What You Can Find In An Empty Tomb

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.