The Empty Promises of Easter

Luke 24:1-12

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. 3And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8And they remembered his words, 9And returned from the sepulcher, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 10It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulcher; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

In this present age, we are taught that; “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” And because many of us have been taken in by “empty promises,” we are apprehensive of anything or anyone that tells us we can have something for nothing. The world simply doesn’t work that way! But, God does—God never made a promise that was too good to be true.

The truth of the matter is; the world is full of empty promises. TV advertisements tell us that we can be happy, sexy, rich, or famous, if we only purchase a certain product. But, it doesn’t take long before we’ve been fooled enough to know that the world’s promises are full of emptiness. But, god is different! On Easter, instead of promises full of emptiness, GOD GAVE US EMPTINESS THAT IS FULL OF PROMISE.

Consider with me (if you please!) the promises of Easter. There are three of them. And each promise is marked by something empty—an empty cross, an empty tomb and empty burial clothes. IT IS THE VERY FACT THAT EACH OF THESE IS EMPTY THAT ASSURES US THAT GOD’S PROMISES ARE REAL. Because they couldn’t hold Jesus; because he couldn’t be contained by the cross, the tomb, or even his burial clothes, we can be sure of the fullness of God’s promises in our lives. Let’s begin with the empty cross. Because the cross was empty, we have the promise of forgiven sins.

Let’s go back to that first Easter Morning. It is early morning; the sun has not yet risen. A few of Jesus’ followers—women—are on their way to a tomb where Jesus was buried. Their conversation is subdued. The task before them is a sad one. They’re going to anoint the body of Jesus. As they come to the top of a rise in the path, they all stop. Motionless and quiet, they stare off in the distance. Just outside the city stands a gruesome reminder of the events of just a few days ago. On top of the Hill the locals call, “The Skull” stands three (3) Crosses. Yesterday was the Sabbath, so no one has yet removed them. So, there they stand an empty reminder of the horror of Friday. The one in the middle, that is the one that I want you to see. That’s the one that Jesus hung on. Take a close look at it. Look up at the top—those bloodstains are from the crown of thorns that was crushed into Jesus’ skull. The stains on the ends of the crossbar—they came from the nails that were driven into his hands. The main beam—it was soaked in blood—blood from his back—blood that was shed when the Roman soldiers beat him with a cat-of-nine-tails. It also has stains from the blood that poured from his side when another Roman soldier ran a spear through his side to see if he was dead—HE WAS. The soldiers knew it!—The Romans knew it!—The Jews knew it!

But together, they made up a lie—the disciples stole the body. Can you imagine 11 fishermen overpowering a company of Roman soldiers, moving a 2 ton stone and stealing the body of Jesus—just so they could claim he had come back to life—and then willingly die to protect that lie.

You see, Jesus really did die—that is why I want you to see the cross this morning. It is the place where he died—but today, it is empty. Empty of Jesus body: but full—full of God’s promises. Full of hope—for you and me.

The promise of the empty cross is that you and I stand forgiven. Because it was on that cross that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins.

“SIN”—now there’s a word that’s just not popular anymore. It’s a word that’s no longer considered “politically correct.” But, the simple fact of the matter is—we have all sinned. Every one of us: you, me, the person sitting next to you, behind you and in front of you. We have “all sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God.” The only person who has ever lived a sinless life is the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone else has failed. So, here is the problem—according to God’s law—“the wages of sin is death.” He says; “The soul that sins will surely die.” Because, we have sinned, we deserve God’s just punishment. We deserve “eternal death”—Hell.

However, when you look at that empty cross—it is a reminder of God’s promise, that we have been forgiven. On that cross—Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. God’s word tells us again—“God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, CHRIST DIED FOR US!” It was on that cross that Jesus Christ offered his perfect, sinless life on behalf of each one of us. No one else—not Moses or Abraham, not David or Isaiah, not Muhammad or Buddha—no one else has ever lived perfectly and then offered his perfect life for our salvation. That is why the Bible tells us that “there is no other name given under heaven by which we can be saved.”

When Jesus Christ breathed his last, he cried out; “It is finished.” The penalty was paid. On that cross – that empty cross – It was there, that his blood was spilt for our salvation.
Before that fateful Friday, God could open the books and look up each name, and written in black were the words – “guilt of sin.” But when Jesus went to the cross, God literally transferred our accounts to His name. On that day, across every name—he wrote—in Jesus’ blood—“Forgiven—forgiven—forgiven.” Because of the work that Jesus did on that cross—you and I now stand Forgiven.” The first “empty promise” of Easter is the empty cross—filled with the promise of forgiven sins.

Let’s get back to our ladies. After pausing briefly to view the cross, they continue on their way down the path to the tomb. As they go, one of them wonders aloud—“who will move the stone for us?” They have good reason to be concerned—the stone that was placed in front of the tomb was a large boulder—probably weighing upwards of two ton. Additionally, the Romans had sealed it, so no one was allowed to move it without their permission. Still, the ladies continue. Suddenly, they feel the earth move! Frightened, they look at each other, not certain what to do. After a few minutes, things seem normal so they continue on their way. As they approach the burial site, they are still wondering about what had taken place when they come upon something even more remarkable.
· The soldiers are all unconscious!
· The stone has been moved!
· An angel—glowing like lightening—is sitting on it!

Listen to his words: “Don’t be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here; He has risen!” Jesus had risen—He was alive—the tomb was empty. And what a tremendous promise that holds. For, in the fact of the empty tomb is the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise to every one of us that we too will be raised to eternal life. To those who know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, death has lost its sting—it is no longer something to be feared.

Here’s what I’m talking about! A father and his son were traveling down a country road one afternoon in the spring time when suddenly a bee flew in the window. Being deathly allergic to bee stings, the boy began to panic as the bee buzzed all around inside the car. Seeing the horror on his child’s face, the father reached out and caught the bee in his hand. Soon, he opened his hand and the bee began to buzz around once again. Again, the boy began to panic. The father reached over to his son, and opened his hand showing him the stinger still in his palm. “Relax, son,” the father said, “I took the sting, and the bee can’t hurt you anymore.” The empty tomb is God’s way of saying to us; “Relax, my child, I took the sting, death can’t hurt you anymore.”

Why was the tomb empty? Because Jesus was alive—The Angel said; “He is risen.” And the promise to us is that we too can live even if we die. That is the second promise of Easter. But, it doesn’t end there. There is one more promise that I want you to know about Easter. It is the promise of the empty burial clothes.

Back to our story! After the Angel had spoken to the women, they immediately went back to the Apostles and reported what had happened. With this incredible news, Peter and John immediately raced back to the tomb to see for themselves. When they got there, John stopped just outside the tomb, but Peter ran right in. It didn’t take them long to discover that the tomb was just the way the women had said it was—empty.

But, that’s not all. Inside, Peter found the clothes that Jesus had been buried in. They too were empty. This could only mean one thing—Jesus was alive! If someone had stolen his body, they wouldn’t have removed the burial clothes and folded them up neatly and left them where they lay. Truly, Jesus was resurrected!

It wouldn’t be long, before Jesus, himself would appear to Mary Magdalene, and to all of the Apostles, and eventually to over 500 people. He would; sit down with them! — Walk with them!—Talk with them!—Eat with them! Once again, they would be able to fellowship with their Lord. You see, that is the promise of the empty burial clothes—JESUS IS ALIVE, AND WANTS TO FELLOWSHIP WITH YOU.

Jesus isn’t some nebulous “force” out in the universe influencing people. He is a living Savior, and he desires to have a personal relationship with each one of us, just as he did with his disciples 2000 years ago. Think about that—the cross couldn’t hold him; the tomb couldn’t contain him, the burial clothes were unnecessary, because Jesus is alive!

AS I CLOSE!

I’m reminded of a story about a boy, named Philip. Philip never felt like he belonged. He was pleasant enough but he looked a bit different and sometimes seemed unusual to his eight-year-old classmates. There was a reason! Phillip was born with Downs Syndrome.

In his Sunday school class several weeks before Easter, Phillip’s teacher introduced a special project. He gave every member of the class a plastic “egg.” He explained that each child was to go outside, find a symbol for new life and put it into the egg. Enthusiastically, the class responded.

Back in the classroom the eggs were opened one at a time, with each child explaining the meaning of his symbol. In the first egg was a pretty flower; in the next a beautiful butterfly, while green grass was in a third. The children “oohed!” and “aahed!” In another was a rock, which prompted loud laughter. Finally the last egg was opened—there was nothing. “That’s stupid,” said one child. Another grumbled, “Someone didn’t do it right!” The teacher felt a tug on his shirt. It was Phillip, who said, “that’s mine, and I did do right! It’s empty, ’cause the tomb was empty.” There was an unusual, thoughtful silence. And strangely, from that time on, Phillip was accepted as part of the group.

Phillip continued to struggle with many physical problems. That summer he picked up an infection which most children would easily have shaken off. But Philip’s weak body couldn’t and a few weeks later, he died. At his funeral nine eight year-olds with their teacher brought their symbol of remembrance and placed it near his casket. Their unusual gift of love to Phillip wasn’t flowers. It was an empty egg—now a symbol to them of new life and hope. It was Phillip, the “different” child, who had helped his friends see the wonderful hope in the message of Easter.