In Jesus Holy Name
Redeemer Lutheran April 30, 2006
Text: Luke 24:36-38 Easter III
“Can An Empty Tomb Bring Peace?”
Can an empty tomb bring peace? Technically the answer is “NO”. All four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, tell us that the grave, where the body of Jesus was placed after his death, was empty on Sunday morning.
Mary Magdalene’s first reaction to an empty tomb was overwhelming grief. In the Gospel of John we read: “Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look in the tomb. . . .” When the angels asked her why she was crying, she said– “they have taken my Lord away. I don’t know where they put the body”. (pause) She thought the gardener had taken the corpse and placed it elsewhere.
Both Peter and John ran to the tomb. They, too, had looked in the tomb but only saw the linen shroud that had been covering the body of Jesus – but there was no body.
Even the enemies of Jesus admitted that the tomb had been robbed of its body and it was empty. They spread the rumor that the disciples had absconded with the body of Jesus during the night. (pause) The opponents of Jesus did not deny the body gone. They did not see the empty grave as an action of God.
An empty tomb, a burial shroud left behind, can not in and of themselves bring peace to one’s heart regarding humanity’s basic two (2) problems:
1) How can I find peace with God? broken commandments bring alienation. 2) Is there life beyond the grave?
The tomb is empty! This is not the message of Christianity. He is risen! He is risen indeed! This is the experience and message from the disciples. If there was no resurrection from death there would be no Christian church today.
The Apostle Paul writes: “Jesus our Lord was put to death for our trespasses, raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25). When the women who were near the cross on Friday arrived at the burial plot of Jesus, they experienced an earthquake and an empty tomb. They also heard an angel say: “He is not here” – He is risen.”
In the New Testament, the empty tomb proves nothing. The view of the empty tomb only resulted in fear, trembling and worry. It is the appearances of the risen Jesus that are most important.
In I Corinthians 15, Paul writes: The risen Jesus appeared to Peter, James, to all the apostles, to me and to more than 500 at one time, most of whom …..were still alive when Paul wrote this letter 25 years later. The Gospel of Matthew reports the appearance of the risen Jesus to the women and to the apostles. Luke reports the appearance of the risen Jesus to several women, to Cleopas, Peter, and the eleven disciples.
In spite of all the centuries of human experiences, that death was the end of human life, the Christian message from the lips of these disciples was clear. “Do you believe that there is a God who has power over death? And God raised Jesus from death. Of course we know that when Paul spoke of the resurrection from the death in the streets of Athens, many people laughed.
Luke tells us that the Jewish authorities were really upset “greatly disturbed because the apostles were proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. The heart of their sermons was “you killed him. God raised him, and we are witnesses” ( John Stott, The Contemporary Christian p. 70)
In I Corinthians 6:14, Paul writes “God raised Jesus and will also raise us up by His power.” In his first letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul writes: “We believe that Jesus died – and rose again – so we believe – that the Lord will return from heaven with a loud command, the voice of the archangel, the trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ will rise first . . . then we who are still alive will be caught up with them to meet the Lord and so we will be with the Lord forever.”
“Our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly wait for our Savior, the Lord Jesus, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control will transform our bodies so they will be fashioned like his glorious body”. WOW! What a promise!
A resurrected body – not limited by time and earthly space. (pause) Suddenly, with doors locked, the resurrected Jesus appeared in the room with the disciples. They touched his body. He ate fish and bread with them.
Yes, (pause) at first they were startled. They thought he was a ghost. (pause) Jesus said, “Peace be with you.”. Don’t be afraid – don’t let doubts arise in your mind. See my hands, my feet – touch me – so it shall be for you.
Here in California, we’ve had a few thunderstorms. When they roll in it is not unusual to see a flash of lightening and then experience an interval of time before we hear the thunder roll. Light travels faster than sound.
“The resurrection is the flash of divine lightning, which strikes down the power of darkness and makes it impossible for them ever to win the victory in this universe. But then comes the long pause before the victory roll of divine thunder. We live and witness (to the power of the resurrection) in this interim period.” (Karl Heim, Jesus in the Church’s Gospels by John Reumann, p. 123)
We continue to live between the lightning flash of the resurrection of Jesus and thunder roll of the voice of the archangel announcing the return of Jesus. In this interim time, we have the gift of his peace. In this interim time we have the responsibility to:
1) proclaim – to tell others that Jesus died and rose from death and to guarantee eternal life beyond this earthly life.
2) to call people to repent and experience the forgiveness of their sins which alienates them from God.
The result will again be the experience of peace.
3) we are to take this message to all the world.
Intuitively, people want to know God. Intuitively, people know they are on a spiritual search for meaning, purpose and ultimately peace of mind and heart. They are seeking. Some try various drugs, and are enslaved. Others seek wealth, political power, materialism, and sexual freedom. None of these have provided an answer nor have they been able to meet the deep needs of the human soul. At the end of their quest . . . is that all there is? People try to fill the hole in their heart with toys of all kinds.
Religions abound. New ones are created . . . all trying to provide a connection to a “Higher Being”. But peace can be elusive. As human beings, we seek peace, a calm, a shelter from the storms of life. I might use the word “to be in harmony with another”.
Love is the greatest thing in the world. God is love in his inmost being. To be loved is to be accepted, to experience intimacy. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are eternally united to each other in self giving love. We love because God first loved us.
Joy and peace are by-products of love. God gives us joy and peace when we pursue him to others in love. (John Stott, The Contemporary Christian p. 81)
The resurrection of Jesus assures us of God’s forgiveness. Forgiveness is one of our most basic needs. The head of a large English mental hospital has been quoted as saying “I could dismiss half my patients tomorrow if they could be assured of forgiveness.”
We all have a skeleton or two in some dark cupboard; memories of things we have thought, said, or done, of which we are ashamed. Our conscience nags, condemns and torments us.
After the resurrection Jesus offers peace. His blood was poured out for the forgiveness of sins. He died in our place so that we might have harmony – friendship, acceptance, peace with God. “If Jesus had not been raised, your faith would be futile, you would still be in your sins.” (Paul I Cor. 15:14, 17-18)
The resurrection validates the cross. The resurrection brings God’s power into our lives for he can change human nature, making selfish people unselfish, making immoral people moral, making sour people sweet. When these character traits change, the result will be peace between people.
The resurrection assures us of our own eternal destiny - the guarantee of our own resurrected body. The fear of death terrifies people. Woody Allen jokes about it, but you can hear his fear. “It’s not that I’m afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” In 1977 he was quoted in Esquire magazine saying: “We are in a constant struggle against … death. It is absolutely stupefying in its terror and renders anyone’s accomplishments meaningless.” (John Stott, p. 84)
Jesus Christ rescues his disciples from this fear of death. “Our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly wait for our Savior, the Lord Jesus, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control will transform our bodies so they will be fashioned like his glorious body”. WOW! What a promise!
The resurrection of Jesus assures us of God’s forgiveness, power to live, to have changed lives, and to guarantee ultimate triumph. We can face our past, confident of God’s promise to remember our sins no more, for Jesus died for our sins and was raised. The resurrection enables us to live in the present with power and brings us peace in an insecure world.
