Easter message of resurrection hope amid war at Jerusalem's Garden Tomb

In this interview with Christian journalist Paul Calvert, Reverend Simon Holland, director of the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, reflected on the profound significance of proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus amid the current uncertainty and repeated disruptions of Israel's Operation Roaring Lion offensive in Iran.

Although the Garden Tomb will not host its annual public Easter gathering due to security restrictions in Israel, Holland said he will deliver a virtual Easter message via CBN: “We want that message of hope and resurrection to go out, especially during these difficult times that we're all facing here.” He also spoke about the emotional toll of keeping the Garden Tomb open as long as possible during the conflict and the painful reality of saying goodbye to staff as tourist and Christian pilgrim numbers remain low.

In typical years, the Garden Tomb site receives hundreds of thousands of visitors, but ongoing wars have sharply reduced those numbers. Even so, its significance is not diminished: “But we have this message that death doesn't have the final word. And so, yeah, we share that with everybody who comes, and we've done it since 1894, and we will keep doing it as long as we can.”

Holland told Calvert what daily life is like under missile threat, describing the alert notifications on his phone, the rush to reach shelter, and the tense moments that follow: “We have one and a half minutes to get to that place, and then we wait, usually for around ten minutes, or until we get this message: ‘The event has ended.’” He said he links this to the message of the cross, “where Jesus says, ‘it's finished,’ and we can begin again in the resurrected life of Christ.”

Holland acknowledged that the danger is real and that families abroad also feel the strain as they watch events unfold in Israel. Yet the strongest theme of the interview was not fear, but peace rooted in Christ.

“That's the whole point for me of Jesus, who stood and calmed the storm when the wind and waves are blowing hard as they are at the moment. He does speak peace,” he said.

The Easter message this year will reflect on Peter’s response to the empty tomb to illustrate how believers leave places of fear and carry the news of the risen Christ into the world.

“The message...is actually about Peter running to the tomb and how, in a way that gives us a picture of us running from our tomb-like shelters, as it were, out into the world with this message: He's alive. He's alive.”

Click below to listen to the full interview with Rev. Simon Holland.