The Glory of the Empty Tomb

Matthew 28:1–10 (ESV)

1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 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. 7 Then 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.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Statement of Need / Burden:

Without the empty tomb, Christianity has no uniqueness, it offers no hope, it offers nothing more than a mere man, and a dead man at that. In fact, if Christ had stayed in the tomb, Christianity would never have begun. At the heart of our Christian gospel is the fact of the empty tomb. We must not neglect the importance of our Lord’s bodily resurrection. We must not fail or forget or hesitate to declare that the tomb is empty and that Jesus ever lives to be the Lord, Messiah, Savior, Sovereign!

1 Corinthians 15:17–19 ESV

17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

My friend, the heart of Christianity is the empty tomb. And we have nothing at all worth declaring if the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is not a fact. -- absolutely nothing at all!

Introduction:

On that first Easter morning, the Angel did not roll back the stone and open the Savior’s tomb in order that Jesus might be released from the tomb. He rolled back the stone to show that the Savior had already left the tomb. The greatest victory ever won was won by Jesus Christ on that resurrection morning over 2000 years ago. It was and is the greatest victory because the enemy of death was overcome and because it was the proof that our sin debt was paid in full.

Two thirds of the Gospel story is devoted to the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. With meticulous care and detail, the Evangelists have recorded the historical facts and details. According to Matthew 28, the women who had helped with the embalming of Jesus’ body that Friday afternoon after Jesus had been taken down from the cross, retreated to their homes for the Sabbath. But Sabbath evening, after Sabbath ended, and Sunday began, many believe that these four dear women -- Mary Magdalene, another Mary, and two more slept out in the open so that they might start for the sepulcher very early in the morning. When they reached the tomb, they were confronted with some amazing phenomena. The tomb was empty, and the stone was rolled away!

Transition: Let us consider three perspectives of glory of the Empty Tomb, the first of which is:

I. THE MIRACLE OF THE EMPTY TOMB (v. 6)

“6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”

1) The Miracle of the Savior’s Resurrection

When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” and commited His spirit, He did, in fact, literally die. To substantiate this, we have:

a) The witness of the Father

“...the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom...” (Matthew 27:51). By a divine act, that thick temple veil (as thick as two hands put together) was torn as a sign that Jesus Christ had accomplished His work and that heaven was satisfied with it.

b) The witness of Christ’s enemies

“...one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and from His side came blood and water” (John 19:34). This was done after His death was certified by the centurion who led the soldiers which were sent by Pilate for the purpose of confirming His death.

c) The witness of the Friends

“...when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb...” (Matthew 27:59, 60).

2) The Miracle of the Savior’s Liberation

A great stone was rolled across the door of the sepulcher, and it was sealed at the request of the chief priests and by the permission of Pilate (Matthew 27: 60-66). Despite their efforts to secure the tomb, when God’s hour struck, the miracle of the empty tomb happened!

The resurrection took place. This was not a resuscitation but a resurrection for “...death no longer has dominion over Him”

Romans 6:9 (ESV)

9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

Jesus was raised to a life that knows no death. Also, it was a body unbounded by time and space limitations. (i.e., He could go through walls, etc. And we will one day also have a resurrection body such as this.)

Transition: Here is the second perspective:

II. THE MESSENGER OF THE EMPTY TOMB (vv. 2-4)

“2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.”

1) The Arrival of the Messenger

“There was a great earthquake” (vs. 2). God was saying something from heaven. He was telling the world that His Son had risen from the grave, and He did not do it in any quiet, secret way; but with the shaking and rumbling of an earthquake.

2) The Appearance of the Messenger

“His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow” (vs. 3). At the very sight of him, those hard, callous soldiers, petrified and paralyzed with fear, “became as dead men.”(vs. 4)

Vv. 11-13 explain that, As soon as the soldiers had recovered, they went off to tell the chief priests what had happened and to be bribed to say that while they slept, someone came and stole the body of Jesus!

3) The Announcement of the Messenger

“...the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it”(vs. 2).

He accomplished what would have taken a whole team of men to do: he hurled back that stone in one movement! Then he sat on it as if to defy the entire world and say: “There you are: you sealed the grave and put a guard there; you said earth and hell had conquered, He will never rise again. But let me direct your attention to the tomb's interior- Lo, it is empty!”

That angel did not open the tomb to let the Savior out. He rolled back the stone to show that the Savior had already left! Jesus Christ is alive! He has conquered sin, death, and the grave!

Transition: The final perspective is:

III. THE MESSAGE OF THE EMPTY TOMB (vv. 5-7)

“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. 7 Then 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.”

The message of this angel was that Jesus is:

1) The Christ of Calvary

“Jesus which was crucified”(v. 5). Here is the word of remission. The One who is risen from the dead carries in His hands, feet, side, and brow the marks of Calvary. He was as Revelation 13:8 exclaims, “. . . Lamb who was slain.”

One day we will see Him on the throne, and He will carry the marks of Calvary. If the Lord Jesus did not carry those scars, you and I would have no remission.

2) The Victorious Christ

“He is not here: for He is risen, as He said Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (v. 6). Here is the word of salvation. In the victory of Christ every foe is completely and utterly defeated. Jesus died so we might know deliverance and salvation from the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Hebrews 7:25 ESV

25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

1 Corinthians 15:57 ESV

57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

3) The Sovereign Christ

“...go quickly and tell his disciples that He is risen from the dead...” (vs. 7). Here is the word of commission. Eventually, the disciples converged on Galilee, and Jesus, the risen Lord, gave the great commission. His instruction on that Galilean hillside, possibly to as many as five hundred disciples, was to “go” and “teach” and “baptize.” It is a commission that still stands. And it is to be accomplished by Christ our living Lord -- His authority and presence with and through us.

Conclusion:

The miracle of the empty tomb is the foundation of Christian doctrine, the Gibraltar of Christian evidence; it is the Waterloo of infidelity and rationalism. Because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, there is no miracle in the Bible that is any problem to believe.

No wonder the first followers of our Lord in that beginning history of the early Church had as their normal and most usual greeting these approximate words:

He is Risen!

He is Risen, Indeed!

Hallelujah! Amen!

In light of the empty tomb, do you know this Christ of Calvary, this Christ of victory and sovereignty? If not, will you bow very humbly before Him, behold His hands, feet, and side, and take His gift of remission and salvation, then receive the commission to go out and to tell others that JESUS LIVES? Will you bow at His feet now and say, “My Lord and my God?”