Victory through an Empty Tomb
Notes
Transcript
Luke 24:1-12
Luke 24:1-12
He has RISEN! He LIVES, therefore, we LIVE with Him. What happened on Thursday was captured on Sunday morning when that tomb was empty. Could you imagine what the thoughts of those who were guarding the entrance of the tomb were? They are sitting there, and suddenly, the boulder rolls away. Matthew tells us a glimmer of what they were like, Matthew 28:4.
And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
We all see the movies where a person who is dead is in the coroner’s office and sits up on the gurney. Sometimes the medical examiner passes out; other times, they freeze. Both are likely, but I feel the guards are more plausible.
The grave could not hold Him, sin had no power over Him, death lost its sting, and the tomb is empty. Why? Because that is how He ordained it to be. No sin is so great that it cannot be forgiven except the sin of Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. This sin is the rejection of the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ ALONE!
We see the Empty Tomb victory in a specific order. The True God is a God of order.
Women are the first to see God’s victory. Next, it was the world that saw God’s victory. Lastly, it was man’s opportunity to see God’s victory.
Women:
Women:
Who were the first to show up at the tomb on Sunday morning? Women. Why? Because sin started through the woman, God would restore the woman first. Genesis 3:6; 2 Timothy 2:14; 2 Corinthians 11:3
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.
But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
God does not just restore us, He takes us back to where we failed to make us new. John 19:41
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
The Garden of Eden is where woman failed, and it was in the Garden that God restored them. Satan tricked Eve, and God restored her in the Garden. The first woman mentioned was Mary Magdalene, who we know to be a prostitute. The tomb being empty shows us so much about who Christ is. He did not look at what the world thought of Mary or Eve, but what He created them to be. And here is the beauty, the world had a front row seat to His Victory!
World:
World:
Those guarding the tomb had a front-row experience of the most potent thing since the world's creation. The world saw the fall; now, it was seeing the rise from the fall. These men who were guarding the tomb saw that those who were in Christ would never taste death. They did not go back with some fantasy of a story, but with actual events of what happened. When presented with the truth, Pharisees had two options: to believe or to deny it. They chose the second because of PRIDE. But this began the restoration of the world. Because of Israel’s rejection, the Gospel went to all nations. Romans 11:15-19
For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree,
do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.
Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”
Eventually, victory returned to the men who decided to stay behind and not visit the tomb.
Men:
Men:
Men, what can I say? It seems we are always late to the party.
The angels gave the women a command that the men should have known. Verse six states, “Remember,” which is a command to recall what Jesus told them. Luke 18:31-34
And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon.
And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”
But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
The woman told them what they saw and heard. Did the men believe them? Of course not. We are men, and sometimes we are hard-pressed to believe people. But what they were saying seemed foolish and nonsensical. Why? Even though Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, who could have the power to raise Jesus?
In light of their sadness, these followers clearly did not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. The empty tomb and the report of the angels’ announcement were not enough to convince them.
Peter rose and ran to the tomb. Now we know that the disciple Christ loved (John) outran Peter, but Peter ran into the tomb after he stooped and looked in. John 20:4-6
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,
Now, what is going through their heads? How could this be? Is someone playing a cruel joke on us? Are we at the right tomb? Look what it says in verse twelve, “…he went home marveling at what had happened.”
Marvel (θαυμάζων) thaumazo: wonder, be astonished, marvel, to be amazed. I think all those words work here for Peter’s feelings.
I have a question for you to consider. When was the last time you were thaumazo for the Lord? Thursday, He hung on the Cross and was buried. On Sunday, the tomb was empty; should that not have amazed us at our Lord? We should take in every Sunday with astonishment at what the Lord has done for us!
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
