The Empty Tomb
Matthew 28: 1-8, Mark 16: 1-8, Luke 24: 1-9
1In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
8And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
Mark 16
1And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
3And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
5And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
6And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
7But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
8And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
Luke 24
1Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
2And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
3And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
4And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
5And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
6He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
7Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
8And they remembered his words,
9And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.
Let’s go to GOD in Prayer!
A former skeptic by the name of Josh McDowell puts it, “After more than 700 hours of studying this subject, and thoroughly investigating its foundation, I have come to the conclusion that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the ‘most wicked, vicious, heartless hoaxes ever foisted upon the minds of men, or it is the most fantastic fact of history.’ “Hank Hanegraff who heads up CRI (Christian Research Inst.) wrote this: “The Resurrection is not merely important to the historic Christian faith —without it there would be no Christianity. It elevates Christianity above all other world religions. Through the Resurrection Christ demonstrated that He does not stand in a line of peers with Abraham, Buddha, Confucius, or Muhammad. Jesus Christ is utterly unique. He had the power not only to lay down His life, but also to take it up again.”
The cross of Christ is continuously preached by many pastors, preachers, and evangelists all year long but especially on Easter Mornings. They will all tell about His sufferings and His agony as He died upon the cross. I don’t want to take one ounce of desire or knowledge away from that but I am here to tell you this morning that if all JESUS done for us was to die on the cross then it was a wasted death.
If He lived the life that we all have heard about, and spent those years walking the Earth and then died on the cross, and the story ended there then it has no meaning>
You see the death on the cross is meaningless with out the EMPTY TOMB!
The Romans crucified many prisoners; they were experts at a very cruel and painful death. So they crucified many people and caused much suffering and pain. They even crucified two thieves on the same day that they crucified JESUS! But not a one of these deaths can save you not even the crucification of Peter could save anyone.
If JESUS died on the cross for all of us and it ended there, then we have no hope. Because HIS death without HIS resurrection is meaningless.
Look at what Paul said in 1st Corinthians 15: 12-19:
12Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
14And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
15Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
16For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
17And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
18Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
Yes we are indeed the most miserable of all men if CHRIST has not arose.
It always seemed strange to me that on Easter Mornings we are celebrating the Resurrection of JESUS and most preachers are talking about HIS death. Yes it is true JESUS died on that cross for each and every one of us but HE also went to HELL for us and took the keys of Death and Hell from Satan and then HE got up and walked out of the tomb!
He walked out of that tomb alive because HE overcame death!
You see JESUS is alive today and all of us can live with HIM forever if we just accept HIS sacrifice for us and confess that we are sinners and that JESUS died on the cross and then arose from the grave so that we might all arise from our graves!
MAX LUCADO, in his book, Six Hours One Friday, tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily.
A hospital was not too terribly far away—across the river, but the Indians would not cross it because they believed it was inhabited by evil spirits. To enter the water would mean certain death. The missionary explained how he had crossed the river and was unharmed. They were not impressed. He then took them to the bank and placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist and splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river. Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He punched a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water and escaped. It was then that the Indians broke out into a cheer and followed him across.
That’s exactly what Jesus did! He told the people of His day that they need not fear the river of death, but they wouldn’t believe. He touched a dead boy and called him back to life. They still didn’t believe. He whispered life into the body of a dead girl and got the same result. He let a dead man spend 4 days in a tomb and then called him out and the people still didn’t believe Him. Finally, He entered the river of death and came out on the other side. No wonder we celebrate the Resurrection!
Friday I was looking for a picture or illustration to put on the front of our bulletin this morning and I was appalled by how few illustrations there are of the Empty Tomb. There are maybe millions of images of the cross but there are very few of the Empty Tomb. I was also appalled at how many so called Christian Clip Art sites there are that are making money off of the images that they have on their site. JESUS said freely I give to you and freely give you to others.
GOD gave us our talents and our skills and in most instances it is his inspiration that gives us our ideas and leads to our works. Yet here are many who don’t even draw the images or paint the paintings but bring them together in a collection and want to charge you for every one of them.
I am sorry that I got away from what I wanted to tell you today but I just get upset with these things.
What I really want everyone to get out of this message this morning is this. Yes JESUS died on the cross for you but just to believe that HE died for you does not save you. For HIS death is without meaning and so is your faith unless JESUS also arose from the grave for you.
You see you must believe that JESUS died for you but you must also believe that HE arose for you because one without the other is meaningless.
There has been a story told that JESUS didn’t really die on the cross but had just blacked out and that after getting him down from the cross HIS disciples brought him out of it and HE lived a life after that. But if HE didn’t die on the cross then He is the world’s biggest liar. Even if they took him to the tomb and then He came to his senses and walked out of the tomb you cannot be saved.
He had to die and then rise from that death for all of us to be saved!
The cross without the tomb is meaningless but also the tomb with out the cross is meaningless.
Look at John 3:16 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
A version of the bible called “The Message” says it this way.
16"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.
One last verse that I wish to read to you this morning comes from “The Message” is 1Thessalonians 4: 14
14Since Jesus died and broke loose from the grave, God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus.
So let us all be assured of our salvation in our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST who lived , died , and rose again that we might all do the same!
Join Me In Prayer!
