Easter 31/03/02
The Tomb is Empty - Matt. 28:1-10
Chris Jordan
Tombs, graves, cemeteries, burial places
Every town in Australia – from major cities to your average one horse – 4 pub outback town
They call them the dead center of town
In my family, we have a running joke that when we drive past a cemetery, someone asks, ‘How many people are dead in that one?’
ANSWER – ‘All of them’
But it’s true isn’t it – tombs are for people who have died,
And wherever you travel around the world – you’ll find more.
Every nation under the sun has devised means of ‘entombing’ the remains of our dearly departed.
Some of these tombs have become major tourist sites because of the importance of the person buried there.
And some are totally majestic pieces of architecture – places like the…
Pyramids and Tombs of Egypt
Taj Mahal
Lenin’s Tomb - Red Square in Moscow
Westminster Abbey
Tombs of the Ming Dynasty in China
South America – Tombs of the Incas and the Aztecs.
All of these tombs – as well as the graves of our own loved ones – are sacred because of who or what they contain.
But I want to say to you that the Most sacred – the most important tomb and the one that has had the greatest impact in our world by far – is a simple unmarked cave somewhere near Jerusalem.
Why is this tomb so great – so important?
Not because of the remains of the person who was buried there – not because it is an important piece of architecture.
This tomb is important simply because it is empty.
The person who occupied it – Jesus, a humble carpenter of Nazareth, is no longer there; In fact he only had a really short lease on the place.
This humble carpenter was executed for making extravagant claims. He claimed to be the Son of God
From the day of His crucifixion (Good Friday) - To that first Easter morning – the day we now know as Easter Sunday,
only three days had elapsed – Three days for the humble carpenter of Nazareth to rise form the dead and check out of His tomb.
And now His tomb stands empty:
An empty tomb – which has become the foundation upon which our faith is built.
An empty tomb – a sign for us that God’s plan of salvation is complete.
An empty tomb – which stands as an unshakable testimony that Jesus of Nazareth is who He said He was – the Son of God and the Savior of all who believe.
And because of that empty tomb - the world has never been the same.
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But for many people on that first Easter morning, the world was no different than it had always been.
Except for a handful of women and the remaining 11 disciples, no one really cared about the humble carpenter of Nazareth.
But gradually, over the past 2000 years, His followers have grown in number until over half of the world’s population claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives.
Why? How do we explain it?
As Max Lucado writes in his book – ‘He chose the nails’, ‘Jesus was a backwater peasant. He never wrote a book, never held an office. He never journeyed more than two hundred miles from His hometown. Friends left Him. One betrayed Him. Those He helped forgot Him. Prior to His death they abandoned Him. But after His death they couldn’t resist Him. What made the difference?’
The answer: ‘The Tomb was Empty’
When He died so did our sin – When He rose so did our hope.
No other religious leader, no other person in the history of the world can make that claim.
Because Jesus rose from the dead – so will we.
We can look our ancient enemy death, straight in the eye and say, I’m not scared of you.
Christians don’t stay in their tombs when they die.
Neither are they meant to live in tombs while they are alive.
But I hear you say to me – Back up the hearse there a minute, I don’t live in a tomb!
The truth is that from time to time we all live in tombs – some we create ourselves – some are created for us by others.
Let me explain
The book of Genesis contains the story of a young boy named Joseph – a boy with big dreams.
His brothers didn’t care much for him or his dreams and so they thought up a way to get rid of him.
Firstly, they threw him into a pit (a kind of tomb) and told their father that he was dead.
But God had plans for young Joseph and he didn’t die in the pit – instead he was sold as a slave to an Egyptian family.
All was going well for him until he was betrayed by the wife of the man he was working for and thrown in prison – once again he found himself in a tomb, created by someone else, through no fault of his own.
I’m sure he must have felt angry and bitter, and the temptation to give up must have been enormous at times.
But Joseph never forgot his dreams and the promises God had given him – He knew he wasn’t destined to live in a tomb.
And he knew that God always keeps His promises.
Eventually he rose to a position of such prominence in Egypt that only Pharaoh was higher than him.
And after many years, he was reunited with his family. He forgave his brothers for their betrayal and said to them –‘Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve our people, as he is doing today.’ Gen 50:20
I wonder if you have ever felt that way - betrayed or rejected – maybe by a good friend, or a business partner, a member of the family or maybe even a spouse.
Or maybe you’ve been hurt by a church
Our ideas have been ridiculed – our dreams have been trashed
We feel hurt, we feel afraid, we can feel angry or bitter
Sometimes we can become so paralyzed by fear and hurt that we give up.
Hey! I failed once, twice, but not a third time – and the tomb gets deeper.
I’m not gonna forgive that person, they hurt me too much – the tomb gets deeper.
My dreams have been shattered, leave me alone – and the tomb gets deeper and deeper – until it gets so deep that we can no longer see out – we can only look in.
But Jesus calls us OUT!
Remember, Jesus was betrayed and rejected by his closest friends – He had every right to feel bitter and angry. But HE forgave and said, ‘Father into Your hands I commit my spirit.’
Maybe you and I need to forgive a little more and turn our hurts, our past failures and our fears over to God
Let’s never forget God’s promises to us
Maybe your wondering what promises has God made to me? (hold up bible) – The Bible is full of them
Here’s just one – Jer 29:11 ‘For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.’
That’s the promise in the Empty Tomb – a future with hope
Let’s commit our lives to His unfailing love and allow Him by faith to lead us out – one step at a time into the bright sunlight of His Kingdom.
Jesus calls us OUT! Of our tomb – He calls us to a life that we could only dream about. A life of high adventure – of trust and faith and obedience. Sure it’s scary – but the world has yet to see what one person who is totally sold out to God can do! Maybe, you will be that person.
And let’s never forget the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
Remember the disciples – they were running scared after the crucifixion. They were beaten and paralyzed by fear – Hiding in the Upper Room (or was it the upper Tomb) on the day of Pentecost – The Holy Spirit burst in on their lives and from that day on they didn’t care if they lived or died – they were living for Jesus.
And because of them and their witness, you and I are here today.
Some people say that Christianity is boring – but I assure you that after the resurrection, the lives of Jesus’ followers were anything but boring. They were upsetting the establishment. You had to either join them or stone them, put them in jail, or feed them to the lions. But you could never ignore them.
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But still today, some people will try to.
We create elaborate little worlds of control and we don’t want to leave them. These are the tombs we create for ourselves.
And today, too many people are dying with unlocked dreams and unfulfilled destinies simply because, we’re either too scared, or we enjoy our safe, comfortable, predictable routines so much that we become - Tomb Potatoes. You’ve heard of Couch Potatoes – well meet the tomb potatoes.
We settle for far less than God has called and equipped us to be.
We kid ourselves that we’re really living – But there’s no life in a tomb!
Let’s face it, when you’re in a tomb, no one bothers you. Most people leave you alone.
It can be nice and quiet – deathly quiet actually – but still, quite peaceful.
So we settle back in our comfortable tombs and go through our predictable routines until one day Jesus calls us out – but we won’t come out – we’re Tomb Potatoes and we like our tombs too much.
Jesus tells the story in Matthew 22 - about a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.
He sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come.
Again he sent other servants, saying, ’Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, I’ve got plenty of food, more than you’ve ever seen in your entire life. I’ve got the disco happening, the party games and everything is ready; you don’t have to do anything but please, please come to the banquet.’
But they all made excuses and went away, one to his farm, another to his business –Tomb Potatoes one and all.
They had more important things to do than to answer the call of Jesus.
Imagine Lazarus – in his tomb for four days and Jesus called him out – But imagine if Lazarus had called back – ‘not now Jesus. I’ve just called out for pizza, Survivor is on the telly and anyway, It’s not a good time, I’ve just settled in for the night.’ Don’t bother me now.
I know it sounds like a joke…
But how many people do that very thing?
Not now Jesus, I’ve got more important things to do. I’ve got a life and a family and a business to run and You’re upsetting my routine.
So in our safe little worlds, we gather all sorts of things around us – things that the world tells us we just have to have – things that are not wrong in themselves – but if they keep us from answering Jesus’ call – If God isn’t in our lives – we’re just decorating our tombs.
Just like the Pharaohs and all the other people with amazing burial places – they may look breathtaking but they’re still tombs.
Not only that, but we’re making a huge mistake because one day Jesus will call us and we will won’t be able to resist – we will have to answer.
John 5:28-29 says, ‘Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
But anyone who answers the call of Jesus and holds onto the promise in the empty tomb - has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.
(Invite musicians to come up)
In a few moments we’re going to gather around the Lord’s Table in communion.
And as we do – on this Easter Sunday – I want us all to remember that The Tomb is Empty.
Jesus has once and for all conquered death and hell.
And tonight HE calls us out of our tombs into the bright sunshine of His kingdom.
If we refuse to answer the call – Well Jesus may have died in vain. But worse than that – we have lived in vain and that would be a total and terrible tragedy.
So as we share together in the Lord’s Supper – let’s do so remembering not only Jesus’ death, but also His resurrection and hold fast to the promise of new life that we have in the Empty Tomb.
So come to the table – everything’s ready and I stand here as God’s servant inviting you to ‘come to the banquet’.
Amen
