Joseph of Arimathea, a secret follower of Jesus, was a wealthy man who wanted to honor the Lord by giving Him his place of burial. I went in to the tomb in Jerusalem and there I found someone had carved a quotation from Mark 16:6, “He is risen, he is not here.” As I read this, my knees lost all strength. I knelt down and kept on looking at the empty tomb. It had been a very emotional week for me, but that was there where I totally lost it. Tears kept on coming without my permission and there was nothing I could do.

To think that my Savior gave His life for me and laid right there in that stone tomb in front of me was too much to take. I know that people came in and out and took photos, but I was not aware of them. You have to understand this: I have been preaching and teaching for 40 years with a power as if I have been touched by 220 watts from heaven. This was not just a tomb; it was the tomb where my Savior laid!!

Many verses from the Word kept on coming to my mind: “Jesus suffered outside of the gate …” (Hebrews 13:12.) “Near the city…” (John 19:20.) “People passed by, insulting Christ on the cross…” (Matthew 27:39.) “ While friends stood at a distance…” (Luke 23:49.) Yes, this place of “the skull,” in Aramaic is called “Golgotha.” My father used to preach on these verses. By the way, my father’s greatest desire was to come to this place, The Garden Tomb.

Well, I wept and thanked God for the greatest gift the world has ever received: Jesus Christ.

A man from Idaho touched my shoulder and said to me in a kind voice, “Son, He is not here.” I responded, “Sir, He is!” He looked to me and said, “Oh, well, the Spirit thing, I guess.”

I cried some more.

Rick Bonfim