“ Lessons from the Empty Tomb!
Easter Sermon 2008
Opening Illustration: Video clip from Bluefishtv.com - “The Elements of Easter”
Thesis: We are invited by the angel of heaven and Jesus to look inside the empty tomb and to behold the lessons of this empty tomb and the fact of Jesus resurrection. His resurrection is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions and it verifies that Jesus is the only way!
Scripture Texts:
John 19:38-42:
38Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
John 20:1-18:
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
10Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Matthew 28:5-7:
5The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
Luke 24:12:
12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
Introduction: Spurgeon opened his Easter sermon on April 8, 1855 like this:
AN INVITATION GIVEN.
I shall commence my remarks this morning by inviting all Christians to come with me to the tomb of Jesus. "Come, see the place where the Lord lay." We will labor to render the place attractive, we will gently take your hand to guide you to it; and may it please our Master to make our hearts burn within us while we talk by the way.
Away, ye profane—ye souls whose life is laughter, folly, and mirth! Away, ye sordid and carnal minds who have no taste for the spiritual, no delight in the celestial. We ask not your company; we speak to God’s beloved, to the heirs of heaven, to the sanctified, the redeemed, the pure in heart—and we say to them, "Come, see the place where the Lord lay." Surely ye need no argument to move your feet in the direction of the holy sepulchre; but still we will use the utmost power to draw your spirit thither. Come, then, for ’tis the shrine of greatness, ’tis the resting-place of the man, the Restorer of our race, the Conqueror of death and hell.
…"Come, see the place where the Lord lay."—Matthew 28:6.
…Yea, more, I will further urge you to this pious pilgrimage. Come, for angels bid you. Angels said, "Come, see the place where the Lord lay." The Syriac version reads, "Come, see the place where our Lord lay." Yes, angels put themselves with those poor women, and used one common pronoun—our. Jesus is the Lord of angels as well as of men.
Delivered on Sabbath Morning, April 8, 1855, by the
REV. C. H. Spurgeon
At Exeter Hall, Strand.
I want to parallel that same invitation today this Easter Morning March 23, 2008. I believe that each of us this morning needs to accept the invitation of the angels. We need to come to the empty tomb and behold the resurrection of Jesus. We need to look upon the place where he had been laid to rest. We need to see that He did not stay their long instead He rose from the dead to deliver you and I from ourselves –really from our sinful ways.
The angel invited Mary to come and see where Jesus had been laid – I believe today the Lord Jesus and the Heavenly Host are speaking to each of us to come and see where Jesus was laid at one point but who now is no longer there. We need a fresh revelation of this historic event today so that it will impact our lives.
Visual illustration: Show pictures of the tomb in the Garden in Jerusalem: “Come and see where Jesus was laid – see it for yourself – let it change your perspective and your life today!
Many have gone and observed the tomb where Jesus was laid and they have shared testimonies of the impact of that moment. One man named Dr. Dale Robbins shares his story on the internet and he talks about how it was very powerful experience and then he reflects on this thought as he stepped back out of the tomb, “But as I stepped to the opening to exit, I paused and looked back momentarily, reflecting on the impact of this incredible pilgrimage. I grinned and thought to myself, “Nobody was home here!” Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius can be found in their tombs, but my Lord’s grave is still empty. Jesus, our risen Savior, is alive and well!” He went on to say, “The tomb is still empty!”
I believe many of us here today need to be impacted again with the reality of the empty tomb – we need to feel the power of the resurrection today!
T.S. - So let’s take a moment this morning and consider the invitation to look into the empty tomb and to learn the lessons that the Holy Spirit wants us to learn today. Let us open up our hearts to feel the power and the excitement of this glorious day.
I. The first invitation into the empty tomb is the open door – the stone which has been removed out of the way. Why? So that all could see inside the empty tomb.
a. The rock has been moved so that we could glance into the miracle of the Resurrection.
i. Check the Rock and you discover that Jesus is not DEAD!
1. Illustration: In a park in California there is a rock hanging on a rope with a large sign next to it. Weather Station report, "Check the rock if it’s wet it’s raining, if the rock is swinging it’s windy, if it’s dry it’s not raining, if you cannot see the rock it’s foggy, if the rock has been blown away it’s a tornado.”
a. This humorous illustration has a profound statement in it and I want to draw your attention to it this Easter morning, "Check the Rock."
ii. Today many of you have come to church with questions on your mind. I believe the statement ,"Check the rock!" is a verbal instruction and an invitation to each of you with questions about the power of Easter Sunday.
1. It’s a statement giving us instruction on where to get our questions answered and it calls us to accept Jesus invitation to eternal life.
2. Let me take a guess at some of the questions you have:
a. Are you wondering about how to receive eternal life?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering what Easter is all about?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering how to be set free from your fear of death?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering how to be set free from your addictions?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering about how to be delivered from the sting of death?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering why Christianity is different than other religions?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering if Christianity is relevant to you today?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering if Jesus is God?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering if Jesus is who he said he is?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering if Jesus really conquered death?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering if Jesus is alive today?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering if Jesus will speak to you today?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering if he is coming again?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering if he keeps his promises?
Check the Rock!
Are you wondering why we love him so?
Check the Rock!
b. The pivotal point that sets Christianity apart from all other religions is the removal of the rock and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
i. Jesus Christ was crucified (Killed, murdered). He died just like he said he would in Luke 9:22 "And he said, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."
a. But the key here is he was raised from the dead like he said he would be. How do I know CHECK THE ROCK!
ii. Jesus told his disciples many times this would happen "He promised it! And you know what he keeps his promises! - Luke 9:43-45 and Luke 18:31-34.
iii. Quest Study Bible notes this about the question,” What changed at this pivotal point in history?”
1. The resurrection vindicated Jesus’ claims about himself, that he was the Son of God in the flesh, the fulfillment of God’s dealings with humankind. No longer would people have to follow rules and traditions to find salvation (Col. 2:20-23). The old covenant had been superseded by the new and the proof was in the resurrection. Because Jesus lives, he is the Messiah, the one to trust. Another way to look at this question is to ask what would be different if Jesus had not risen from the dead. If there had been no resurrection, Christianity as we know it would not exist. At most, Christians would be following the teachings of just another popular rabbi. His words merely would have joined the countless words of other religious writings. People would be left with no other option for salvation then to strive for absolute obedience. But the resurrection changed everything. People follow Christ’s teachings, not to BECOME saved, but because they ARE saved. They’ve discovered something even better than knowing WORDS; they’ve found what it means to know HIM! Because he was raised from the dead, we can be too. We can live-really live- both now and through all eternity (1463).
iv. The observation of the condition and position of the rock was the first clue to all who went to the tomb that something had happened.
1. It was the first invitation from heaven that something had supernaturally happened and that Jesus was who He said he was!
a. John 11:25-26: 25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
T.S. - The first invitation from the Lord was the removal of the rock in front of the tomb so that all could go and look inside the tomb to see that Jesus was not there! The second invitation into believing in the resurrection is to look in the tomb and observe the empty linen and the folded up burial cloth on the rock bed where Jesus had been laid.
II. The second invitation into the empty tomb is to look at the empty linen cloths and the folded up burial cloth of Jesus.
a. It’s amazing when you read the account of the resurrection and the details that are given. There definitely is an emphasis on the empty linen, and the folded up burial cloth which would have been around the head of Jesus.
i. They are laying their empty!
1. Peter looked at them!
2. John looked at them!
3. Mary looked at them!
a. The angel even invited Mary to look at them!
b. They all noticed the amazing sight – there is the linen cloths, but there is no body inside of them. The burial cloth is neatly folded next to the linen to show that it really is empty.
i. The invitation – From the angel “Look at the wrappings for burial – they are still here because He did not need them!
ii. Heaven even draws attention to the folded burial cloth so as to convey a message.
b. Joyce Fox sent me and interesting e-mail about why the burial cloth was folded this week – let me share it with you:
i. Why did Jesus fold the napkin? An unusual approach to a biblical story. Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? I used to ask this question and other Bible Scholars did not know the answer. One day a preacher finally shared this with me. Today I got this forward and was excited because others are realizing there is significance in everything that Jesus did. If you did not know this it will bless you. Lois -- The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin. Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, ’They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!’ Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple out ran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying to the side. Is that important? Absolutely! Is it really significant? Yes! In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished. Now if the master was done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, ’I’m done’. But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because..... .....The folded napkin meant, ’I’m coming back!’ He is Coming Back!
1. I checked this story out on the internet and everything that I researched points to it being a Jewish custom.
c. Let’s also look at where they got their burial customs from and what did they do at burial to prepare the body for death?
i. John’s Account from http://www.mystae.com/restricted/reflections/messiah/tomb.html
1. "Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night.” - John 19:38-39a
2. "Joseph is now a secret disciple, and he is accompanied by Nicodemus." - John Dominic Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography (1994)
3. "Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds." - John 19:39b
a. "If the aloe and myrrh were in dried or powdered formed, a whole row of sacks would probably be necessary to make up this weight, and Nicodemus must have had assistance to be able to transport the load. The transport would have been even more difficult if the substances were dissolved in wine, vinegar or oil. The theologian Paul Billerbeck makes the event appear as if an embalming was to take place with the aromatic substances added to oil. But the Rabbinical texts refer only to an oiling of the bodies of the departed. The addition of spices is nowhere mentioned, let alone in these quantities, and was never part of Jewish custom; nor was embalming.
"Myrrh was used as an ingredient for embalming by the Egyptians, but not for the burial rites of the Jews. Instead the Jewish custom prescribed that the body of the departed be washed and oiled, the hair cut and tidied, the corpse dressed again and the face covered with a cloth. The washing of the body was of such crucial importance that it had to be carried out even if it was the Sabbath. Yet there is no mention of any of this, not even the oiling. Instead it is said that on Easter Sunday the women came to the tomb to oil the body."
- Holger Kersten & Elmar R. Gruber, The Jesus Conspiracy - The Turin Shroud & The Truth About the Resurrection (1992)
4. "Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs." - John 19:40
a. "St John tells us that Jesus was buried in the ’manner of the Jews’ (19:40). At the time of Jesus’ death it was the custom of the Jews to wash the body, then dress it in clean linen clothes, generally garments worn at festivals, to bind a cloth or bandage under the chin and tie it at the crown of the head to prevent the jaw sagging. A cloth was sometimes placed over the face, but invariably the feet and wrists were also bound (as we learn from St John in Chapter 11, where he describes the raising of Lazarus: Jesus tells those who were caring for him to ’unbind him and let him go free’.) When all this was done, the body was laid on the long linen shroud, which ran the full length of the body and then back over the head to the feet again. Before the shroud was bound to the body, it was packed with spices and herbs, and coins were placed over the eyes. Months later, when the body had sufficiently decomposed, the bones were placed in an ossuary, a small stone or wooden chest, and placed alongside others in the family tomb. Jews did not swathe their dead in bandages like Egyptian mummies, and the Romans cremated their dead. Consequently there were at least six, and possibly seven pieces of cloth involved in a Jewish burial."
- Noel Currer-Briggs, The Shroud and the Grail - A Modern Quest for the True Grail
5. "At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there." - John 19:41
a. "Jesus is now fully and even regally buried. This is not a hurried enshrouding but, finally, a complete and appropriate burial according to custom. Finally, that brand-new tomb is now located in a garden, which of course increases its magnificence." - John Dominic Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography (1994)
d. The question has been raised: “Was the wrap still in mummy form without the body inside with the face linen folded to show Jesus was not in the mummy cast?”
i. No it is clear from the scripture that they followed the Jewish custom for burial which means the linens were most likely laid flat and intact on the stone bed - but not unwrapped.
1. It would have been obvious that the body had been resurrected because the linen was not unwrapped.
2. The only thing unwrapped was the burial cloth which would have been around the head and this was neatly folded so that you could look into the linen and see that it was completely empty.
ii. This is why the angel said to Mary, “Come and see for yourself he is not here they are empty – he has risen!”
T.S. – The empty linen is another invitation to believe in the miracle of the resurrection and the angels are still saying come and see and believe! Our third invitation to the belief in the resurrection comes from Jesus himself when he appears outside the empty tomb to Mary and then to the others as well.
III. The third invitation of the empty tomb comes from Jesus act of vacating the tomb and his instructions to Mary.
a. The Empty Tomb from Michael Horner. There are at least six lines of evidence that support the tomb being empty on that first Easter morning.
i. First, the origin of the Christian movement in Jerusalem would have been impossible without the empty tomb. If the tomb still contained the body, no one would have believed the disciples’ story of the resurrection. But thousands did believe. The founding of Christianity in the same city where Jesus was publicly killed and buried demands that the tomb was empty.
ii. Second, the written account describing the burial is widely recognized as being historically credible. The inclusion of Joseph of Arimethea as the one who buried Jesus in his own tomb is one of the many reasons most scholars accept the accuracy of the burial story. It is highly unlikely that fictitious stories about a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling class, could have been pulled off. The absence of competing burial stories further enhances the credibility of the biblical account of the burial. If the gospel tradition were legendary, one would expect to find conflicting traditions, especially in Jewish literature, but there are none. Moreover, the burial and empty tomb story are a continuous narrative linked grammatically and linguistically. If the burial account is reliable, then the empty tomb account is likely also reliable. Now if the burial account were accurate, then the grave site (Joseph’s Garden tomb) would have been well known. And if the grave site was well known, no one would have believed that Jesus had risen, not the disciples, nor any of the thousands of others, unless the tomb was in fact empty. And you can be sure that if the body had still been in the tomb, the Jewish authorities would have exhumed it and exposed the whole charade. But in fact, even though they had every reason to want to refute Christianity, they could never produce the body of Jesus - inside or outside the tomb.
iii. Third, the earliest anti-Christian propaganda confirms the tomb was empty. The Jewish religious leaders claimed the disciples stole the body. The fact that they never denied that Jesus’ tomb was empty, but only tried to explain it away is persuasive evidence that the tomb was in fact empty. Historically, this is evidence of the highest quality because it comes from the opponents of Christianity.
iv. Fourth, the fact that Jesus’ tomb was never venerated as a shrine in the first century indicates that it was empty. It was customary was to set up a shrine where a holy man’s bones lay. There were at least 50 such sites in Palestine at that time. The absence of such a shrine for Jesus suggests the bones weren’t there.
v. Fifth, the testimony of the Apostle Paul implies the tomb was empty. Writing in about AD 55, Paul quotes an old Christian saying that Jesus died, was buried and rose on the third day. The idea that a person could be raised from the dead while the body remained in the grave would have been nonsense to Paul’s Jewish mind. The Jewish concept of resurrection was extremely physical. Paul is clearly assuming and implying an empty tomb here. As Craig point out, "Were this not so, then Pauline theology would have taken an entirely different route, trying to explain how resurrection could be possible, though the body remained in the grave."4 Moreover, this saying concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is too early to be legendary. Paul would have learned it in his first two years as a convert, or at least no later than AD 36 when he visited Peter and James in Jerusalem. Thus, this formula is no later than five or six years after the resurrection, not enough time for legend to dominate over the facts.
vi. Sixth, the burial and empty tomb accounts in Mark are based on a very early source. The high priest is mentioned without using his name, which implies that Caiaphas was still high priest when this story began circulating. If it had been written after Caiaphas’ term of office, his name would have been used to distinguish him from the next high priest. Since we know from the Jewish historian Josephus, that Caiaphas was high priest from AD 18-37, this story began circulating no later than AD 37, within the first seven years after the events.
1. These six points are among many that provide a powerful case for the tomb being empty the Sunday morning after Jesus’ death. The move in scholarly circles in recent years has been toward the acceptance of the empty tomb, since it is very difficult to refute on historical grounds.
b. Jesus instructed Mary: Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
i. Notice what he said, “Go tell them what you saw in the empty tomb and that now you see me outside the tomb alive and well.”
1. “The tomb is empty and I am alive!”
ii. “Go tell them Mary! That I am on my way to my Father – who is also your Father and their Father – I am going to intercede for them and you to your God and I am leading the captives free from the bondage of sin and death.”
1. If you want to know what happens after Mary leaves and Jesus enters into heaven you need to read Revelation chapter 5:
a. 1Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”6Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” 11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! 13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!” 14The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.”
iii. Jesus told us all along that He would rise from the dead and that He was the resurrection and the life and then he proved it by doing just that. He now invites anyone to look into the tomb and see that it is empty-he then invites you to believe in Him and follow Him!
1. If you choose to accept his invitation you to will participate in this resurrection from death to life!
Conclusion:
We all need to accept the invitation from heaven to look into the empty tomb and to see that he is no longer there. The rock has been removed out of our way so we can look in. When we choose to look into the tomb we should note the empty linen and the folded up burial cloth of Jesus. He is telling us that He is coming back. His appearances after the discovery by the women and the disciples to all his disciples plus 500 verify its authenticity. Jesus today is inviting us to become a part of this great miracle.
Jesus opened the door to eternal life and the defeat of death. There is no more curse for those who participate in the resurrection of Jesus. He invites you to personally come to Him and behold the power of the resurrection as described in Revelation. He is coming back sooner than most of us think - so this Easter accept his invitation now to be a part of this great day personally!
Closing Illustration: Video clip from Bluefishtv.com “Resurrection”
