Opening illustration: Around the year 1930, a Communist leader named Nikolai Bukharin journeyed from Moscow to Kiev, Ukraine. His mission was to address a huge assembly with the aim of advancing communism. His subject for the evening was atheism. For a solid hour he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity, hurling arguments and ridiculing the Christian faith. At last he was finished and viewed what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of men’s faith. “Are there any questions?” Bukharin demanded. A solitary man arose and asked permission to speak. He mounted the platform and moved close to the Communist leader. The audience was breathlessly silent as the man surveyed them first to the right, then to the left. At last he shouted the ancient Orthodox greeting, “CHRIST IS RISEN!” The vast assembly arose as one man and the response came crashing like the sound of an avalanche, “HE IS RISEN INDEED!”
The tomb where Jesus was laid on “Good Friday” is now a completely different tomb … it requires a different type of watchman. It does not need a cemetery caretaker or a company of Roman soldiers assign to protect the dead but an angel from the realms of light and life. For Christ has risen indeed …
Let us turn to Matthew 28 in God’s Word and find out why was the stone rolled away?
Introduction: Do you think there was any significance to the fact that the stone enclosing the tomb of Jesus was rolled away? The stone didn’t need to be rolled away for Jesus to leave the tomb, and perhaps an empty tomb with the Roman seal still affixed to the closed stone would have been a more convincing proof of the resurrection vs. alternate theories. Was it to release Jesus? Well, of course not. Being God, Jesus could move freely from one place to another without being encumbered with worldly limitations. Let us assume the stone wasn’t rolled away, but Jesus began appearing to his disciples. Word would spread, and the Jewish leaders likely would have had the tomb inspected; if the stone was still closed and the seal still affixed, and they had the tomb opened and Jesus was not there, they would be hard pressed to claim the body was stolen, that he wasn’t really dead, etc. obviously God decided that the stone would be rolled away; I am just looking for any special significance to this. While the stone covering the entrance to the tomb was there for many reasons, we know its existence wasn’t to contain Christ.
Why was the stone rolled away?
1. Witness the testimony of the power of Christ (vs. 2-4)
Before we answer the question about the stone, let’s visit the importance of the guards on resurrection Sunday. They had been placed there as an integral part in God’s plan to communicate the resurrection. They were special soldiers, handpicked for being strong, skillful, alert and loyal to death. Their posting was made the day after Jesus’ burial as a last minute decision to ensure that these zealots who followed Jesus would not kidnap the body (Matthew 27: 63). Both the authorities and Disciples had something to prove here. The Pharisees wanted Jesus to rot in that tomb as a public demonstration that their motives were correct. The Disciples, proof that Jesus was in fact the risen Messiah.
As the guards awoke from their God induced slumber, they saw the empty tomb and the angel sent by God. Matthew 28: 4 records that they were ‘as dead men’ because they met a heavenly being. The impact was so significant an event that they froze. I’m sure these handpicked soldiers were in a situation that they had not encountered before. They certainly weren’t trained for it. So they quickly ran off to their commanders, and then to Pilate, to report on what had happened. I wouldn’t have wanted to be in their shoes. Their superiors would not have been happy, and although they would discipline them for failing in their duty, they couldn’t deny the truth of what had been relayed by these trained professionals. The authorities knew that they spoke the truth so they paid the guards for their silence, as we are told in Matthew 28. It was a brilliant, God inspired strategy to use professional, loyal soldiers to share the truth of the resurrection with those who denied Christ. Who better to challenge a skeptic than two of their own!
What we need is the resurrection power manifested by the stone rolled away. You see, the stone was rolled away because Jesus could not be held by death. He said about Himself, in John 11: 25, "I am the resurrection and the life." In other words, resurrection power centers in Jesus. And in Him we can tap into that resurrection power. Paul knew the vital importance of walking in that power and revealed it when he said, "I want to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection" (Philippians 3: 10). The power of His resurrection must become the power of our lives. It can only become so when we surrender to the one who rose again from the dead. And He calls to us today, Christian and non-Christian alike, not from the Cross, for He is not there. He calls to us, not from the grave, for He is not there. He calls to us from the right hand of the throne of Almighty God, from where, one day, He will come to set up His kingdom on this earth. He will come to judge all the living and the dead. They will all stand before Him, for He is the resurrected Lord. He calls to us, "Look at what I did for you. Come and follow me."
2. Bear testimony to the resurrected Lord (vs. 5-6)
Instead, the stone was rolled away so that we could look in. It was rolled away for our sakes, so that the empty tomb could be visible to all. The empty tomb is the greatest evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in all of history. I believe it is indisputable evidence. Cynics and critics have tried to explain it away, and they have not been able to. The empty tomb still stands as evidence to all that Jesus is not dead, that the bonds of death could not hold Him. He is alive today. There is no other explanation. Some say it was the wrong tomb. But if it were the wrong tomb, the Pharisees and the Sadducees who put Jesus to death certainly would have found the right tomb, rolled the stone away, and produced the dead and decaying body of Jesus Christ. But they were unable to because it was the right tomb, and it was empty. All of the great religious leaders of history have lived and died, and their bodies are buried today. Only Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Only Jesus Christ broke the bonds of death and hell and came forth as victor.
The significance of the stone rolled away is found in the words of the angel, "He is not here; he has risen, just as he said." The Gospel message is that Jesus Christ lived, died, was buried, and rose again from the dead. Skeptics have denied it, and philosophers have tried to explain it away, but the tomb is empty. He is alive. Had He not come forth from that tomb that day, He would have been no more than a fraud. He would have not been our Savior. We would still be in our sins. There would be no hope for the future, no power for living now. But on that first Resurrection morning, He arose.
The tomb was opened to show that something tangible, something real, had happened. Who’d have believed the resurrection if the stone was in place and the seal unbroken? It was an open, public statement of the divine. The stone had been rolled away, the guards had seen the Angel of the Lord and the tomb was empty. Each of these incidents confirms what had become public knowledge about Christ’s prophesy of His own resurrection. The rolling away of the stone became a symbol to all that Christ was the real Messiah.
3. Proclaim the testimony of the risen Jesus (vs. 7-8)
You have to wonder what the disciples would have done if the stone hadn’t been rolled away. Would they have locked themselves away, frightened that what they believed was false? I’m sure those 35 or so hours after Jesus’ death on the cross would have been filled with nervous anticipation, waiting and not knowing what to expect. “(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)” John 20: 9 (NIV).
But on seeing the empty tomb, the scene that Sunday morning was one of action. There was disbelief, fear of Jesus’ being taken by the authorities, then heavenly beings speaking to the women and then Peter. People were running to tell others as the Angels gave instructions to GO TELL. (Matthew 28: 7 and Mark 16:7-8). You can almost see those who loved Jesus sprinting to see his open and vacant tomb.
(a) A Command to Depart - The angelic message is an imperative message. It calls for action, for engagement on our part. The angel says to the ladies...... “Go!”
Are we living as though our Lord is risen and living within our hearts? Are we sharing the message that “He lives” with others? We are not to linger near the tomb, but we are to take the good news that it is empty and that Jesus lives into the entire world. The message of the resurrection calls us to action! It calls us to engage in the work of the risen Lord!)
(b) A Command to Deliver - “go quickly, and tell …” The word “quickly” means “without delay”! These women were commanded to go with a sense of urgency spreading the good news that Jesus Christ was risen from the dead!
Why so? Because everyday people are dying, people are being deceived and being despondent. The message of the tomb is still the message for this hour, “Come, see … go quickly and tell.” The message that we have been given is an urgent message. It is an urgent message because ...
The women were to go and share the good news that Jesus was risen from the dead. Those disciples who were cowering in fear that the next cross might be their own were to receive the glorious news that Jesus had conquered death and was alive forevermore! What a glorious message those women were given that day! It was a message of hope. A message of life. A message of victory. It was a message that everyone needed to hear. It still is! May we never forget that the message of that tomb is as fresh today as it was then! Jesus is still alive and men trapped in the bondage of fear and sin still need to hear about it. May we do as they did and carry the message with swift feet and joyful hearts to a world that needs desperately to hear about a risen Lord!
The empty tomb was the time of first belief. It is from here that the news spread that the prophecy of the resurrection had indeed occurred. This was a real event, that all that was foretold was being fulfilled. The news could not be contained.
Have you experienced the good news from that empty tomb 2,000 years ago? Is Jesus your Savior today? Are you ready to meet him? Does the risen Lord live in your heart? You can be saved today! If He is calling you to come to Him, you need to come to Him today.
Application: There is nothing more interesting to people than a hole. Our imagination causes us to ask what’s there. Our curiosity invites us in, as we want to explore what’s inside. What lived there and where is it now?
The empty tomb beckons us to know the truth. Did Jesus really die and rise from the dead? Our human curiosity is what causes us to find Christ for the first time. The tomb is open, just as God’s love is open for us to accept. If you believe and walk inside you can accept the gift of eternal life. As the annual celebration of Christ’s Resurrection approaches each of us has the opportunity to peer into the empty tomb once again. The stone has been rolled back as both a symbol of God’s omnipotent power and as an offer to believe. We can peer into the tomb once more and see that Jesus is who He said He is, the Son of the Most High, raised from the dead.
The stone was rolled away for you. Are you curious? The stone speaks. It speaks to us of death, victory over death, and hope for the future through Christ. The stone was rolled away so we could encounter the risen Lord. He is risen! He is alive today. He calls you to live for Him. What is your response to the risen Lord, the empty tomb as the stone is rolled away?
Will you be faithful? Being full of faith will make you faithful. And faithfulness in your relationship with Jesus is essential to following him. Just as faithfulness in any relationship is vital, so it is with our walk with God. If we consistently and faithfully meet with the Lord daily in prayer, in meditating on his Word, in listening for his still small voice - daily surrendering our lives to him - we will begin to be changed into his likeness in terms of our character and nature. But if we do not make following the Lord our first priority, we will not do it. Other things will crowd it out. He desires a life laid down, a heart that is His, a Christian who is living out what he or she is professing to believe, giving Him not just their spare evenings but the whole of their lives.
