What You Can Find In An Empty Tomb
Matthew 28:1-8
On Resurrection Morning, some devoted women who followed Jesus Christ visited the tomb where He had been buried three days earlier. On their way, they were concerned as to how they would remove the stone in order to care for His body. When they arrived they found the stone had already been rolled away and Jesus was not there. At first they were confused, discouraged, and filled with grief. But upon closer examination, they found some evidence that would change their lives forever.
- I would like for us to examine their story and see “What You Can Find In An Empty Tomb”.
One of the last scenes on Good Friday is that of Mary Magdalene watching as Joseph and Nicodemus cared for the body of the Lord and placed Him in the Tomb. Early on Sunday morning, Mary returned to the tomb. It was still dark when she arrived, and she noticed that the stone had been rolled away. Her first thought was that the enemies of Christ had taken His body. In response she ran to tell Peter and John that someone had taken Jesus' body, and she did not know where to find Him.
Peter and John raced to the tomb to see for themselves. As they looked inside, all they saw was the grave clothes and the napkin that had covered Jesus' face. However, before the day was over Mary, John, Peter, and the remaining Disciples would learn that there was much more in that empty tomb than they saw at first glance. What they found brought a great transformation into their lives. In the same way, there are some things that we can find in that empty tomb that should change us as well!
- The first thing that we find in the empty tomb is:
I. EVIDENCE
The followers of Christ found more than just an empty grave, they found proof of who Jesus was. The angry crowd rejected Jesus as King, the Jews rejected Him as Messiah, and Judas betrayed Him because he did not see Him for who He was. But the doubters and enemies of Christ were proved wrong on Resurrection morning. The empty tomb was filled with evidence that Christ was indeed the Promised One from God.
This world is filled with skeptics. Multitudes doubt that Jesus is the source of salvation. But the empty tomb is proof that Jesus is "the Way, the Truth and the Life” and no one can get to the Father except through Him.
Throughout history, many "religious" leaders have lived and died, and they are still dead today. Jesus lived and amazing life, He died at Calvary, He was buried in the garden tomb, but 3 days later He rose from the grave. He is still alive, and the empty tomb is proof of that fact. Again I say, the empty tomb is filled with evidence.
- If you look into that empty tomb you will also find that it contains:
II. ASSURANCE
Matthew 28:5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
The empty tomb brings assurance to the followers of Christ. If Jesus had the power to conquer death (and He did) that means that we can trust every single promise that we receive through His holy Word.
Because of the resurrection we can trust that we have been forgiven, our sin debt is paid in full, and we possess eternal life and the hope of a home in Heaven. Because of the resurrection we can rest in Jesus’ promise to hear and answer our prayers. Because the tomb is empty we can rest in the promise that He will never leave us or forsake us. Because our Savior rose from the grave we are assured of our relationship with God, the security of our salvation, and the promise that no one can pluck us out of His hand. No matter what troubles and struggles we endure in this life, we have full assurance that Lord is in control. We are able to possess this great assurance because of His marvelous Resurrection. If He can conquer death and the grave, He can conquer any problem that we will ever face.
- This leads us to the reality that when you look inside the empty tomb you will see that it contains:
III. HOPE
Paul said in - 1 Corinthians 15:20 that "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
In that same chapter, Paul says: "if Christ is not risen then our preaching is in vain… our faith is in vain… we are still lost in our sins… and those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished”. To sum it up, Paul is saying that if Jesus is not risen then we possess no hope whatsoever.
However, the tomb is empty, our Savior lives, and because He lives we have great hope. Because Christ is risen we have the hope that our loved ones who have died in Christ are in Heaven as we speak; we have the hope of a reunion with them someday, and we possess the hope of our own future resurrection. We have the hope of a new body, the promise of eternal life, and a home in Heaven.
- The reason that we possess such hope and assurance is because of Christ's victory; this leads us to something else we can find in the empty tomb. When You look inside the empty tomb you will see that it contains:
IV. VICTORY
Jesus said in Revelation 1:17-18, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
Jesus conquered death, Hell, and the grave. Furthermore, in the resurrection, Jesus Christ conquered sin once and for all. Jesus laid down His life as the sacrifice for our sins, three days later He rose from the grave. In doing, He destroyed Satan's power over fallen humanity.
Hebrews 2:14 (Jesus) himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
We possess victory because of the ultimate Victor, the Lord Jesus Christ. The exciting news is that we do not have to wait until we die to enjoy this victory. We are already victorious through Christ. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:57, “thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”.
We have access to this victory because of the victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ and with this victory comes great responsibility. This leads us to something else that we can find in the empty tomb and that is:
VI. RESPONSIBILITY
The Angel comforted the women at the tomb, but he also had a job for them to do; he said, “go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. (Matthew 28:7-8)
The Angel told the women to go and tell others what they had seen; this responsibility has been assigned to us as well. The Gospels show us that everyone who encountered the risen Christ was changed as a result.
Up until they saw the risen Savior, the Disciples were discouraged, confused, and hiding in fear. But after the resurrection they became bold witnesses of Jesus who turned the world upside down in His name. They were so transformed by the Resurrection that they were willing to suffer and even die for the cause of Christ. If we are genuine followers of Christ then we should possess that same willingness and desire to share the good news of Jesus Christ no matter the cost.
- Before we close I would like to take one more look inside the empty tomb because there is something in there that we cannot miss. If you will look closely you will see:
VII. SALVATION
1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Through His resurrection Jesus broke the power of sin, death, hell and Satan. Jesus’ resurrection confirmed that God accepted His sacrifice and because of this (though we are unworthy) we have been accepted by God.
Each of us needed a Savior because our sins had separated us from God. (Isaiah 59:2) We stood in desperate need of redemption; the only way for us to receive forgiveness of our sins is to be washed in the precious blood of Jesus. Colossians 1:14 says, “we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins”.
No matter who you are, where you have been, or what you have done, the salvation that is seen inside the empty tomb is available to you. God's Word tells us that every human is a sinner. (Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God). God's penalty for sin is death. (Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death…). Thankfully that same verse goes on to say that “the gift of God is salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord”. In His great love, God has made provision for the salvation of lost sinners. (Romans 5:8 God demonstrated his love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us). In order to be saved you must surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 10:9 if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.) If you will repent and believe in Christ you will be saved, and you can live with hope and assurance of your salvation.
At first glance it may have appeared to Mary, Peter, and John that all that remained inside the tomb of Jesus was some empty graveclothes, but upon further examination they found evidence, assurance, hope, victory and responsibility. If you will look closely inside the empty tomb you will find the same things and they will change your life forever!
