The Empty Tomb
The words “he is not here, for he has risen” recorded in Matthew 28:6 are some of the most profound words in all of Scripture. But these joyous words were preceded by some of the darkest hours humankind has ever seen. The weekend that forever changed the course of human history began on what we call Good Friday. Given the events of that day, it is interesting that we used the term Good Friday to describe it. As New Testament Christians living thousands of years after Good Friday, we understand the term, but for those who experienced the horrific events of that day in real time, it was anything but good. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ took place on what we call Good Friday, and it was the most dreadful event that has happened in world history. But despite the gruesomeness of that day, God would turn it into the most glorious event that mankind has ever experienced.
While the hours following Jesus’s death were filled with darkness and despair, hope and joy were only a few hours away. The Saturday following the crucifixion would have been a painful day for Jesus’s disciples. Can you imagine how they must have felt? Believing Jesus to be dead, they were lost, confused, angry, and afraid. The hours of that dismal Saturday must have felt like days rather than hours. Jesus’s death left behind the men and women who had followed him and loved him. They would have been traumatized by the events of Friday, leaving them to wonder what was to happen to them.
A few hours later, however, the followers of Jesus would see God’s glorious plan of redemption playing out right before their eyes. Their longest, most painful day would soon give way to the most triumphant and jubilant day in history. By early Sunday morning, their pain and sorry would be turned to joy. The women who went to visit Jesus’s tomb quickly realized that things were eerily different—and not as they expected. As these faithful women approached the tomb, they quickly realized that something miraculous had taken place.
The first oddity that must have struck them was the fact that there were no guards protecting the tomb. The idea that the disciples somehow stole the body is preposterous. The idea that a group of scattered, confused, and terrified people could sneak a dead body away from highly trained Roman soldiers is ridiculous. The Jewish and Roman authorities had all the power, resources, and motivation necessary to track down a body or assemble convincing evidence and credible witnesses that could testify the body had been stolen. But despite all of their power, resources, and motivation, they could never explain the missing body and the empty tomb.
In fact, the Jewish and Roman authorities were unable to silence the vocal group of convincing witnesses that verified the historicity of Jesus’s resurrection. Despite the punishment Jesus’s disciples experienced, they continued to boldly proclaim the resurrection. Even though many of them experienced horrible deaths because of their assertions, they never backed down from their claims. The theory that Jesus’s body was stolen by the band of people following Him is actually less credible than the resurrection claims.
The second oddity was the position of the massive boulder that sealed the tomb. While they had been concerned about how they were going to move the boulder protecting the grave, they were more concerned when they saw that the tomb had already been opened (see Luke 24:1-7).
As we celebrate Easter this month, we are reminded of the historical reality of Jesus’s resurrection, and the importance of this unparalleled event. Christianity is based on the resurrection of Jesus, and our faith rests on our resurrected Lord. As Paul testifies in the book of 1 Corinthians:
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me (15:1-8).
Despite the fact that Jesus had repeatedly predicted His resurrection, His own disciples didn’t fully comprehend what He was saying or expect that He would actually rise again. The hours Jesus spent in the grave would have been dark and disheartening to His disciples. Human experience consistently validates the fact that physical death is final and irreversible. But Jesus supernaturally rose from the dead to emphatically demonstrate His deity and validate Himself as the one who had the power over death and the authority to forgive sins as He had claimed.
While it’s important to recognize the historical facts about Jesus’s resurrection, we must also remember the theological ramifications of His resurrection. The celebration of Easter provides a powerful visual image of the empty tomb, which reminds all believers of the hope we have in the risen Lord. In this history-altering moment, Jesus Christ proves that He was the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world.
As you celebrate Easter this year, here are three basic truths that the empty tomb reveals:
1. The empty tomb reveals God’s unwavering faithfulness.
Following the fall of Adam, God vowed to send His Son to defeat sin and death by His crucifixion and resurrection. For thousands of years, God never forgot His promise as the history of mankind pointed toward a manger. God never turned away from His promise although mankind continually rejected the prophets and repeatedly rebelled against their Creator.
Because God is always faithful to His promises, He sovereignly controlled the events of history so that at just the right moment, Jesus Christ would come and fulfill what had been promised by God and predicted by the prophets. Jesus was appointed by the Father to die on a cross to pay the penalty of our sins (see Galatians 4:4-7). On that glorious Sunday morning, when Jesus took off His grave clothes and walked out of that borrowed tomb, God’s faithfulness was on display for the whole world to see.
If the tomb had remained closed and Jesus’s body had simply decayed in the grave, He would have failed to deliver on the Father’s redemptive promises. The enemies of God would have won, and we would be without hope. But Jesus left the tomb behind, making our redemption a realty.
2. The empty tomb reveals God’s unconditional love.
Why would God ever sacrifice His own Son to save those who had rejected Him and so consistently rebelled against Him? The answer is simple: God sacrificed His son because He loves people like you and me. Through the sacrifice of His Son, God has demonstrated His fatherly provision, faithful devotion, and tender care to His children. God doesn’t love you because you’re great and inherently deserving of His love. God loves you because He is great and loves even those who have rebelled against Him. Jesus didn’t die on the cross to make you feel more important or to boost your self-esteem, but to pay the penalty of your sin that His holiness and justice demands. Jesus died on the cross to show you that He loves you and to powerfully tell you that God is most important. Jesus died on the cross so that you can enjoy Him forever (see John 3:16-18).
We must remember that God’s love wasn’t motivated by what He saw in us, but by what resides inside of Himself. Even when we’re unloving and rebellious, full of ourselves and wanting our own way, God still loves us. He delights in transforming us by His grace and rescuing us by His love. As a result of Jesus’s resurrection, we can confidently rest in God’s unconditional love, and enjoy the blessings of being His child.
3. The empty tomb reveals God’s unmerited deliverance.
Our merits cannot earn redemption. The truly good news of Jesus’s resurrection is that all who put their faith in Christ share in His resurrection victory. Jesus conquered death and rose again, proving Himself to be the only one who can forgive sin. As author Davey Harvey writes, “A Christian understands the necessity of the cross; our sin was so bad that it required blood, the blood of God to take it away!”[1] A dead Savior would be no Savior at all. But because Jesus lives, we have hope in eternal life through the power of His resurrection (see Romans 5:1-6).
Think for a moment of the obedience Jesus displayed as He lived on this earth, each day a few hours closer to Calvary’s cross. The betrayal, humiliation, and suffering that Jesus experienced that horrendous Friday was because of our sins. Jesus went to the cross to pay the sin debt you could never pay. Jesus alone could die for the sins of the world. Jesus alone came forth from that borrowed tomb, proving Himself to be the unique Son of God!
No matter the sins you have committed, God will forgive you through faith in Christ. No matter how hopeless and weak you may feel, you’ve been provided with all of the grace you need to make it to the end.
The Easter account is no fairy tale or legend. The biblical record of Jesus’s resurrection records for us the actual events that took place on the weekend that changed the entire course of world history. On that magnificent Sunday morning, Jesus impacted the world more than any other individual in history. As author David Mathis writes, “The empty tomb persists as the one stubborn historical fact that refuses to go away. Something simply astonishing happened that day. The claim that Jesus exited the tomb alive, as witnesses testified, has survived and overcome every attempt to refute it. And the church He established has, against all odds, spread all over the world, just as He said it would. Has any legend, any lie, ever produced such a result over such an expanse of time?”[2] After more than two-thousand years, the empty tomb is more influential than ever. The resurrection of Jesus refuses to leave the world stage because it is absolutely true.
In the empty tomb you can find God’s unwavering faithfulness, His unconditional love, and His unmerited deliverance. As we celebrate Easter this month, find great hope and joy in the resurrected Messiah.
[1] Dave Harvey, When Sinners Say “I Do” (Wapwallopen: Shepherd Press, 2007), 25.
[2] David Mathis, www.desiringgod.org
While the hours following Jesus’s death were filled with darkness and despair, hope and joy were only a few hours away. The Saturday following the crucifixion would have been a painful day for Jesus’s disciples. Can you imagine how they must have felt? Believing Jesus to be dead, they were lost, confused, angry, and afraid. The hours of that dismal Saturday must have felt like days rather than hours. Jesus’s death left behind the men and women who had followed him and loved him. They would have been traumatized by the events of Friday, leaving them to wonder what was to happen to them.
A few hours later, however, the followers of Jesus would see God’s glorious plan of redemption playing out right before their eyes. Their longest, most painful day would soon give way to the most triumphant and jubilant day in history. By early Sunday morning, their pain and sorry would be turned to joy. The women who went to visit Jesus’s tomb quickly realized that things were eerily different—and not as they expected. As these faithful women approached the tomb, they quickly realized that something miraculous had taken place.
The first oddity that must have struck them was the fact that there were no guards protecting the tomb. The idea that the disciples somehow stole the body is preposterous. The idea that a group of scattered, confused, and terrified people could sneak a dead body away from highly trained Roman soldiers is ridiculous. The Jewish and Roman authorities had all the power, resources, and motivation necessary to track down a body or assemble convincing evidence and credible witnesses that could testify the body had been stolen. But despite all of their power, resources, and motivation, they could never explain the missing body and the empty tomb.
In fact, the Jewish and Roman authorities were unable to silence the vocal group of convincing witnesses that verified the historicity of Jesus’s resurrection. Despite the punishment Jesus’s disciples experienced, they continued to boldly proclaim the resurrection. Even though many of them experienced horrible deaths because of their assertions, they never backed down from their claims. The theory that Jesus’s body was stolen by the band of people following Him is actually less credible than the resurrection claims.
The second oddity was the position of the massive boulder that sealed the tomb. While they had been concerned about how they were going to move the boulder protecting the grave, they were more concerned when they saw that the tomb had already been opened (see Luke 24:1-7).
As we celebrate Easter this month, we are reminded of the historical reality of Jesus’s resurrection, and the importance of this unparalleled event. Christianity is based on the resurrection of Jesus, and our faith rests on our resurrected Lord. As Paul testifies in the book of 1 Corinthians:
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me (15:1-8).
Despite the fact that Jesus had repeatedly predicted His resurrection, His own disciples didn’t fully comprehend what He was saying or expect that He would actually rise again. The hours Jesus spent in the grave would have been dark and disheartening to His disciples. Human experience consistently validates the fact that physical death is final and irreversible. But Jesus supernaturally rose from the dead to emphatically demonstrate His deity and validate Himself as the one who had the power over death and the authority to forgive sins as He had claimed.
While it’s important to recognize the historical facts about Jesus’s resurrection, we must also remember the theological ramifications of His resurrection. The celebration of Easter provides a powerful visual image of the empty tomb, which reminds all believers of the hope we have in the risen Lord. In this history-altering moment, Jesus Christ proves that He was the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world.
As you celebrate Easter this year, here are three basic truths that the empty tomb reveals:
1. The empty tomb reveals God’s unwavering faithfulness.
Following the fall of Adam, God vowed to send His Son to defeat sin and death by His crucifixion and resurrection. For thousands of years, God never forgot His promise as the history of mankind pointed toward a manger. God never turned away from His promise although mankind continually rejected the prophets and repeatedly rebelled against their Creator.
Because God is always faithful to His promises, He sovereignly controlled the events of history so that at just the right moment, Jesus Christ would come and fulfill what had been promised by God and predicted by the prophets. Jesus was appointed by the Father to die on a cross to pay the penalty of our sins (see Galatians 4:4-7). On that glorious Sunday morning, when Jesus took off His grave clothes and walked out of that borrowed tomb, God’s faithfulness was on display for the whole world to see.
If the tomb had remained closed and Jesus’s body had simply decayed in the grave, He would have failed to deliver on the Father’s redemptive promises. The enemies of God would have won, and we would be without hope. But Jesus left the tomb behind, making our redemption a realty.
2. The empty tomb reveals God’s unconditional love.
Why would God ever sacrifice His own Son to save those who had rejected Him and so consistently rebelled against Him? The answer is simple: God sacrificed His son because He loves people like you and me. Through the sacrifice of His Son, God has demonstrated His fatherly provision, faithful devotion, and tender care to His children. God doesn’t love you because you’re great and inherently deserving of His love. God loves you because He is great and loves even those who have rebelled against Him. Jesus didn’t die on the cross to make you feel more important or to boost your self-esteem, but to pay the penalty of your sin that His holiness and justice demands. Jesus died on the cross to show you that He loves you and to powerfully tell you that God is most important. Jesus died on the cross so that you can enjoy Him forever (see John 3:16-18).
We must remember that God’s love wasn’t motivated by what He saw in us, but by what resides inside of Himself. Even when we’re unloving and rebellious, full of ourselves and wanting our own way, God still loves us. He delights in transforming us by His grace and rescuing us by His love. As a result of Jesus’s resurrection, we can confidently rest in God’s unconditional love, and enjoy the blessings of being His child.
3. The empty tomb reveals God’s unmerited deliverance.
Our merits cannot earn redemption. The truly good news of Jesus’s resurrection is that all who put their faith in Christ share in His resurrection victory. Jesus conquered death and rose again, proving Himself to be the only one who can forgive sin. As author Davey Harvey writes, “A Christian understands the necessity of the cross; our sin was so bad that it required blood, the blood of God to take it away!”[1] A dead Savior would be no Savior at all. But because Jesus lives, we have hope in eternal life through the power of His resurrection (see Romans 5:1-6).
Think for a moment of the obedience Jesus displayed as He lived on this earth, each day a few hours closer to Calvary’s cross. The betrayal, humiliation, and suffering that Jesus experienced that horrendous Friday was because of our sins. Jesus went to the cross to pay the sin debt you could never pay. Jesus alone could die for the sins of the world. Jesus alone came forth from that borrowed tomb, proving Himself to be the unique Son of God!
No matter the sins you have committed, God will forgive you through faith in Christ. No matter how hopeless and weak you may feel, you’ve been provided with all of the grace you need to make it to the end.
The Easter account is no fairy tale or legend. The biblical record of Jesus’s resurrection records for us the actual events that took place on the weekend that changed the entire course of world history. On that magnificent Sunday morning, Jesus impacted the world more than any other individual in history. As author David Mathis writes, “The empty tomb persists as the one stubborn historical fact that refuses to go away. Something simply astonishing happened that day. The claim that Jesus exited the tomb alive, as witnesses testified, has survived and overcome every attempt to refute it. And the church He established has, against all odds, spread all over the world, just as He said it would. Has any legend, any lie, ever produced such a result over such an expanse of time?”[2] After more than two-thousand years, the empty tomb is more influential than ever. The resurrection of Jesus refuses to leave the world stage because it is absolutely true.
In the empty tomb you can find God’s unwavering faithfulness, His unconditional love, and His unmerited deliverance. As we celebrate Easter this month, find great hope and joy in the resurrected Messiah.
[1] Dave Harvey, When Sinners Say “I Do” (Wapwallopen: Shepherd Press, 2007), 25.
[2] David Mathis, www.desiringgod.org
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