If Jesus is Alive, Then What?

Introduction

Biblical: 2,000 years ago on Easter Sunday, three of Jesus’s disciples had one of the darkest, most difficult experiences of their lives… And just when it seemed like it couldn’t get worse, it did. Read John 20:1-2, 9… they had an empty tomb experience.

General: Rounding the curve from my 30s into my 40s, I had an empty tomb experience… miscarriage / Corinne sick / three loved ones died / thought I had cancer / back injury / anxiety and depression / friends walked out / God wasn’t answering…

Personal: Have you ever been in a season like that—hurting, loss, grief, hopelessness, doubt? Can anything else bad happen? Where is God? Why isn’t He answering my prayers? You can’t see a way out. You can’t find the path forward. You’re stuck. There’s no hope. You ask God for help but there’s no answer. Have you ever had an empty tomb experience?

Subject: What if this empty tomb exists because God is about to show me His power in a way that will change my life forever? What if this empty tomb is here so that I can have an encounter with God that is more incredible than words can describe? When we see Jesus at the empty tomb… everything changes. When we find God in our darkest moments, He turns our lives around.

Body: Three Scenes

Scene 1: Jesus meets Mary (John 20:11-18)

Exposition: When we see Jesus at the empty tomb… sorrow turns to joy, confusion turns to clarity, and perspective changes everything.

Mary was heartbroken and dazed. She was in such a state of grief that she didn’t understand the empty tomb, she didn’t realize the men inside were angels, and she didn’t even recognize Jesus standing right in front of her.

But Jesus met her in the sorrow, and called her by name… and everything changed.

She came to the empty tomb weeping in despair and left the empty tomb weeping for joy.

She came to the grave heartbroken and confused, and ran from the grave shouting, “I have seen the Lord!”

Suddenly she understood what the empty tomb meant: Jesus is alive!

A sign of defeat became a billboard of victory!

Jesus turns our sorrow to joy, our confusion to clarity, and gives us a new perspective that changes everything.

Your places of suffering aren’t the places you go to die the long, slow death of despair but the places you go to meet Jesus, the Giver of life.

Application: When you come face to face with an empty tomb, look for Jesus. Sometimes we’re so focused on our sorrow that we don’t recognize our Savior. When we see Jesus at the empty tomb… everything changes.

Scene 2: Jesus meets the disciples (John 20:19-23)

Exposition: When we see Jesus at the empty tomb… fear gives way to peace, pain becomes purpose, and our stories are meant to be shared.

The disciples were hiding in a locked room, filled with fear.

But Jesus met them in the fear, and gave them peace and purpose.

“I am sending you.” The disciples had to watch Jesus die so that they could be witnesses of His resurrection. It was all part of God’s plan.

You suffering is not in vain. You are walking this path and facing this empty tomb because God has a plan. Your pain has a purpose.

Jesus turns our trials into trophies and our struggles into stories… and stories exist to be told.

Application: It’s normal to be afraid when we face an empty tomb. But fear will keep you locked away. It will steal your life. Don’t be entombed by fear. Jesus unlocks our peace and brings purpose to our suffering. When we see Jesus at the empty tomb… everything changes.

Scene 3: Jesus meets Thomas (John 20:24-29)

Exposition: When we see Jesus at the empty tomb… questions are welcomed, doubt is not dismissed, and His presence leads us to deeper faith.

Thomas often gets a bad rap for being a “doubter.” But Thomas was honest about his struggle to believe.

Jesus met Thomas in his moment of doubt, and said (again), “Peace be with you.” And everything changed…

There’s a peace that sends us, and a peace that settles us.

Faith is not the absence of doubt but the presence of trust.

God is not afraid of our questions—that’s often where He finds us.

Jesus’s presence in the midst of our doubts leads us to deeper faith.

Application: Sometimes, in the darkest night of the soul, we don’t have the faith to continue on.

That’s when Jesus comes to us. He meets us in our sorrows and brings joy / fear and brings peace and purpose / doubt and brings faith.

The empty tomb moments of darkness and sorrow, of pain and doubt are the very moments God uses to transform our lives. When we see Jesus at the empty tomb… everything changes.

Conclusion

Emma’s story… Born at 31 weeks and 5 days… a living, breathing miracle. “She is God’s grace in my life.” When we see Jesus at the empty tomb… everything changes.

John 20:30-31… When you give your life to Jesus… everything changes.