Because The Tomb Is Empty

BECAUSE THE TOMB IS EMPTY Spring Valley Mennonite; April 17, 2022; Mark 16:6, Romans 10:9, Acts 4:8-12, Ephesians 1:19-20, 3:10-11 We gather this morning to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! In fact, the Resurrection is why we care to meet every Sunday Morning! The Resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, and to be a Biblical Christian, by God's definition, one must believe that Jesus was not only crucified and buried, but that He rose again on the third day. That is the Gospel, the Good News! Go with me this Easter morning back in time to that first Easter morning. In the early morning light, some women from among Jesus' followers are making their way to the tomb to further anoint Jesus' body with spices. These last two days had been horrific for all who had followed Jesus; the hours had been filled with shock, sorrow, fear and uncertainty. There were so many questions: Was Jesus really the promised Messiah? Had He not done miracles, including raising several, including Lazarus, from the dead? Had He not claimed to be the Son of God? Had He not been welcomed by the crowds into Jerusalem a short week earlier with the words "Hosanna to the Son of David?" Their steps were heavy as they picked their way down the path in the early morning light. They approached the garden tomb where they had seen the body laid on Friday evening; all joy and hope was dead; they were heading for a meeting with a corpse. They had no expectations other than what is reflected in their conversation: they wondered among themselves 'who will roll the stone away from the grave.' They knew nothing of the soldiers guarding the tomb, or the Roman Seal which would have prevented the stone's removal. If they had known, it is doubtful whether they would have attempted the early morning trip. Approaching the garden tomb, their tongues grew silent; conversation suddenly ceased. As they looked, uncertainty filled their minds. The tomb stood empty. The large stone had been moved away from the entrance. With hesitant steps, they approached the tomb. As they peered inside, it took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the gloom inside. But instead of finding the wrapped body of Jesus, they received the surprise of their lives! There stood an angel who announced the most blessed words they had ever heard: "Do not be amazed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen! He is not here! Behold the place where they laid Him." (Mark 16:6) In decisive answer to sceptics of all ages, the empty tomb stands. All of history turns upon that moment when Jesus was raised from the grave. Why is the Resurrection so important? Why does Christianity rise or fall upon the fact of the empty tomb? Is it not more important to focus on the Cross where the precious blood was shed, and God's terrible wrath was satisfied? We must remember that the Cross is only part of the Gospel. The entirety of the Gospel is what is truly important as articulated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 3: "Jesus died for our sins, (that) He was buried, and on the third day He rose again." The death, burial and resurrection are all essential to the Gospel message. To think one part of the Gospel is more important than another is like asking which is more important to the body, the heart or the brain! Both are essential. But do consider this: without the empty tomb, the cross would be meaningless. Without the resurrection, we are left with only the tragic and untimely death of a religious leader. Without the empty tomb, Jesus was only an ordinary man, and a great deceiver at that, for He based His credibility as the Son of God upon the fact that He would rise from the dead. Without the Resurrection, there would be no Christianity at all, and Jesus and His followers would be relegated to the backwaters of history. BUT...Christ is risen from the dead! The tomb is empty! And because the tomb is empty, consider with me of three main outcomes or personal benefits we derive from the empty tomb. First, the Resurrection gives us : I. A CREDIBLE FAITH Have you ever had someone say, "Christianity is fine for you, but I have my own religious beliefs. All roads lead to God?" In our secular culture, everyone goes to heaven. Is this true? Is our faith credible? The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ adds absolute proof to Jesus' claim that He was God. One can travel to the tomb of Mohammed in Medina, Saudi Arabia or to the tombs of Buddha and Confucius in China, and in these graves you find the dust of death. Yet if we go to the garden tomb, it stands empty! Of all the founders of major world religions, ONLY Jesus Christ claimed to be God and backed up His claims with rising from the dead. The empty tomb of Christ is the cradle of the Church. Author Michael Green, in his book Man Alive, well states the importance of the resurrection and our faith: "Christianity does not hold the resurrection to be one among many tenets of belief. Without faith in the Resurrection there would be no Christianity at all. The Christian Church would never have begun; the Jesus-movement would have fizzled out...with His execution. Christianity rises and falls with the truth of the resurrection. Once disprove it, and you have disposed of Christianity." Romans 10:9 states the relationship between our faith and the resurrection: "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved." The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is an essential part of the Gospel. To attempt to believe in a Messiah who is dead, who remained in that Garden tomb is to believe in a false Christ and will not result in salvation. Only a risen Christ would prove He was God. Only the death of God the Son could pay for our sins. There are those who would say that it is not important to believe in the bodily resurrection from the grave. One attorney who thought like this was Frank Morison. In his book, Who Moved the Stone? He tells of "...how he had been brought up on a rationalistic environment and had come to the opinion that the resurrection was nothing but a fairy- tail- happy ending which spoiled the matchless story of Jesus. Therefore, he planned to write an account of the last tragic days of Jesus, allowing the full horror of the crime and the full heroism of Jesus to shine through. He would, of course, omit any suspicion of the miraculous, and would utterly discount the resurrection. But when he came to study the facts with care, he had to change his mind, and he wrote his book from the viewpoint of a believer. His first chapter is significantly called, "The Book that Refused to be Written," and the rest of his volume consists of a shrewd and attractive assessment of the truth of the Resurrection. The great amount of evidence of the resurrection lends absolute credibility to our faith. Christianity is built upon the solid rock of the historical fact of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We serve a Risen Savior! Because the tomb is empty, the second outcome and consequence of the Resurrection is: II. THE RESURRECTION ADDS CERTAINTY TO OUR HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE There was no hope in the hearts of the women that morning on the way to the graveyard. There was no hope among any of the disciples. I have observed the hopeless look at funerals among those who have no assurance of the Resurrection. For them, death is the final goodbye. Death contains a dreadful fear for those without hope. Death remains one of the taboos of our society. But look at the difference the resurrection made in the lives of Jesus' followers! Look at Peter-bold, brash Peter who, when the chips were down, denied that he even knew Jesus for fear of his own life. But after the resurrection, look where we find him: in the temple, preaching-and what was his subject? The resurrection! Listen to his bold words as he fearlessly confronted the very people who crucified his Lord, found in Acts 4:8-12 (Turn and read). That's some bold preaching from one who was in hiding a few weeks earlier. What made the difference? The Resurrection! All the Apostles except John died as martyrs. Men don't die for what they know to be a lie. Peter's hope had died Friday afternoon but was reborn on Easter Sunday morning. When that stone was rolled away from the grave, figuratively speaking, it smashed open all the resting places of believers who would ever die knowing Jesus. The Lord of the Resurrection has led the way. 1 Corinthians 15:20: "...but now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep." Just as the first truck that rolls into the elevator tells us that the harvest has begun, Jesus' resurrection guarantees our own resurrection from the dead. Death is certain and happens with awful regularity. Unless the Lord Jesus returns and we are raptured, we will all die. But because Jesus rose from the dead, we have hope! Death is not" a goodbye forever", but "so long for a while." When we casually part company, what do we say-"We'll see you later." That now is our certainty when someone dies in Christ. Your mother and father, that beloved spouse, that brother or sister or child who preceded you in death, that dear friend who was taken so suddenly-all the graves of those who died in Jesus will be opened. In millions of cemeteries where presently only silence reigns, that penetrating call of the trumpet will summon the dead to rise. Together we will meet together in the sky to be with the Lord forever! Because of the empty tomb, we celebrate the hope-the certainty of life after death. Lastly, because of the empty tomb, we have: III. THE PROMISE OF INCREDIBLE POWER In Ephesians 1:19-20, Paul prays that we would know the "surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in according with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ when He raised Him from the dead." God's power to us is in the same measure to the might God demonstrated when He raised Jesus from the dead. When we think of God's promised Resurrection power, it is a temptation to think rather selfishly, and how we might benefit from that power. We might think, "If God's unlimited power was really working in my life, I would never be sick, or in financial need, or uncomfortable. I would never have occasion to mourn or experience hardship or suffering." Although God freely shares His power, it is never for our personal selfish ends. Paul also yearned for himself in Philippians 3:10-11 "that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. That puts a bit of a different light on the expression of this resurrection power! Let's examine this resurrection power and how it works out in our lives. Resurrection power is first the power of new life in Christ. It is the power of God unto Salvation from our sin. It is the power that transforms a sinner into a saint. Resurrection power broke the power of death which had held sway before that Resurrection morning. All we who have believed have been transformed by that power. Resurrection power is also power and ability to do God's will. Most men inherently know what is right. In fact, most world religions have a pretty good grasp on decency and morality. The problem is in following what we know is right! Christianity not only tells us what is right to do; it also provides power for doing it! Resurrection power is the power to deny our selfish nature and live unselfishly. It is not natural to deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow Jesus. Resurrection power is the enabling power to be a witness for Christ. That is what John and Peter were doing before the Sanhedrin as recorded in Acts 4. The disciples had been told by the Lord to stay in Jerusalem after His ascension into heaven; He promised "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses..." Consider this: there is nothing so powerful as a person who does not fear death. Can we not say only God's power enables one to see God's hand of sovereignty operating in the most severe trial, which gives the ability to ride out such trials with composure and confidence? Because of the Power for living-Resurrection Power, we can say with confidence in any trial, "It is Friday, but Sunday's comin'!" God is in control. He will bring victory-Joy comes in the morning! Resurrection Power is the power of new life-the ability to live in a new way. Resurrection power is the power to love with God's love; it is the power to focus on being a blessing to others rather than being enslaved to our own needs; it is power of kindness and compassion, and the power to forgive. What magnificent power there's in a life redeemed from the slavery of sin, a life empowered by God's Holy Spirit (Who could not come to indwell until after the death, Resurrection, and ascension into heaven of our Lord.) God's magnificent Resurrection Power works itself out in each of our lives in wonderfully diverse ways, the power to live and change for the better comes from the power demonstrated in the Garden Tomb. And only because Jesus was raised from the dead is that power available to us. This power is always more than adequate. It never will run low. And the closer we keep to the power-source, the more available it is to us. It is like a electrical extension cord: if you connect numerous long cords together, the electric power available at the end diminishes. The longer the cord, the more the voltage drops. The further we distance ourselves from the power source, the weaker the power available. Resurrection power for holy living is the ultimate renewable resource! God freely gives it to those who walk with Him. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the key to the credibility of our Faith; the resurrection gives substance to the certain hope of eternal life; it also demonstrates the inexhaustible power available to all who believe. If Christ be not raised, we are still in our sins, and we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ IS risen from the dead! Hallelujah! He is Risen! Do you know the Risen Lord Jesus? Are you this morning staying close to the power source? 2