Have you ever wondered how it felt to
travel to the tightly sealed, closely guarded tomb of the man you believe to be
the Christ only to find it open and empty?
The Luke 24 account describes the women who had come to fragrance the
tomb as being “much perplexed” (v. 4), but, considering human nature, it seems
there would have been some other emotions as well. What did they feel? Fear?
Awe? Joy? Did it sink in right away that their faith
was not misplaced? And did they notice
that the tomb, though empty of Jesus’ body, held more than those old burial
linens? Did they notice that the empty
tomb was full?
They
had just come through the worst day of their lives. Their best friend, the man they had walked
with, talked with, learned from, and leaned on had been brutally ripped from their
lives. They could do nothing to change
it. Their hearts were shattered. If their
belief was true, He was the Son of God. The world was now forever changed. They
entered the tomb only to find it empty and their hearts leapt in their
chests. As they stared at one another in
anxious amazement, two men in white appeared and queried why they were
there. Before they could respond, the
men spoke those words that the women desperately hoped for and would forever echo through the annals of time, “He is not here, but is risen.” (Luke 24:6) It was as they believed. He was The Savior. And though his body wasn’t there, the tomb
wasn’t empty. It was full. Full of
promise, hope, grace. Full of love and redemption. Full of proof.
You
see, the empty grave means everything.
Jesus rose from the dead. It
proves everything he said is true. It
proves everything he did was an act of Almighty God. It means God is a God of
mercy—remember the thief on the cross. (Luke 23:39-43) It means God is a God of
grace—ask the woman washing Jesus’ feet with precious ointment. (Luke 7:44-48)
It means God is a God of unlimited power—consider the man delivered of the
unclean spirit who claimed to be “Legion”. (Mark 5:2-14) It means every healing
truly happened; every sinful heart that asked was cleansed. It means that hope, help, and healing are
available to all. It means salvation is
free. It means unlimited love, unending
grace.
That
empty grave means God’s not dead. It
means that the God who spun the earth for the very first time, who created you
in his image, who sent his Son to earth as a baby and offered him up as a
sacrifice for your sin and mine is still alive and working. His hand isn’t shortened, his ear isn’t heavy,
he hasn’t stopped performing miracles, and his grace hasn’t run out. It means all those events recorded in the
Bible are real and true. It means we
serve a living, resurrected Savior.
This
Easter, I hope you consider the fullness of the empty tomb. Reconnect with the
reality of grace. Cast your confidence in the living God who offers you his
pardon, his peace, his presence. And
remember, because the Savior's body isn't there, everything you need is. The empty tomb means you can have full life
in Christ. Accept it. Believe it.
And when I say to you, “He is risen.” May you respond with a resounding,
“He is risen, indeed.”
What does the
fullness of the empty tomb mean to you?
