When Jesus, therefore, saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, thy son!” This statement is traditionally called “The Word of Relationship” and in it Jesus entrusts Mary, his mother, into the care of “the disciple whom Jesus loved”.

The Garden Tomb is open to visitors Monday through Saturday between 8:30 – 12:00 and 2:00 – 5:30pm. English tours are available but must be booked in advance. Visitors are serviced with good facilities which include toilets, drinking water, benches and a well stocked gift shop.

Admission is Free. For any other prices, call up the place.

When they came to Jesus, He was already dead so they did not break His legs (John 19:33). Instead, the soldiers pierced His side (John 19:34) to assure that He was dead. In doing this, it is reported that “blood and water came out” (John 19:34), referring to the watery fluid surrounding the heart and lungs.

Someone nailed to a crucifix with their arms stretched out on either side could expect to live for no more than 24 hours. Seven-inch nails would be driven through the wrists so that the bones there could support the body’s weight.

Just before they did so, they realized that Jesus was already dead and that there was no reason to break his legs (“and no bone will be broken”). To make sure that he was dead, a Roman soldier (named in extra-Biblical tradition as Longinus) stabbed him in the side.

Jesus Christ experienced hematohidrosis while praying in the garden of Gethsemane before his crucification as mentioned in the Defenders Bible by Physician Luke as “and being in anguish he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”

The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 27, mentions that an earthquake coincided with the crucifixion: “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open.”

The Basilica of the Holy Blood (Basiliek van het Heilig Bloed) is a 12th century chapel, in the medieval town of Bruges, Belgium, which houses a revered vial containing cloth stained with the actual blood of Christ.

The commentary to the Roman Catholic New American Bible also affirms that Christ is the “testator whose death puts his will into effect”. Christians thus believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant, and that the Blood of Christ shed at his crucifixion is the required blood of the covenant.

The Catholic Church teaches that during the consecration of bread and wine, both bread and wine become the body (known as the host) and blood of Jesus Christ. This change is brought about in the eucharistic prayer through the efficacy of the word of Christ and by the action of the Holy Spirit.

While the Catholic Church generally adheres to the rule that all wine for sacramental use must be pure grape wine and alcoholic it is accepted that there are some circumstances, where it may be necessary to use a wine that is only minimally fermented, called mustum.