The Two Gardens

After Jesus died, and it had been confirmed that He was dead, they removed His body from the cross. Joseph of Arimathea, a follower of Jesus, asked permission from Pilate to receive His body. Matthew tells us that Joseph was a rich man, which makes sense as to why he would have a tomb to give away for Jesus’ burial. This might seem like an insignificant detail, but it is, in fact, fulfilled prophecy. Isaiah prophesied that Messiah’s death and grave would be in association with the rich (Isaiah 53:9), but there was more to this tomb than its belonging to a rich man. Matthew, Luke, and John tell us that it was a new tomb (Matthew 27:60, Luke 23:53, and John 19:41). John even tells us detailed information about the location of the tomb. “Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.” (John 19:41) 

            The tomb in which Jesus was buried was very close to where He was crucified. John is the only one to mention that the tomb was in a garden. When Mary visited the tomb and first discovered it was empty, she wept. She encountered two angels who asked her why she was weeping. She then turned around and saw a man whom she mistook to be the gardener (See John 20:15). All of these details seem to be insignificant, however, they are not. It must be noted that the reason Jesus hadto come began in a garden and now it ends in a garden. These two gardens stand as bookends of the story of the gospel of God. It’s not necessarily the locations of these gardens that make them special. It is in fact what happened within the confines of these gardens that makes them special. 

            In the first garden, Adam and Eve were cursed with death, and that introduced death to the rest of the world. In second garden, Jesus is risen from the death that Adam and Eve introduced for humanity. The first garden represented a new creation in which all was very good. The second garden represents the beginning of a new creation and the return of what was once very good again. The first garden will always be remembered as the place where everything went wrong. The second garden will be remembered for where everything was all made right. The first garden is where Adam and Eve were forced to leave. The second garden is where humanity can enter God’s good world again. 

            The story of these two gardens can be told with two words — death and resurrection. These two words are what the gospel is by definition. This is the two. This is the gospel. Jesus died and rose again. 

In reality, the entire message of the Bible can be understood by these two words represented by these two gardens. This is why the resurrection of Jesus is critical for the Christian faith. In fact, if Christ had not risen from the dead then everything would still be dead, would remain dead, and there would be no hope. However, because Jesus had risen, we know that everything that is in Him will also rise again. 

             Paul considered the truth of the resurrection as the foundation of our Christian faith. Paul says, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” If Christ is still dead, my friends, we have every reason to be the most miserable of peoples. That would mean there is no hope for our loved ones who have passed, nor will there be any hope for us when we pass. Paul says, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22). Adam is death. Jesus is life! 

            The confidence we have is that whatever happened to Jesus on resurrection morning will also happen to us. One day, unless the Lord returns first, I will die. I will die because I am a sinner, and death has been passed on to me. However, because I am in Christ and have been purchased with His blood, I know that I will be raised with Christ. Yes, my soul will go on to be with the Lord instantly (2 Corinthians 5:8). The gospel tells me that there is not just good news for my soul but also for my body. When Jesus returns, there will be a great resurrection of all believers. Don’t just take my word for it; read what Paul said. “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:51-57) 

This means that whenever we attend a funeral for a loved one or friend who is in Christ, we can have hope that death is not the end. Death does not have the last word! What happened in that second garden is evidence that death has been “swallowed up in victory!” Paul also told the Thessalonians, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

            That is not the end of the story. For what happened to Jesus, and what will happen to us, will also happen to creation. Paul says that creation is waiting for the freedom “from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21) Death did not just affect Adam and Eve, it affected all of creation. God cursed the ground, and the chaos we see in the created order is also a result of the events of the first garden. However, these days of death, decay, and disease will not last forever for creation either. Creation will also be made whole again. 

            Peter writes, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:10-13) 

            This is the message of the two gardens. This is the message of the entire Bible. It’s all about death and resurrection. What happened to Jesus was no accident. It is what had to happen to reverse what had happened in the first garden. The first garden (before the fall) was a shadow of what eternity will be like. God gave us a glimpse through the Apostle John:

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

This is the story of the Bible. 

This is the two. This is the gospel.

 Jesus died and rose again!