An Empty Tomb
Sermon
HIS FINEST DAYS
Ten Sermons For Holy Week And The Easter Season
Perhaps you saw the story on the news about a couple who had
adopted a little girl when she was only two or three weeks old.
They accepted the child into the home. They grew to love the
child. They watched her grow and develop. But, for some reason,
the little girl didn't grow and develop normally. She is now two-
and-one-half years old and the doctors have told these adoptive
parents that their little girl is mentally retarded and she will
never be the normal child they wanted.
The reason this story made the news is because the adoptive
parents no longer want the child. They have sued in court to
relinquish their parental rights and return custody of the child
to the adoption agency.
When I heard that story on the news, I remembered a couple who
were members of a previous church I pastored. They adopted a
little boy and when he was about four years old, they wanted to
adopt a little girl whom they could love and would be a sister to
their son.
After a waiting period, they received a little girl from the
adoption agency. She was a beautiful child and they named her
Amy. But Amy did not grow or develop as a normal child.
She, too, was diagnosed as having mental handicaps. But, these
parents chose to love her and help her develop just as much as
she possibly could.
When this family moved to our community, Amy's mother brought
her to Sunday school and even helped that class of seven-year-old
boys and girls understand Amy's difficulties. And the children
responded by accepting Amy and treating her as one of their
friends.
That first spring that they lived in our community, the
children of that seven-year-old class listened in fascination as
their Sunday school teacher told them the story of the first
Easter. Since it was a beautiful day, the teacher had come up
with a creative plan for her class. She had been saving those
panty hose containers that look like large eggs. She had
decorated them to look like Easter eggs and she gave each child
one and told them they were to go outside and find symbols of new
life, put them in the Easter egg and bring them back to the
classroom. When everyone returned, they would share what they
found.
The children loved the excursion out to the church lawn. They
ran and laughed and giggled as they searched for a symbol of new
life to put into their egg. When they returned, each child got to
open their egg and show what they found. A little girl opened
hers and a pretty flower fell out. A little boy opened his and
half of a robin egg fell out. Another little boy opened his and
the butterfly that he caught in the yard flew out. Then, it was
time to open Amy's Easter egg. Amy opened her egg and it was
empty. There was nothing inside. The teacher smiled and asked,
"Couldn't you find anyting to put in the egg, Amy?"
Amy looked at her teacher and said, "It's empty because the
tomb of Jesus is empty."
The message of that first Easter is a message that has echoed
across the centuries -- the tomb is empty. There is nothing inside
except the discarded grave clothes lying there, mute but eloquent
evidence that a living organism had come out. The grave clothes
lay like the shriveled, cracked shell of a cocoon,
left behind when the butterfly had emerged and hoisted its
beautiful wings to fly in the sunshine.
Jesus was dead! The Roman soldiers had seen to that. They
drove huge nails through his hands and feet. The cry of the pain
was expected. The barbarity of the crucifixion made even the
hardest person in the crowd cringe in sympathy. Six hours of
torture on that cross drained all of his strength and he quietly
said, "It is finished ... Father, into thy hands I commit my
Spirit," and he was dead. But, just to make sure, one soldier
took his lance and pierced the side of Jesus, and the last
remaining drops of blood poured out.
They took him down from the cross and buried him in the
borrowed tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. They hastily anointed his
body with the burial ointments before the beginning of the Jewish
Sabbath at sundown on Friday. They would wait all of Friday night
and all day Saturday and not return to the tomb, lest they defile
themselves according to Jewish law. However, at the first dawning
of light on Sunday morning, they would return to the tomb and
finish the anointing of the dead body with oils and ointments.
However, sometime in the early morning hours, just prior to
the dawning of a new day, there is a rustling as the breath of
God moves through the garden. Jesus rises from that cold, stone
slab where he had been laid. He stands for a moment on wounded
feet. He catches the strange scents of the tomb with its bandages
and spices and then he walks out of that tomb -- alive
forevermore.
This is the message of Easter that echoes across the
centuries. The tomb is empty. Christ has risen! Jesus is alive
forevermore.
I don't claim to understand or comprehend the full meaning of
Easter. In fact, I doubt if any of us really understand. However,
I believe with everything in my being that the first Easter and
every Easter since then is the message of an empty tomb.
Today, I want to look at some of the implications of the empty
tomb on that first Easter.
I. On That First Easter,
The Empty Tomb Was A Surprise.
Implicit in the whole story of that first Easter is that the
disciples and followers of Jesus, the religious leaders in
Jerusalem and the Roman authorities, never expected to see Jesus
again. The resurrection, with its empty tomb, was the last thing
anyone expected. When Mary and the other women made their way
toward the tomb and discovered the stone rolled away, they were
surprised.
When the disciples were told that the tomb was empty, Peter
and John ran to investigate because this news surprised them.
When the religious leaders of Jerusalem heard of the empty tomb
from their guard of soldiers, they were so surprised that they
created a story and told the soldiers to say, "... the disciples
came during the night and stole his body ..." They tried
everything they could think of to silence the news of the empty
tomb, but nothing worked.
The empty tomb was not some fantastic idea conjured up by
grieving hearts. Nor, was it the result of wishful thinking. The
news of the empty tomb had come as a complete shock. It was
unexpected. It was bewildering. It was a surprise.
There is recorded in the scripture the amazing change that
came over these disciples once they were surprised with the empty
bomb. They were not courageous individuals. When Jesus was
arrested and crucified, the disciples were fearful for their own
lives. Yet, after that first Easter morning, these same men who
were so timid, so frightened, so ineffective, were now preaching
openly, with no fear of anyone. The empty tomb had so surprised
them that it filled them with boldness, courage and power.
The surprising change that happened in their lives is
something that can happen in yours. I know it can! I've seen it
happen many times.
I know a woman who was married for 25 years and had grown
children. Although her marriage had survived for many years, it
was not a healthy or happy marriage. In fact, the
woman and her boss had been involved in an affair for almost two
years.
One Sunday, she came to church and was surprised with the
relevance of the gospel to her life. Later, she came by my office
and told me she felt God wanted her to change the direction of
her life. She didn't know if she could change, but she was going
to try. She broke off the affair with her boss. She worked at
renewing her relationship with her husband. She became a good,
honorable woman trying to live her faith in God.
This is Easter Sunday and that is what I wish for you -- a
surprise. I want you to find his love when you do not expect it.
I want you to find his relationship when you think it is not
there. I want you to find Jesus Christ when you are convinced his
tomb is empty.
II. On That First Easter, The Empty
Tomb Was An Experience Of Joy.
On that first Easter Sunday, Mary Magdalene; Salome, the
mother of James and John; and Mary, the mother of Jesus; were up
before the light of dawn and were on their way to the tomb where
the body of Jesus had been laid. Sorrow and grief still bubbled
in their hearts because they had seen Jesus crucified. They were
weeping and red-eyed. They had not really slept since Friday.
They had no real taste for food. The grieving and the sense of
loss simply overwhelmed them.
When they arrived at the tomb, the stone was rolled away and
the tomb was empty. They were shocked and thought grave robbers
had broken it open. They could not understand what happened or
why it happened. Tears flooded their eyes and trickled down their
cheeks. Sorrow made their hearts feel as though they were going
to break. Their minds were tortured with the shock of Jesus' body
missing from the tomb.
Then, they were greeted by the risen Lord who said,
"Chairete." The literal meaning of the word is, "Rejoice."
Suddenly, the sorrow gave way to joy when they realized that the
empty tomb meant that Jesus was alive.
The first Easter and the empty tomb was an experience of joy
for the women and the disciples. I believe that our faith in him
is the promise that joy can fill our lives.
Recently, I was in Denver for some meetings. Whenever the
meetings were over for the day, I would watch the local news.
Like many people in Denver, I became fascinated with a particular
news story. It was not a story on the presidential election which
captured my attention. It was not a story on the Iran-Contra
scandal. It was not a story about the majestic beauty of the
Colorado Rockies.
The story which captured my attention and the interest of
people all over Colorado, was about a newborn baby that was left
on the doorstep of a Catholic convent. Evidently, some mother
felt completely inadequate at raising a child and had decided to
leave the baby on the doorstep of the convent.
There was one nun who was allowed to meet and talk to the
public. She was about 60 years old, but she looked positively
radiant as she held the baby and showed her off to the news
reporters. One of the reporters asked, "Sister, have you named
the baby?"
"Yes," the Sister replied, "We call her 'Joy' because of the
joy she has brought into our lives."
In a wonderful way, joy has been brought into each of our
lives because of the first Easter. The message of that first
Easter proclaims an empty tomb that has rescued us and fills us
with the joy of life.
III. On That First Easter, The Empty Tomb Was
A Promise That Because Jesus Lives, We Will Live.
This is the real meaning of Easter. No news story will ever be
flashed around the world that the mummified body of Jesus has
been discovered. We have no embalmed body of Jesus enclosed in
glass for all the world to see. All that we have is an
empty tomb and the promise of Jesus: "Because I live, you will
live."
Several years ago, I was visiting one of my members who was in
the hospital. I was a young man, fresh out of seminary and still
wet behind the ears as a minister. I was visiting this elderly
man and he was extremely ill. He wanted to talk to me, his
pastor, about his funeral service and I wanted to talk about
anything else -- the weather, football, politics, or anything else
I could think of.
Finally, I asked him, "Joe, doesn't it bother you? Aren't you
frightened?"
He smiled and said, "Robert, I know I'm not going to make it,
but I'm not afraid. I have a confession to make. I've taken a
peek at the back of the book."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
He said, "You didn't know me 10 years ago when I had my first
heart attack. They called it cardiac arrest. I can remember the
medical team thinking I was dead. I can also remember the
tremendous feeling of being surrounded by God's love. I was
revived by the doctors, but ever since that day I have been
unafraid to die. I've been there and it doesn't frighten me. I
know that one day soon I am going to go to sleep and I believe
that when I awaken, I will, once again, be surrounded by God's
love."
This is the message of the first Easter and every Easter
since. The tomb is empty. Christ is risen. Jesus is alive. And
because of this, we too, shall live!
Prayer: O God, help us put our faith in Jesus Christ. Help us
to know that we can trust him and his promise, "Because I live,
you shall live also." We pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
adopted a little girl when she was only two or three weeks old.
They accepted the child into the home. They grew to love the
child. They watched her grow and develop. But, for some reason,
the little girl didn't grow and develop normally. She is now two-
and-one-half years old and the doctors have told these adoptive
parents that their little girl is mentally retarded and she will
never be the normal child they wanted.
The reason this story made the news is because the adoptive
parents no longer want the child. They have sued in court to
relinquish their parental rights and return custody of the child
to the adoption agency.
When I heard that story on the news, I remembered a couple who
were members of a previous church I pastored. They adopted a
little boy and when he was about four years old, they wanted to
adopt a little girl whom they could love and would be a sister to
their son.
After a waiting period, they received a little girl from the
adoption agency. She was a beautiful child and they named her
Amy. But Amy did not grow or develop as a normal child.
She, too, was diagnosed as having mental handicaps. But, these
parents chose to love her and help her develop just as much as
she possibly could.
When this family moved to our community, Amy's mother brought
her to Sunday school and even helped that class of seven-year-old
boys and girls understand Amy's difficulties. And the children
responded by accepting Amy and treating her as one of their
friends.
That first spring that they lived in our community, the
children of that seven-year-old class listened in fascination as
their Sunday school teacher told them the story of the first
Easter. Since it was a beautiful day, the teacher had come up
with a creative plan for her class. She had been saving those
panty hose containers that look like large eggs. She had
decorated them to look like Easter eggs and she gave each child
one and told them they were to go outside and find symbols of new
life, put them in the Easter egg and bring them back to the
classroom. When everyone returned, they would share what they
found.
The children loved the excursion out to the church lawn. They
ran and laughed and giggled as they searched for a symbol of new
life to put into their egg. When they returned, each child got to
open their egg and show what they found. A little girl opened
hers and a pretty flower fell out. A little boy opened his and
half of a robin egg fell out. Another little boy opened his and
the butterfly that he caught in the yard flew out. Then, it was
time to open Amy's Easter egg. Amy opened her egg and it was
empty. There was nothing inside. The teacher smiled and asked,
"Couldn't you find anyting to put in the egg, Amy?"
Amy looked at her teacher and said, "It's empty because the
tomb of Jesus is empty."
The message of that first Easter is a message that has echoed
across the centuries -- the tomb is empty. There is nothing inside
except the discarded grave clothes lying there, mute but eloquent
evidence that a living organism had come out. The grave clothes
lay like the shriveled, cracked shell of a cocoon,
left behind when the butterfly had emerged and hoisted its
beautiful wings to fly in the sunshine.
Jesus was dead! The Roman soldiers had seen to that. They
drove huge nails through his hands and feet. The cry of the pain
was expected. The barbarity of the crucifixion made even the
hardest person in the crowd cringe in sympathy. Six hours of
torture on that cross drained all of his strength and he quietly
said, "It is finished ... Father, into thy hands I commit my
Spirit," and he was dead. But, just to make sure, one soldier
took his lance and pierced the side of Jesus, and the last
remaining drops of blood poured out.
They took him down from the cross and buried him in the
borrowed tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. They hastily anointed his
body with the burial ointments before the beginning of the Jewish
Sabbath at sundown on Friday. They would wait all of Friday night
and all day Saturday and not return to the tomb, lest they defile
themselves according to Jewish law. However, at the first dawning
of light on Sunday morning, they would return to the tomb and
finish the anointing of the dead body with oils and ointments.
However, sometime in the early morning hours, just prior to
the dawning of a new day, there is a rustling as the breath of
God moves through the garden. Jesus rises from that cold, stone
slab where he had been laid. He stands for a moment on wounded
feet. He catches the strange scents of the tomb with its bandages
and spices and then he walks out of that tomb -- alive
forevermore.
This is the message of Easter that echoes across the
centuries. The tomb is empty. Christ has risen! Jesus is alive
forevermore.
I don't claim to understand or comprehend the full meaning of
Easter. In fact, I doubt if any of us really understand. However,
I believe with everything in my being that the first Easter and
every Easter since then is the message of an empty tomb.
Today, I want to look at some of the implications of the empty
tomb on that first Easter.
I. On That First Easter,
The Empty Tomb Was A Surprise.
Implicit in the whole story of that first Easter is that the
disciples and followers of Jesus, the religious leaders in
Jerusalem and the Roman authorities, never expected to see Jesus
again. The resurrection, with its empty tomb, was the last thing
anyone expected. When Mary and the other women made their way
toward the tomb and discovered the stone rolled away, they were
surprised.
When the disciples were told that the tomb was empty, Peter
and John ran to investigate because this news surprised them.
When the religious leaders of Jerusalem heard of the empty tomb
from their guard of soldiers, they were so surprised that they
created a story and told the soldiers to say, "... the disciples
came during the night and stole his body ..." They tried
everything they could think of to silence the news of the empty
tomb, but nothing worked.
The empty tomb was not some fantastic idea conjured up by
grieving hearts. Nor, was it the result of wishful thinking. The
news of the empty tomb had come as a complete shock. It was
unexpected. It was bewildering. It was a surprise.
There is recorded in the scripture the amazing change that
came over these disciples once they were surprised with the empty
bomb. They were not courageous individuals. When Jesus was
arrested and crucified, the disciples were fearful for their own
lives. Yet, after that first Easter morning, these same men who
were so timid, so frightened, so ineffective, were now preaching
openly, with no fear of anyone. The empty tomb had so surprised
them that it filled them with boldness, courage and power.
The surprising change that happened in their lives is
something that can happen in yours. I know it can! I've seen it
happen many times.
I know a woman who was married for 25 years and had grown
children. Although her marriage had survived for many years, it
was not a healthy or happy marriage. In fact, the
woman and her boss had been involved in an affair for almost two
years.
One Sunday, she came to church and was surprised with the
relevance of the gospel to her life. Later, she came by my office
and told me she felt God wanted her to change the direction of
her life. She didn't know if she could change, but she was going
to try. She broke off the affair with her boss. She worked at
renewing her relationship with her husband. She became a good,
honorable woman trying to live her faith in God.
This is Easter Sunday and that is what I wish for you -- a
surprise. I want you to find his love when you do not expect it.
I want you to find his relationship when you think it is not
there. I want you to find Jesus Christ when you are convinced his
tomb is empty.
II. On That First Easter, The Empty
Tomb Was An Experience Of Joy.
On that first Easter Sunday, Mary Magdalene; Salome, the
mother of James and John; and Mary, the mother of Jesus; were up
before the light of dawn and were on their way to the tomb where
the body of Jesus had been laid. Sorrow and grief still bubbled
in their hearts because they had seen Jesus crucified. They were
weeping and red-eyed. They had not really slept since Friday.
They had no real taste for food. The grieving and the sense of
loss simply overwhelmed them.
When they arrived at the tomb, the stone was rolled away and
the tomb was empty. They were shocked and thought grave robbers
had broken it open. They could not understand what happened or
why it happened. Tears flooded their eyes and trickled down their
cheeks. Sorrow made their hearts feel as though they were going
to break. Their minds were tortured with the shock of Jesus' body
missing from the tomb.
Then, they were greeted by the risen Lord who said,
"Chairete." The literal meaning of the word is, "Rejoice."
Suddenly, the sorrow gave way to joy when they realized that the
empty tomb meant that Jesus was alive.
The first Easter and the empty tomb was an experience of joy
for the women and the disciples. I believe that our faith in him
is the promise that joy can fill our lives.
Recently, I was in Denver for some meetings. Whenever the
meetings were over for the day, I would watch the local news.
Like many people in Denver, I became fascinated with a particular
news story. It was not a story on the presidential election which
captured my attention. It was not a story on the Iran-Contra
scandal. It was not a story about the majestic beauty of the
Colorado Rockies.
The story which captured my attention and the interest of
people all over Colorado, was about a newborn baby that was left
on the doorstep of a Catholic convent. Evidently, some mother
felt completely inadequate at raising a child and had decided to
leave the baby on the doorstep of the convent.
There was one nun who was allowed to meet and talk to the
public. She was about 60 years old, but she looked positively
radiant as she held the baby and showed her off to the news
reporters. One of the reporters asked, "Sister, have you named
the baby?"
"Yes," the Sister replied, "We call her 'Joy' because of the
joy she has brought into our lives."
In a wonderful way, joy has been brought into each of our
lives because of the first Easter. The message of that first
Easter proclaims an empty tomb that has rescued us and fills us
with the joy of life.
III. On That First Easter, The Empty Tomb Was
A Promise That Because Jesus Lives, We Will Live.
This is the real meaning of Easter. No news story will ever be
flashed around the world that the mummified body of Jesus has
been discovered. We have no embalmed body of Jesus enclosed in
glass for all the world to see. All that we have is an
empty tomb and the promise of Jesus: "Because I live, you will
live."
Several years ago, I was visiting one of my members who was in
the hospital. I was a young man, fresh out of seminary and still
wet behind the ears as a minister. I was visiting this elderly
man and he was extremely ill. He wanted to talk to me, his
pastor, about his funeral service and I wanted to talk about
anything else -- the weather, football, politics, or anything else
I could think of.
Finally, I asked him, "Joe, doesn't it bother you? Aren't you
frightened?"
He smiled and said, "Robert, I know I'm not going to make it,
but I'm not afraid. I have a confession to make. I've taken a
peek at the back of the book."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
He said, "You didn't know me 10 years ago when I had my first
heart attack. They called it cardiac arrest. I can remember the
medical team thinking I was dead. I can also remember the
tremendous feeling of being surrounded by God's love. I was
revived by the doctors, but ever since that day I have been
unafraid to die. I've been there and it doesn't frighten me. I
know that one day soon I am going to go to sleep and I believe
that when I awaken, I will, once again, be surrounded by God's
love."
This is the message of the first Easter and every Easter
since. The tomb is empty. Christ is risen. Jesus is alive. And
because of this, we too, shall live!
Prayer: O God, help us put our faith in Jesus Christ. Help us
to know that we can trust him and his promise, "Because I live,
you shall live also." We pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
