The Empty Tomb

Ministry of the RISEN King

Well Happy EASTER

You know my belief is that we should celebrate the RESURRECTION every Day.

Today we enter the last Last five weeks of Jesus on Earth

We have the Disciples finding the Empty Tomb

Jesus walking among the Disciples in His Resurrected Glory

The very last Words on this Earth given Directly to Us from the Earth

These next few weeks should be a Joy to us

---- Jesus the Risen Lord, Jesus the Conquer of Death

- Walking with us and leaving DIRECTION

We will then be hearing a two week teaching on Discipleship

and then an 8 week series on JOY — Focused on the Book of Philippians

So Jesus last week we discussed the Crucifixion and How we need to be Crucified also with Him

Today we discuss the......

The Empty Tomb

Jesus Cries out IT IS FINISHED or IT IS ACCOMPLISHED!!

The Jews are impatient and Religious Law people

so they want to make sure that the Job

of Killing Jesus is completed

prior to their party happening.

Could you image what happened?

They have driven their EVIL motivations to the point of having

Jesus hanging on a cross

BUT now they DON’T want to wait for HIM TO DIE

SO they GO and Ask PILATE to help Hasten the PROCESS

You see the Roman Practice was the ultimate in cruelty.

They simple did not care

they would allow someone to hang on the cross until death,

and that could at times

take days

The Jewish Leaders needed it finished in hours.

The Leaders go to Pilate and ask Him to perform a common practice of breaking the legs

of the man on the Cross so that He would DIE faster.

In time for them to make the Party.

CRAZY isn’t it

What a statement on the Motivations of Man

But remember I told you that

The Motivations of Man DO NOT override the Mandates of GOD

Take a look at these Scriptures from the Old Testament

Isaiah 53:5 (ESV)

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

I love the commentary that explain that

Jesus died in PERFECT GOD TIMING

the legs never where broken --- AS GOD CANNOT BE BROKEN

and another show of the POWER OF SCRIPTURE

PIERCED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSION

Yes they arrive to break the legs of Jesus and HE IS ALREADY DEAD

so the Pierce HIM to ensure He is dead

His Blood poured out

the Blood that was SHED FOR YOU AND ME

LET THAT SIT IN YOUR HEART AND MIND

The Communion that Jesus modelled with the Disciples at the Last Supper

The Communion that we share together here at Horizon

His body bruised and crushed for YOU and ME

and the Blood shed in the beatings, the flogging, the torment

and even in HIS VICTORIOUS Death

HIS BLOOD SHED FOR YOU AND ME

Psalm 34:20 (ESV)

20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

Zechariah 12:10 (ESV)

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

Please take a moment and read that Scripture to yourself.

Jesus body is taken from the Cross

I would assume that the Disciple would be thinking

What just happened?

Was Jesus not the Messiah?

They simply DID NOT know what you KNOW today.

Jesus’s body is prepared in the Jewish tradition and place in a tomb.

Wrapped and seasoned with Spices

the Law is followed----

Deuteronomy 21:22–23 (ESV)

22 “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,

23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

Same Day

Revelation of Scripture

So Jesus is in the Tomb

They believe it was FINISHED

there Hope was EXPIRED.

But is REALLY WASN’T

Our Salvation

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As many of us experienced in our journey from earthly to heavenly focus

we emptied ourselves to the Lord

We give up our HOLD on the WORLD

to Die to OUR SELF

We place our earthly self in the Tomb of the World

BUT we are not DEAD, BUT more ALIVE than EVER

We have become ETERNAL BEING, in UNION with our LORD JESUS CHRIST

Yeah our vessel may not have been fully ready

for the Pureness of Jesus

and we have an adversary that seeks to overcome and destroy

But there should be a realization that grows in us that

Jesus is the MIGHTY FORTRESS, our Provider and our Protector.

John 20:1–10 (ESV)

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.

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.”

3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.

4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there,

7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.

8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;

9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Can you just imagine the EMOTIONS?

The expectation of the after death process to the SURPRISE of an Empty Tomb

Would you have first thought GRAVE ROBBERS or MIRACLE?

How about your walk with the Lord?

DO YOU REMEMBER DAILY:

Jesus the Hidden King

Jesus the Universal King

Jesus the Personal King

When the Disciples are crushed and Drained

Exhausted and Defeated

They go to the Tomb

And HE IS NOT THERE

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I love that believers have come out in full support of Jesus

Joseph of Arimathea

and

Nicodemus

THEY

Become Public Followers of Jesus

Their secret is out

Their love of Jesus, is overwhelming their love of their world

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HOW about Mary

Mary very likely didn’t sleep that night

Mary walks slowly in defeat to the Tomb

AND

The Stone is rolled away and Jesus is GONE

I think her depression changes to SHOCK

What have they DONE with OUR LORD now?

What else could possibly GO WRONG?

Mary RUNS,

not in depression but in DESPERATION

to PETER AND JOHN

They Return to the TOMB

and the linen is lying on the Slab

John 20:8–9 (ESV)

8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;

9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

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Friends

I suggest we think today on the Disciples

We know that Jesus Rose and Lives

We know that Jesus REIGNS TODAY

But the Disciples who Jesus loved had a time of depression and doubt

Have you experienced this in your walk?

Have you heard of Jesus, Believed in Jesus, walked the Walk of a Christian

and still doubted

I want to ENCOURAGE YOU TODAY

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,

the conviction of things not seen.

If we could see the whole picture we wouldn’t need FAITH

Faith is the BASIS of our Christian SOUL

We must TRUST that what we are studying, and learning is

TRUTH

Jesus is OUR LORD

in our moments of Doubt and Depression

JESUS Still lives TODAY

JESUS has RISEN

EASTER IS OUR LIFE

Friends — LOVED ONES

the Scripture tells us

Romans 10:9 (ESV)

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

We know the Tomb is EMPTY

BECAUSE

JESUS has RISEN

JESUS has defeated DEATH

the man of JESUS is GONE

and the JESUS we SERVE

is GOD of ALL THINGS

Our LORD has defeated DEATH

OUR LORD has RISEN

AMEN