When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. (Mark 16:1-8)

The Garden Tomb “complex” in east Jerusalem, the traditional site of Jesus’ death and resurrection for Protestants, is a lovely, park-like setting. Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, is not far at all from the small tomb cut from a sheer rock wall.

Discovered in the 19th century by a British army officer, “Gordon’s Calvary” fits in many ways the Gospel accounts of these iconic events. Just outside the present-day walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, the ugly rock cliff (not terribly high!) is only yards from the tomb itself.

Stooping inside the small doorway, one is struck by the coolness and, well, emptiness of the tomb. A narrow groove just at the base of the entrance could easily have held in place a large stone after the body had been set inside.

For pilgrims, there are places in the park to observe communion, to sit and reflect, and stroll.

Not all believe, of course. Our world is a churning chaos of competing religions.

For Christian believers, however, today marks the day that our Lord was crucified. He stood in our place to take the punishment for sin.

That is why it is called “Good Friday.” He bought us at great price, and His triumph three days later means that He has the power of life over death.

Not a bad thing to meditate on today.

Not bad at all.