THE GARDEN TOMB, JERUSALEM, Israel – Jesus rising from the dead is the most celebrated miracle in Christianity. And in the Garden Tomb in eastern Jerusalem, the very place where many believe that wondrous event occurred, it seems that miracles and wonders still occur.
Scholars are divided on the exact location of the tomb, but the resurrection took place either in the recognized tomb here or one very similar to it. Workers at the Garden Tomb say miracles still occur here.
Cesar Fleitas is the head guide at the Garden Tomb. He told us what happened to a Romanian man who came to the tomb suffering from incredibly poor eyesight. The man walked into the tomb.
“He wanted to look at the symbol that is inside the tomb – the symbol of a cross that has the Greek letters – but he wasn’t able to make out the symbol very well,” Fleitas recalled. “So he removed his glasses and then all of a sudden, he was able to see perfectly.”
Fleitas continued, “All of a sudden, I can hear the man screaming inside the tomb, ‘I can see! I can see!’ Of course, he was speaking in Romanian. His pastor, who was standing nearby, he translated for me. He said, ‘He can see!'”
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Another miracle that took place involved a boy suffering from hydrocephalus, an abnormal and dangerous buildup of fluid deep in the brain. Every year, his family came from Ecuador to the Garden Tomb.
Giancarlo Rodriguez was that little boy two decades ago. Then, he was paralyzed from the waist down due to his disease.
Fleitas explained, “Twenty-plus years ago, they came as a family. They brought the son inside the tomb. And as they were praying, they heard their son crying. The husband turned around to look back to see what was going on, and all of a sudden, they see their son standing there. And that was the miracle. The healing took place at that moment.”
Before that healing, Giancarlo’s sister had lost her faith.
Fleitas recounted, “She couldn’t understand why God would allow such a thing to happen to her brother. But then, after she saw the healing that God performed in her brother’s body, that became the turning point in her life.”
In an interview recorded with the Rodriguez family, Rodriguez’s sister stated, “I simply want to say that Giancarlo is proof that God is real.”
As for the entire family, Fleitas told us, “They’re all involved in ministry, serving the Lord.”
Liz Tingman chronicles signs and wonders that happen at the Garden Tomb. She told CBN News that Pastor Hobson Lara had suffered an extremely painful, unending headache since he was 13 years old. Then, in 2010, at age 48, the pastor visited the tomb. “And he was suddenly overwhelmed with this uncontrollable urge to weep as he went into the tomb.”
As Tingman described it, “He came out, and he went on to the area over here near the olive trees. And he said he just held onto an olive tree because he was weeping uncontrollably. He said he was praying for 40 minutes. And when the weeping stopped, he realized he was healed. He had no headache.”
Tingman added, “The headache has never come back.”
Fleitas experienced his own miracle when a Brazilian pastor came out of the tomb, insisting God just told him to pray for Fleitas’ healing. Little did he know Fleitas had been suffering from sharp liver pains for years.
“And he looked at me and he said to me, ‘I want you to understand that the power comes from the Lord,'” Fleitas remembered. “The pastor said, ‘It is the Lord God Almighty who heals you.’ And then he anointed me with oil, and he prayed over me. And that sharp pain that I was experiencing was gone. Completely gone.”
We asked, “And forever?” Fleitas replied, “Yes, it’s gone.”
Tingman also recalled a Japanese non-believer who was taken around the tomb by a guide, starting at the overlook at Skull Hill, where many believe Christ was crucified.
Tingman told us, “And she took her to Skull Hill and explained about Calvary and so on. And this woman said – she spoke English –she said, ‘I know nothing about Jesus Christ. Tell me more.'”
“She went into the tomb,” Tingman continued. “And my colleague said when she was in the tomb, she was visibly moved. Something was moving her. And she was weeping, actually. And she said, ‘I can see Him.’ And my friend said, ‘What can you see?’ She said, ‘I see a man with a crown on His head.’ Now, this is a woman who didn’t know anything about the Gospel story. And she said, ‘It’s not a gold crown.’ And she began to describe a crown of thorns on this man’s head that she was seeing.”
If you don’t know this Jesus Christ, we Christians believe that He can save you. Heal you. Perform a miracle for you right now, on the spot. You just have to pray and ask Him. That’s the Good News of Easter.
Don’t miss the Easter Sunrise Service livestream from the Garden Tomb in Israel. Tune in at 11:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 19. CLICK HERE to Watch LIVE on CBN News YouTube.
