no death in God’s gardens. That’s why Adam and Eve had to leave Eden. And that’s why Jesus had to leave the Garden Tomb as well. And by leave, I mean resurrect.

About 8 years ago I had someone prophesy to me about a garden. “A garden has been prepared for you” they said, “You just have to step up into it.”

That’s some pretty strong symbolism in their message to me. And considering the events surrounding their giving me this message, it makes sense that they said this to me at that point.

Although, I must say, it makes sense with hindsight. At the time my thought was more along the lines of “Well I’d step into the garden if I knew where it was…”

Because amazing things happen in gardens. But that’s tomorrow’s passage…

Yours with the clarity of hindsight,

Alison