Four friends were talking about death. One of them asked the other three, "When you are in your casket and people are mourning you, what would you like to hear them say about you?"
The first man said, "I’d like to hear them say that I was a fine physician in my time and a great family man." The second fellow said, "I’d like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and a school teacher who made a huge difference in our children of tomorrow." The third man replied,
"I’d like to hear them say, ’Look, he’s moving!’"
SEAL THE TOMB-The chief priests & Pharisees found that out. After they had crucified
Jesus they came to Pilate & said, "We remember that while He was still alive
that deceiver said, ’After 3 days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the
tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come &
steal the body & tell the people that He has been raised from the dead. This
last deception will be worse than the first."
"Take a guard," Pilate answered, "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how."
So they went & made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone & posting the
guard."
You see, the chief priest & Pharisees were trying to stop the inevitable. They
were trying to seal up the Son of God. But there was no way in the world they
could succeed in doing that. And we smile at their futile efforts.
But sometimes it almost seems as if we are trying to seal up Jesus, too.
We put Him in a little corner of our life & say, "Lord, you’re welcome to stay, but
please don’t interfere. Please don’t change the way I think or act or speak.
Just stay in your corner & everything will be fine."
SEARCHING-Many people come looking for many reasons.
For example, why are you here today?
Perhaps like Mary, you are looking for peace. Maybe you are looking for closure.
You may even be looking for something to hold on to memories.
Maybe you are like the soldiers, here because you have to be. It’s family tradition to come to church on Easter.
Or perhaps like the Angel of the Lord you are here for good news.
Invitation to examine.
Come and see the place where the Lord lay !
It is an invitation to examine for themselves the claim of the resurrected Lord.
His body which had been previously placed inside the tomb by Joseph, and Nicodemus no longer lies where they had placed it.
It could not have been stolen away because Roman guards sealed the tomb.
It is interesting to know that no search was ever made of his body though the
officials would claim that it had been stolen. There were never any arrests made
of any of the disciples though one would think that they would have been the
likely suspects.
If we examine the claims of the resurrection, and it has been for ages, there is
no other explanation other than the fact that Jesus had done just as he had
promised !
John 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
In 1989, an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened Armenia, killing over 30,000 people in less
than four minutes. It’s hard to imagine the pain, and suffering. In the twinkling of an eye, worlds were shaken and lives crushed. Surprisingly, such tragedies often bring out the best in people-- at least they provide a wide open window to peek at the contents of each heart. Let me show you the loving heart of a father.
In the midst of chaos and destruction, he rushed to his son’s school. But instead of a school, he found a shapeless heap of rubble. Imagine what went through his mind. What would have gone through your mind? Perhaps, shock? But in the case of this father, the sight of rubble and ruin only made him spring into action. He ran to the back corner of the building where his son’s class used to be and began to dig. Why? What real hope did he have? What were the chances that his son could have survived such destruction? All he knew was that he had made a promise to always be there for his boy. It was this promise that animated his hands and motivated his heart.
As he began to dig, well-meaning parents tried to pull him out of the rubble saying: "It’s too late!" "They’re dead!" "You can’t help!" "Go home!" "There’s nothing you can do!" Then the fire chief tried to pull him off the rubble by saying, "Fires and explosions are happening everywhere.
You’re in danger. Go home!" Finally, the police came and said, "You’re angry, distraught, but it’s over. You’re endangering others. Go home. We’ll handle it!"
But he continued to dig for eight . . . 12 . . . 24 . . . 36 hours.
Then, in the 38th hour, he pulled back a boulder and heard his sons’ voice. Immediately, he screamed, "ARMAND!" Back came
the words, "Dad!?" I told them! I told the other kids that if you were still alive, you’d save me!
You promised me, you’d always be here for me! You did it, dad!"
A determined father, a promise kept, and a stone rolled away to reveal life and give freedom.
The story of Armand’s dad reminds me of the events of that first Easter when the Heavenly Father kept a greater promise by rolling away a much more difficult stone. With the rolling away of that stone, came eternal life, and true lasting freedom in Christ! And you know what? Our Heavenly Father is still in the business of rolling away stones.
