Lessons from the Empty Tomb

“ As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.  Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.” Matthew 27: 57-61

Some two thousand years ago, on a Friday evening that felt as ordinary as today, a man by the name of Joseph took Jesus off the cross where He hung. In the dusk, as night fell around him, he cleaned a limp, bruised body. I imagine there were tears running down his face as he washed the bloodied remains of Jesus’s short life. The sting of disappointment, the catch of hurt at the back of his throat. He had placed his reputation, his wealth, his respect on the line; he knew there was something different about this Man. And yet here, Jesus lie. Dead. Limp. Lifeless. Bloodied. Broken. Defeated.

The women who had followed Jesus gathered at the borrowed tomb. Their Rescuer, the One who gave them purpose, the One who saw them beyond their daily routines, really SAW them, saw their value beyond the worth society placed on them, the One who laughed with them, who cried with them, who spoke life to them, their Rescuer now lay dead. And dead felt their lives.

On a Friday evening, as mundane as today,  the broken and bruised dead body of Jesus was laid in a borrowed tomb. But as heavy the weight of death, decay, and defeat was on that day– He did not remain in a borrowed tomb.  As silent as heaven is on a Friday, silent as heaven was on a Saturday, the story of the cross is not complete here.  The world spins around Him as He sleeps the sleep of death. But for a moment.

 In the silence of your today. In your disappointments. In your defeat, remember that this is for a moment. As silent as heaven may seem, this is but for a moment.  Christ did not remain in that borrowed tomb. His story did not end at the tomb. Neither does your story. My story.

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.  There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.  The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.  The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”  Matthew 28:1-5

Come walk into the borrowed tomb. Come see the place where He was laid. Come and find the tomb now empty; His body no longer remains here. For He is not dead. "He is not here. He has risen, just as He said." Step inside this tomb and remember the Word He has spoken to you.  He keeps His word. He does what He says He will do. Remember. Remember in the silence, in the defeat, in the disappointments that He is One who battles even death to keep His Word to you.

Jesus rose from the dead on an ordinary Sunday. He rose from the sleep of death on an ordinary Sunday to prove to you that He is Himself LIFE. Remember.  The Spirit that raised Christ, the One who restores the breath of life, lives in you.   John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will LIVE”  In heaven’s silence, in the disappointments and decay of ordinary life, remember that He is LIFE. He is the resurrection. He gives dead things life.   

He is the life, He gives life.

So go ahead you Josephs. Like this Joseph did, trade in your wealth, your positions. Trade in your crowns and glories. Place your reputations and respect on the line. He will not disappointment you. Wipe your tears and stand in the strength and confidence He gives. Like the women who follow Jesus, come. Come and find your value in Him. Leave the labels that society throws at you. Come and find worth and significance in the One who loves you with an everlasting love. He laughs with you. He cries with you. He knows you.

^“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Romans 8: 31-39