The Empty Tomb Still Matters
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Introduction
Introduction
I listened to a podcast recently that was examining the idea that as Americans today, we are becoming more skeptical of people in positions of authority than ever before.
Some of this is due to a dominant culture that glorifies the rebel;
Some of this is due to leaders who have betrayed our trust for too long;
Some of this is due to our tendency towards conspiracy theories when we feel mistreated;
Some of this is due to new technologies that can do things that were once thought to be science fiction;
And some of this is due to an increasing pessimism that has become common place, particularly in the US.
There are probably more reasons for the rising skepticism, but the point is, people today find it increasingly harder to believe what they hear than ever before.
And yet, as the church, we have a message that God has entrusted us with that is not simply for us, but for us to share with others.
The blessing of this calling is that God doesn’t leave us to our own devices. His HS is constantly drawing people to Himself. His Word is still living and active, sharper than any two edged sword. And the most unbelievable of all of Christianity’s claims, that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, rose from the dead, is also the most well attested claim in all of Scripture.
This morning, we are going to look at one piece of evidence of the Resurrection: the Empty Tomb.
Body: John 20:1-10
Body: John 20:1-10
It’s been said by people far smarter than me that Christianity rises or falls on an empty tomb.
If there is no empty tomb, then it is simply a set of well meaning principles, taught by a very good man, who met a very tragic end.
If there is no empty tomb, then a Galilean teacher, who was the son of a carpenter, is still buried somewhere in Israel and the religious movement started in His name is nothing more than the greatest example of wishful thinking history has ever seen.
If there is no empty tomb, then what Jesus said about rising again was false and He is nothing more than a false prophet.
On the other hand, if the tomb was empty and Jesus indeed rose from the dead, then there is only one logical response to Him: worship!
Each Gospel writer shares different parts of the whole of the Resurrection story to emphasize what was important to them and their audience.
In the case of John, he shares more about the Resurrection than any of the other Gospel writers.
In fact, for John, the Risen Lord is the crescendo of his presentation and the focal point of his gospel.
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
So, it’s not surprising that John begins his Resurrection narrative pointing to the empty tomb.
Verse 1
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
On Sunday, Mary Magdalene and the other women go to the tomb.
How do you know the other women were there, John doesn’t mention it!
Not only do the other Gospels say so, but in verse 2 we will see Mary saying, “…we don’t know where they have put him.”
This fits with John’s writing style throughout his Gospel. He often focuses on an individual not so much as an individual, but as an example of this type of person.
Thus, Mary Magdalene is an example of the type of woman that followed Jesus: devoted, even when others are afraid.
Finally, she was the speaker for the group, so she took priority in John’s mind.
Why did they go?
Because the body was hastily prepped for burial before the Sabbath. They are likely going to finish the job and to honor their Master.
But upon arriving, things are not as they were supposed to be! The large stone had been rolled away!
Verse 2
So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
Notice that the disciples didn’t expect Jesus to rise again. So the idea that the disciples stole the body is nonsense.
Mary probably assumed that either Jesus’ enemies had taken his body, or that Joseph and Nicodemus had moved it.
Either way she is horrified that someone would defile his body like this.
Verses 3-7
So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.
In that culture the testimony of a woman was considered worthless, so Peter and John run to the tomb.
Why does John write about beating Peter there? (Cause he’s a guy?)
Because he is testifying as the first credible witness to the empty tomb.
To the early church, Peter’s testimony spoke for itself. John continually establishing his creditably as being on par with Peter.
John doesn’t go in, but in typically Peter style, he rushes right in and attempts to understand the scene before him.
Why would grave robbers fold the linen up nicely?
We miss a little in the translation here:
Culturally, a dead body would be wrapped tight, except for the shoulders and head, which would be left exposed.
Then the body was placed in the tomb, and spices and oils were applied to keep the smell of rotting flesh down.
Then a head wrap covered the face.
So, the linens were still in the exact same place the body was and the head wrap was folded.
To Peter and John, this doesn’t add up. No grave robber would leave the tomb like this! Something has happened.
Verses 8-10
Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.
John statement here is incredible, and brings us to our key thought this morning.
We have two followers of Jesus, with two different responses to the evidence.
Notice, nothing is said about Peter believing. In fact, if you read on you will see that Peter went back to fishing, feeling defeated and lost.
But John sees the empty tomb and has an “ah-ha” moment. He’d missed it all along, but now he finally understood.
Something indeed had happened, but not something horrible, something wonderful!
Something to consider this morning: (football illustration…see the game, watch the game, understand the game)
In John 20:5, when John looks in he “saw” the linens laying there. The Greek word for “saw” here is is βλέπω, which is the simplest and most common form of seeing something. We will call this looking...
In the next verse, John 20:6, when Peter “saw” the linens we might expect John to use the word βλέπω again, but he doesn’t. He uses the term θεωρέω (thea o ray o). That word means the “take survey” “to look at closely” or “to see with attention”. We will call this examining...
Then the next time we see this word “saw” in John 20:8, neither βλέπω or θεωρέω are used. Instead, John uses the word εἶδον which means to “see with the mind” or “to know”. We will call this understanding...
In this, John is a model for the believing community.
Namely, He is calling us to more than looking; He is even calling us to more than examining. Both are important. But, the real call is to understand.
But even in the case of John, it took him seeing the empty tomb to believe. It took the other disciples seeing Jesus. It took Thomas being invited to touch Jesus. Yet, how much greater is the faith of those who don’t need to see to believe? He’s called us to believe because He said it is true.
In fact, look at what Jesus says after his interaction with Thomas:
Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Challenge
Challenge
What are the challenges of the empty tomb?
Does the empty tomb help you to see, as it helped John see?
Real faith believes simply because Jesus said so!
But, the evidence of the empty tomb speaks volumes as well. Even the religious leaders in Jesus day recognized that:
While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.
This morning, if you are still unconvinced, I’d challenge you to see the evidence as John did: look, examine, which leads to understanding.
Second, the message of Jesus victory over the grave was never intended to be a “private religious manner” as some would like to suggest today.
In fact, look a little later in John’s narrative, in John 20:19-21...
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
That sending started with those first disciples, but continues throughout church history to our day and beyond.
As the churches of Castle Rock, we have the most important message in the history of the universe to share with the people God will put in our lives.
The question isn’t whether we’ve been sent, the question is, will we obey the call?