We All Need A Reminder — Luke 24:1-12

This morning, I need you to use your imagination with me. Imagine that you’ve spent the last 3.5 years of your life, day in and day out, with someone. You’ve heard them teach, eating meals with them, and seen them perform miracles. During this time period, this person has also told you that they are going to die, but that 3 days later, they’ll come back from the dead. And in just this last wee, you’ve seen incredible things happen. You’ve seen your best friend betrayed by someone who you thought was also a friend of yours. You’ve eaten a meal with this person and they’ve given you their final thoughts, again telling you that they are going to leave you for a while, but they’ll come back. You’ve gone to a place to pray with them, only to have a mob of religious leaders and their hired thugs falsely arrest him, put him on a fake trial, and then convince the local government that he’s a rebel that needed to be executed. You’ve watched your friend be hung on a cross and die. It’s been 3 days since all that happened, and you are feeling very overwhelmed with grief, confusion, and loss.

If this story sounds familiar, it should! All of the things that I’ve just described are what happened with the disciples. The parts about Jesus betrayed, having a final supper with his disciples, and being put on a false trial and ultimately executed are all part of what is called Holy Week. His execution, really his murder, happened on Friday. For three hours Friday afternoon, Jesus hung on a cross, paying for the sins of the world. In his dying breathe, he uttered these words. “It is finished. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Then Jesus died. Mission accomplished.

Today, Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, is 3 days later. It’s been 3 days since Jesus died. Imagine what his disciples are going through. And on that easter morning, as the women approach the tomb, as we will see in just a moment, they come to an empty tomb. And while they don’t realize it at the time, we, having the ability to read this story 2000 years later, are able to see it now. This is what we see on this Easter morning, and it’s what our big idea is. Here’s our big idea:

Big Idea: The empty tomb of Jesus is a reminder to EVERYONE of the hope that Jesus gives to all who will receive him. The empty tomb of Jesus is a reminder to EVERYONE of the hope that Jesus gives to all who will receive him.

Now that we know where we are heading, let’s look at the first part of the passage, found in verses 1-4, and the return to the scene. The return to the scene.

1. The return to the scene

God’s words says this:

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes.

We know that it’s Sunday, because it’s the first day of the week. Saturday is the 7th day of the week. The women are heading to the tomb to finish the burial process that was hurriedly done on Friday afternoon. They weren’t able to finish it because the day was ending and the Sabbath was beginning, and no work was allowed on the Sabbath. They think that Jesus is still dead, not properly buried, and as they get to the tomb, they see something unexpected. The stone has been rolled away. We know from Matthew’s account that it’s likely that only moments earlier, an angel has come down from heaven, rolled the stone back, and the guards had passed out in terror. This answered the question for them that they had wondered to themselves along the way, which we find in Mark 16:3, which says “They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?”

As they get to the tomb, they don’t just stay outside…God’s word tells us they went inside. They examined it to see if Jesus body was perhaps there. But Jesus had already left the tomb. In fact, it’s very likely that they had just missed him. I’ve already mentioned that the angle came down from heaven and rolled the tomb back. Given that Jesus body was in tomb for 3 days, and that his spirit had been absent from the body, preaching to the old testament saints in Sheol for 3 days, according to 1 Peter 3:18, it’s highly likely that when the angel rolled that stone back, Jesus was already back alive and he simply stepped over the passed out guards, heading towards Galilee. I can only imagine what sight that would have been!

But…the women are too focused on the negative, the empty tomb, to see the positive. God’s word tells us they were perplexed. They were confused. They had been expecting to finalize the burial process of their Jesus, only to come to an empty tomb, not understanding what was going on. Even though they’d spent years with Jesus, and he’d repeatedly told them that he was going to have to die and be resurrected, as recently as Thursday night, they had forgotten already. Their grief had blinded them. Though they had been told…they had forgotten. Jesus had declared to Mary in John 11:25.

John 11:25 CSB

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live.

And yet, can we really blame them? I don’t know about anyone else in the room, but how many of us so often forget the promises of Jesus? When that bill comes in the mail that we don’t know how to pay, instead of trusting Gods’ word an Philippians 4:19, where it says “And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” When we have a loved one that is dying, we allow ourselves to wallow in sorrow and mourning for far to long, forgetting the promise in Romans 8:38 that death itself cannot remove us from the love of Jesus himself.

That morning, where the empty tomb should have acted as a reminder of hope, instead in a moment of grief, it acted as an agent of hopelessness. And that’s where we resume our story in verse 5-8 and the reminder of what Jesus said. The reminder of what Jesus said.

2. The reminder of what Jesus said.

Verses 5-8 says this:

 So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. 6 “He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” 8 And they remembered his words.”

To add insult to injury, they go from confused and grief stricken to now terrified. Two men appear out of nowhere, glowing light a million candlepower spot light, and ask them an honest question, paraphrased like this: “why are here? You are looking in the wrong location….only dead people are in tombs, in a grave…Jesus isn’t dead! He even told you he wouldn’t stay this way. He’s on his way back to Galilee, like he said he was going to do.”

Then they make an amazing statement. And before I make this statement, let me preface it with a question.

Have you ever wondered if Jesus HAD to die?

The answer, right here in God’s word, is yes. He did. Verse 7 says “It was NECESSARY.” It had to be done. There was no other option. In fact, not only was it necessary, but it had been planned from before the beginning of time itself. Romans 8:28-29 .

Romans 8:28–29 CSB

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Not only did Jesus come down from heaven on a mission, but that mission had been decided before time even began. And not only does the angel tell us it was necessary, but the angel also gives us the gospel. Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. “Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

But…here’s my favorite part. The angels told the women two key things: where he was and why he did what he did.

And these words are just as important then as they are today. Here’s why. The gospel tells us what Jesus did…and how to get to him. The gospel is what we just read. It is that “Jesus died for our sins, according to scriptures, was buried, and was raised on the third day, according to scriptures.” That’s the what Jesus did.

So, if the women were told how to get to him, which was to go to Galilee, how do we get to him? By trusting in his words. Simply put, Jesus said that if you’ll trust in his gospel, in faith, that you will have a relationship with him. Ephesians 2:8-9 says it this way. “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast.”

Just as the women had to trust in what Jesus did, and go to meet Jesus, we do too! And when they were told these things, they remembered it!

But, in that trusting of what Jesus did, there’s a response to it. And that brings us to our final point. We’ve seen the return to the scene and the reminder of what Jesus said, now let’s see the response to the women’s statement. The response to the women’s statement.

3. The response to the women’s statement.

Verses 9-12

9 Returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest. 10 Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them were telling the apostles these things. 11 But these words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. When he stooped to look in, he saw only the linen cloths., So he went away, amazed at what had happened.

The women start to head back to the Eleven, but along the way, something happens, which we don’t read here, but we DO find in Matthew 28:8-10. “So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples the news. 9 Just then Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”

On their way to the disciples, they meet Jesus…he’s already on his way to Galilee at this point. He gives them encouragement and tells them to keep doing what they were already doing, go tell the disciples to head to Galilee. This is about an 80 mile trek.

And women get to the disciples and report all that they’ve just experienced. I can only imagine them trying to contain their excitement.

Have you ever had something awesome happen to you and when you told someone, it just all came out at once? The person had to tell you to slow down, take a deep breath, and say it again?

I have to think that it was like that here.

“Peter, John, James, you’ll NEVER guess what just happened to us! We went to the tomb this morning to finish burying Jesus…only he wasn’t there! The tomb was empty! We were so confused, because he was supposed to be there, or at least we thought he was supposed to be there, but then these angels appeared to us and reminded us that he’d told us he’d be betrayed and crucified and rise on the third day..and then we remembered what he’d said to us, and we got even more excited..and then on the way back here…we saw Jesus! Alive! He had the nail scars in his hands and feet, and he told us to tell you to meet him in Galilee, because that’s where he said he’d meet you…so you’d better get going…because it takes 80 miles to get there…so get going!”

But look at how the disciples reacted.

“yeah…right…uh huh..whatever you say…ladies…you foolish, silly women.”

Now, you’ve got to understand something here. Women in Jesus day had no legal standing. They were considered highly emotional and fragile creatures. They weren’t allowed to testify for themselves. And yet…Jesus chose THEM as his first witnesses.

Matthew Henry says this about the disciples reaction.

“One cannot but be amazed at the stupidity of these disciples,—who had themselves so often professed that they believed Christ to be the Son of God and the true Messiah, had been so often told that he must die and rise again, and then enter into his glory, had seen him more than once raise the dead,—that they should be so backward to believe in his raising himself.”

But not everyone wrote them off. Peter, and John as we are told in another gospel, run to the tomb.

They believed them. Peter, the one that preach the first sermon of the church, thought there might be something to this. At the tomb, Peter sees for his own eyes what backs up the women’s story. The burial clothes are there. Jesus really was back. It’s all true.

And that’s the point of the empty tomb. The empty tomb is a reminder that the resurrection was, and still is. Which means that each of us has a decision to make about Jesus. Because there are the implications of the resurrection being real.Since it’s real, that means that everything Jesus taught is real. That he really is God. That he really did live. That he really did die for the sins of the world. Because here’s the reality of things: when we decide to believe that empt tomb is real, that that means it’s ALL real. In others words, either it’s all true or none of it’s true. And if it’s all true, then each one of us has a decision to make.

Here’s the decision. Are you ready for it? To believe that everything that Jesus said and did is true, that he really did die on the cross for your sins, he really was dead for 3 days, and he really was raised from the dead. You believe in it, you trust in it, with everything in you. Jesus is your Lord, he’s your savior. That’s the decision you have to make. Either the cross and the empty tomb are real, or it’s not.

I close with a quote from G.B. Hardy, something to think about.

"I had two questions. One, has anybody ever conquered death, and two, if they have, did they make a way for me to conquer death? I checked the tomb of Buddha, and it was occupied, and I checked the tomb of Confucius and it was occupied, and I checked the tomb of Mohammed and it was occupied, and I came to the tomb of Jesus and it was empty. And I said, There is one who conquered death. And I asked the second question, Did he make a way for me to do it? And I opened the Bible and discovered that He said, 'Because I live ye shall live also.'"

<gospel>