The Tomb Was Not Empty

The Tomb Was Not Empty

            In none of the Gospels are we told that the borrowed tomb of Jesus was empty. If someone had stolen the body of Christ, the tomb would have been empty. If the body of Jesus had been left to rot, the tomb would have been worse than empty. If the tomb had been empty, then Christ would not have risen and we would be most miserable. But Christ is risen and the tomb is very full.

            On that Sunday morning, the ladies came to anoint the dead body of Jesus. Instead, they found the tomb full of the Glory of God. They were met by angels who said “He is not here. He is risen.” When Peter ran to the tomb, he did not understand what had happened. But later he would realize that the tomb was permeated with peace and forgiveness for his troubled soul.  Indeed, on Resurrection morning the tomb was enveloped in the settled hope of eternity and saturated with the power of God that brings salvation. 

            So often we find ourselves in a field of headstones. Heartbroken we watch as a loved one is lowered into the grave. But when we are in the valley of the shadow of death we are not without hope. Without a doubt, we can find comfort in the knowledge that our Savior has already traveled this way. Fear not. Jesus’ tomb is filled with victory. Death has lost its sting and the grave has lost its power. The stone was rolled away proving that the grave could not contain the Son of God and will not hold the child of the King. 

            On Resurrection Sunday we celebrate our risen Savior. An angel rolled the stone away to give us a look inside the tomb. There we see a folded napkin and crumpled grave clothes. But that is not all we find. You see the tomb of Jesus is filled with a promise. This is the promise Jesus is alive, death is not final and life in Christ is eternal.