The Empty Promises of Easter
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A young man from a wealthy family was about to graduate from high school. It was customary in that affluent neighborhood for parents to give the graduate an automobile. For months, they both looked at cars, and the week before graduation, they found the perfect one.
But on the eve of his graduation, his father handed him a gift-wrapped Bible. The young man was so angry that he threw the Bible down and stormed out of the house. He and his father never saw each other again. It was the news of his father’s death that brought him home.
As he sat one night going through his father’s possessions, he came across the Bible his father had given him. He brushed away the dust and opened it to find a cashier’s check dated the day of his graduation, for the exact amount of the car they had chosen together.
As I thought about this story, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people have done the same to God. How many have literally tossed aside a wonderful promise because they didn’t understand it or didn’t believe it was possible?
In our world, we’re taught, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” So many have been taken in by the empty promises of this world that they’re leery of anything or anyone who says we can have something for nothing.
The world is full of empty promises. We watch TV, and the advertisements tell us that we can be happy, rich, or famous if we only buy a certain product. So, it doesn’t take long before we realize that the world’s promises are empty.
But God’s promises are different. Instead of promises that are full of emptiness, His promises always come true. The Apostle Paul said all the promises in Christ Jesus are yes and amen, or true (2 Corinthians 1:20).
But as I look ahead to this upcoming Easter and Resurrection Sunday, I see that on Easter, God gave us emptiness that is full of promise.
Today, I’d like to look at three promises of Easter, each marked by something empty. Each one assures us that God’s promises are real and that we can be sure of them for our lives.
1. The Empty Cross
Because the cross was empty, that is, because Jesus is no longer on the cross, we have the promise that our sins can be forgiven.
Let’s go back to that first Easter morning. The sun had not risen fully, and several women are on their way to the tomb where Jesus was buried. They’ve been walking for about a half-hour. There’s little, if any, conversation, because the task set before them is a sad one. They’re going to anoint Jesus’s body. As they reach the rise in the path, they stop. Motionless and quiet, they stare into the distance.
Off to the right, just outside the city, stands a gruesome reminder of the events a few days ago. By the glow of the pink sky, atop the Hill called Golgotha, or “The Skull,” three crosses stood!
The day before was the Sabbath, so nobody had removed them. There they stood, an empty reminder of Friday's horror. The one in the middle is the one Jesus hung on.
Take a close look at it. Look up at the top. Those bloodstains are from the crown of thorns that was crushed into Jesus’ skull. The stains on the ends of the crossbar came from the nails driven into Jesus’ hands. Toward the bottom was another red stain where Jesus’s feet were nailed. The main beam was soaked in Jesus’s blood from the Roman soldiers’ beating Him with a cat-of-nine-tails. And to seal the deal, that is, to confirm His death, a Roman soldier ran a spear through His side where out flowed blood and water, so at the bottom of the cross you see the splatter of blood.
So we could say that it was a blood-soaked cross that they were staring at.
Someone wrote Dr. Vernon McGee, a famous radio preacher from the late 1900s, the following letter: “Dear Dr. McGee. I know you say Jesus was dead and he rose from the dead, but my pastor says Jesus just fainted and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think?”
Dr. McGee responded: “Dear Sister, beat your preacher with a leather whip for thirty-nine stokes. Nail him to a cross. Hang him in the sun for six hours. Run a spear through his heart. Embalm him. Put him in an airless tomb for three days. Then see what happens.”
Don’t believe anyone who tells you Jesus was just faking it. There was no question that Jesus was dead. The Roman soldiers knew it because they were experts and highly efficient at putting people to death. The Jews also knew it. Together, they made up a lie that the disciples stole the body. Can you imagine eleven fishermen overpowering a company of Roman soldiers and Temple guards, stealing the body of Jesus just so they could claim He came back to life, and then willingly dying to protect that lie?
Jesus really died, and the empty cross proves it. So the empty cross holds great promise for all who believe, and that promise is that we can be forgiven. And that’s because on that cross, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins.
Sin, now there’s a word that’s not as popular as it used to be. It’s a word that isn’t “politically correct.” But the simple fact of the matter is we’ve all sinned: Every one of us. We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, or God’s holy and righteous standard for life. The only person who has lived a sinless life is the Lord Jesus Christ.
So, here’s the problem. According to God’s law, the wages of sin is death. The Bible says, “The soul that sins will surely die” (Ezekiel 18:4). And in Romans 6:23 it says that the wages of sin is death.
However, when we look at that empty cross, it’s a reminder of God’s promise that we’ve been forgiven. And so, on that cross, Jesus paid the penalty price for our sins, and that price was His life.
God’s word says, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8 NKJV)
It was on that cross that Jesus Christ offered Himself as that perfect, sinless sacrifice for each one of us. And we need to understand that no one else – not Moses, Abraham, David, Isaiah, Muhammad, or Buddha – no one has ever lived perfectly and then offered their life for our salvation.
That’s why the Bible says, “There is no other name given under heaven by which we can be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NKJV)
When Jesus Christ breathed his last, he cried out, “It is finished.” In other words, the penalty was paid.
Because Jesus died on that cross, we can be forgiven. So the first “empty promise” of Easter is the empty cross, and that our sins can be forgiven.
Let’s get back to our story. These ladies, after pausing briefly to view the empty cross, continued down the path to the tomb. As they went, they wondered, “Who will move the stone for us?”
They had good reason to be concerned. The stone in front of the tomb weighed around two tons. Not only that, the Romans had sealed it, so no one was allowed to move it without permission.
Suddenly, the earth moves! Frightened, they look at each other, unsure what to do. After a few minutes, things seem normal again, so they continue on their way. As they approach the burial site, they’re still wondering what had happened when they come upon something even more remarkable. The soldiers are all unconscious, the stone has been moved, and they see that Jesus isn’t there.
Then two angels appeared and said, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!” (Luke 24:5b-6 NKJV)
This leads me to the second empty promise, and that is
2. The Empty Tomb
Jesus had risen, He is alive, and the tomb was and still is empty. What a tremendous promise that holds.
Let me tell you about a little boy named Philip. Philip never felt that he belonged. He was pleasant enough, but he looked a bit different and sometimes seemed unusual to his eight-year-old classmates.
In his Sunday school class several weeks before Easter, Phillip’s teacher introduced a special project. She gave each student a plastic egg, explaining that each child was to go outside, find a symbol of new life, and place it in the egg. The class responded enthusiastically.
Back in the classroom, the eggs were opened one at a time, with each child explaining the meaning of his or her symbol. In the first egg was a pretty flower, in the next a beautiful butterfly, and in the third, green grass. The children "oohed" and "aahed." In another was a rock, which prompted loud laughter. Finally, the last egg was opened, and there was nothing inside.
"That’s stupid," said one child. Another said, “Someone didn’t do it right!” The teacher felt a tug on her shirt. It was Phillip who said, “That’s mine, and I did it right! It’s empty because the tomb was empty." An unusual, thoughtful silence filled the classroom.
Phillip continued to struggle physically, and that summer, he picked up an infection. A few weeks later, he died.
At his funeral, nine 8-year-old children, along with their teacher, brought their symbol of remembrance and placed it near his coffin. Their unusual gift was an empty egg, which now symbolized new life and hope. It is the message of Easter. It is the promise of Easter.
The truth of the empty tomb is the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise that we also will be raised from the dead to eternal life.
To those who know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, death has lost its sting; it’s no longer something to be feared. What fear is there when we have the promise that one day we’ll live forever with Him in Heaven?
The Apostle Paul said, “So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:54b-55 NKJV)
A father and son were traveling down a country road one afternoon in the spring when a bee suddenly flew into the window. Because he was deathly allergic to bee stings, the boy began to panic. Seeing the horror on his son’s face, the father reached out and caught the bee in his hand. Soon, he opened his hand, and the bee began to buzz around once again. Again, the boy began to panic. The father reached over to his son and opened his hand, showing him the stinger still in his palm. “Relax, son,” the father said, “I took the sting, and the bee can’t hurt you anymore.”
The empty tomb is God’s way of saying, “Relax, Jesus took the sting of death away, and death can no longer hurt us.”
Why was the tomb empty? Jesus is alive. The Angel said, “He is risen.”
And the promise is that we too can live even if we die. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26 NKJV)
But it doesn’t end here. There’s one more empty promise I’d like to share with you.
Let’s get back to our story. After the angels had spoken to the women, they immediately went back to the Disciples and reported what had happened. With this incredible news, Peter and John immediately raced back to the tomb to see for themselves. When they got there, John stopped just outside the tomb, but Peter ran right in. It didn’t take them long to discover that the tomb was just the way the women had said it was – empty. But that’s not all.
3. The Empty Grave Clothes
“Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.” (John 20:6-7 NKJV)
When Peter entered the tomb, all he found were the burial clothes Jesus had been wrapped in. They were also empty. This could only mean one thing: Jesus was alive! If someone had stolen his body, they wouldn’t have removed the burial clothes, folded them, and left them. Truly, Jesus was resurrected!
It wasn’t long afterward that Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and to all the Apostles. He sat down, walked, talked, and ate with them.
They had fellowship with Jesus. That’s the promise of the empty burial clothes; Jesus is alive and wants to have fellowship with us. Jesus is a living Savior, not a dead one, and he desires a personal relationship with each of us, just as he did with His disciples 2,000 years ago.
Think about that. Just as He sat, talked, walked, touched, and healed before His death, He still does the same today.
Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20 NKJV)
John Maxwell tells a story about a blazer that he bought from Nordstrom’s.
“About a year and a half ago, I bought a new navy blazer at Nordstrom. It was one of those cases you may have gone through where you buy an item of clothing and the more you wear it, the more you realize you don’t like it. My blazer wasn’t the right color, and to make matters worse, it attracted lint like it was going out of style. After wearing it pretty regularly for six months or so, I stuck it in my closet and didn’t wear it for a long time.”
“Tucked away in the back of my mind all the while was that famous Nordstrom unconditional-return policy. I thought I had this thing for a year and a half. I’ve worn it lots of times, and there’s just no way they’re going to take it back. About two weeks ago I decided I had nothing to lose. I pulled the blazer out, threw a lot of lint on it to make it look bad, and took it down to Nordstrom’s men’s department. I walked in, and immediately I felt nervous. I felt like I was about to pull a scam of some sort, but I played it straight. I walked right up to the first salesman I saw and gave this little prepared speech. I said, ‘I am about to put your famous unconditional-return policy to its ultimate test. I have a blazer here. I’ve worn it lots. I’ve had it for a year and a half. I don’t like it. It’s the wrong color, and it attracts lint like it’s going out of style. But I want to return this blazer for another blazer that I like.’ Then I stood there.”
“I couldn’t believe it. This guy with a big handlebar mustache just looked at me and shook his head. He said, ‘For heaven’s sake, what took you so long? Let’s go find you a blazer.’ Ten minutes later, I walked out with another blazer marked seventy-five dollars more than the one I brought in. It was perfect for me. It didn’t cost me a penny.”
Maxwell said, “In a small way, the Nordstrom Department Store is a lot like God. They are willing to back their promises.”
Today, we’ve heard three promises God has made to us: the forgiveness of our sins, eternal life, and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. My question to you is whether you will believe and take God m u on His unconditional promises. Will you take Him at His word?
But I’d be remiss if I didn’t share the significance of the cloth that was wrapped around Jesus’s head and how it was folded.
It says, “And the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.” (John 20:6-7 NKJV)
The handkerchief can be interpreted as a towel or a piece of cloth used to cover a person’s head when buried.
But there is something special about the way they describe it. It wasn’t lying with the other grave clothes but was folded separately. It was a deliberate act that symbolized that Jesus’s death and burial were now complete. But even more, it signified that Jesus is returning. Not to the grave, but He is returning to this earth. Because a folded napkin meant that the person was coming back.
Conclusion
I have a very important question for all of us this morning. Do we know Jesus Christ? I don’t mean, “Do we know about Him?” Instead, do we truly know Him?
You see, we can know about someone and not truly know them. We may know about Obama, Biden, or Trump, or Tiger Woods, Caitlin Clark, or Michael Jordan, or Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, or Robert Downey Jr., or, for that matter, any number of other dignitaries, politicians, sports figures, and Hollywood actors, we can know all about them, but can any of us truly say that we know them?
But we can know Jesus Christ. We can know His love, care, healing, and forgiveness. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20 NKJV)
It has been nearly 2,000 years since Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. As the women went to the grave that first Easter Sunday, they had no idea what was about to happen to them. They were not yet aware of the wonderful promises of that day.
Off in the distance stood an empty cross – the promise that their sins were forgiven.
At the end of their journey was an empty tomb – the promise of their eternal life.
Inside the tomb were empty burial clothes. The promise that they would once again have a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ, their living Savior.
And because of the folded napkin, we can know that He is coming back.
The promises that they discovered that day, we too can have today.
We can know the freedom of our sins being forgiven.
We can know the promise of eternal life in heaven.
We can know Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
And we can know that Jesus Christ is coming back.
This morning, we have heard about three promises God has made to us: the promise of forgiveness of sins, the promise of eternal life, and the promise of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
My question this morning is whether we will take Him at His word. If so, listen to this final promise – it is found in Romans 10:13 – “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13 NKJV)
This morning, if you have never accepted God’s promises for your life, He is waiting, probably wondering, like that Nordstrom’s salesperson, saying, “For heaven’s sake, what is taking you so long?" Don’t wait another minute, hour, day, week, or year. Do it today and know the joy of eternal life in Jesus Christ.
