He is Risen)

Hopelessness

It is the first day of the week. Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples on Thursday and gave them the new covenant meal of his body and blood. that same night he was arrested and tried. beaten mocked and condemned to death like a common criminal. He was crucified and pierced. Taken from the cross after he died and placed in a tomb. By all earthly standards he was dead and buried. His disciples were in hiding. But the women who had been close to him wanted to anoint his body with oil and spices as was the tradition. As they traveled to the tomb they were talking to one another about who was going to roll away the stone in front of the tomb. We had previously had the description of the new tomb that had been hewn out of rock. the practice of a stone to seal the entrance was a protection form the smell of a decaying body, but more importantly it would prevent thieves from robbing the grave of clothing and any memorabilia that might have been placed in the tomb with the body.

When they arrived at the tomb they were surprised to find that the stone had been rolled away. Upon entering the tomb they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side If we look at the gospel of Matthew we see that the tomb had been sealed and Roman guards had been assigned to guard so that no one could come and steal Jesus’ body. the chief priests and Pharisees knew that Jesus had said that he would rise again. Even though they didn’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God they didn’t want to take any chances that what he had said would come true.

Matthews account says that there were two angels when the women went to the tomb.

John stated the at these things were written so that you might believe (John 20.30)

The empty tomb had the grave clothes lying where Jesus had been. If grave robbers would have come they would have taken the body and clothes. They wouldn’t have undressed him.

The resurrection of Christ and the fact of the empty tomb are not part of the world’s complex and continuing mythologies. This is not a Santa Claus tale—it is history and it is reality.

A. W. Tozer

The stone was moved not to allow Jesus to emerge from the tomb (contra The Gospel of Peter) but so that the women could enter and see the empty tomb.

Grant R. Osborne

Jesus’ enemies never disputed the empty tomb.

John F. MacArthur

Jesus’ disciples were slow to believe. They had been told by Jesus that he would be killed but that he would rise again. Even when the women reported to them they didn’t believe.

The empty tomb has been a puzzle from the time of Jesus death. there are many arguments about what happened. From the theory that he was not really dead just in a comma. One of my professors stresses the difference between Resuscitation and Resurrection.

The one reported in the gospel of Matthew that the chief Priests paid the roman soldiers to say that his disciples stole the body during the night. Roman soldiers would have forfeited their lives for losing a prisoner or for falling asleep on the job. Remember that scripture says they fell down like dead men.

This brings us to today. Will we believe that the tomb is empty?

That it was empty because Jesus rose from the dead?

What does it mean for us?

Jesus death and resurrection makes all the difference in the world for us. Because he rose from the dead, conquered death. We have hope of eternal life with him. John 11.25

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.