“He is risen”
“3 times empty equals full”
How many of your have stood in shock and disbelief
After opening an envelope that you thought contained a check
Only you find it empty
Just an empty envelope in one hand
And envelopes filled with bills in the other
Wondering how you were going to pay them?
Or opened a gift box
Wrapped in pretty paper
Only to find that the gift that was supposed to be inside was missing
And the box was empty
How many of you have bought a new bull, turned him out
Waiting for the cows to be bred long enough to palpate anticipating the calf crop that might sell for enough to pay the loan on the cows – at least part of it
And when you did they were all open
Just empty
Or needed to get somewhere so bad when the gage on your old truck hit E and
---They will flash--- West at camp
You realized you were miles from where you needed to be
And you were empty
Empty is usually not always a good thing
Think of some empty promises that were made to you
Someone said they would do something
---Love you till death do you part-- Maybe
And then they split
Another said they would be there for you through thick and thin
And then it gets just a little skinny
And they’re gone
Just another empty promise
Some of you may have had a loved or friend who
Made promises they could not or would not keep
Just empty promises
So many of us have been taken in by “empty promises,” that we are leery of anything or anyone that tells us we can have something for nothing.
The truth of the matter is, the world is full of empty promises.
We watch TV, and the advertisements tell us that we can be happy, sexy, rich, or famous, if we only purchase a certain product, just empty promises.
It doesn’t take long before we have been fooled enough to know that the world’s promises are full of emptiness.
Sometimes if it has happened enough
We lose trust and think all promises will be empty
Listen
God never made a promise that was too good to be true.
You see God is different.
Instead of promises full of emptiness like the world often gives us
On a cool morning 2000 years ago
The first Easter morning
God gave us emptiness that is full of promise.
Poem by Phillips Brooks
Tomb, You shall not hold Him longer,
Death is strong, but life is stronger
Stronger than the dark, the light;
Stronger than the wrong, the right;
Faith and hope triumphant say; Christ will rise on Easter Day.
While the patient earth lies waiting
Till the morning shall be breaking
Shuddering beneath the burden dread
Of her Master, cold and dead,
Hark! she hears the angels say; Christ will rise on Easter Day.
And when sunrise smites the mountains
Pouring light from heavenly fountains
Then the earth blooms out to greet
Once again the blessed feet;
And her countless voices say; Christ has risen on Easter Day.
John 20:1-8
“Early on Sunday morning,[a] while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 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 we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—“
This morning, I would like us to think about the promises of Easter.
There are three of them.
Each promise is marked by something empty.
An empty cross
An empty tomb
And
Empty burial clothes.
Listen
The fact that each of these is empty that assures us that God’s promises are real.
Why
Because God promised to save us through his one and only son Jesus
And because the cross could not hold him
Because the tomb could not contain him
And the burial clothes were not needed
We can be sure of the fullness of God’s promises in our lives.
Let’s begin with the empty cross.
Because the cross was empty, we have the promise of forgiven sins.
Redemption
Let’s go back, if we can, to that 1st Easter Morning.
Please picture with me
It is early morning – dawn – but the sun has not risen.
A few women some of Jesus followers are on their way to a tomb.
It is the tomb where Jesus was buried.
They have been walking now for about ½ hour.
The women are quiet, there is little conversation.
The job before them is a sad one.
They are going to anoint the body of Jesus.
The teacher they believed to be the savior.
The one they watched die a horrible death just a few days ago
The one they had followed as he was carried to the tomb by Joseph and Niccodemus
They had watched as Jesus; body had been placed in the tomb
They had watched as a stone was rolled over the entrance and the tomb was sealed
Now
As they come to the top of a rise in the path, they all stop.
Motionless and silent
They can hear the sound of their own breath
Their heart beat ringing in their ears
With long faces and tears in their eyes they stare off in the distance.
They stare towards the tomb
Place yourself in their sandals this morning
As you look with them
Look off to the right
Just outside the city stands a gruesome reminder of the events of just a few days ago.
Do you see it?
Over there on top of the Hill the locals call, Golgotha “The Skull.”
Golgotha
3 Crosses silhouetted by the glow of the pink sky
Yesterday was the Sabbath
So nobody had yet removed them.
So, there they stand an empty reminder of the horror of Friday.
The one in the middle, that is the one that I want you to see. That’s the one that Jesus hung on.
Take a close look at it.
Look up at the top – those bloodstains are from the crown of thorns that was crushed into Jesus’ skull.
The stains on the ends of the crossbar – they came from the nails that were driven into his hands.
The main beam – it was soaked in blood – blood from his back – blood that was bled when the Roman soldiers beat him with a cat-of-nine-tails.
It also has stains from the blood that poured from his side when another Roman soldier ran a spear through his side to see if he was dead – HE WAS.
Don’t ever believe anyone who tells you he was just faking it.
There was no question – Jesus was dead.
His physical body was dead.
The soldiers knew it
The Romans knew it
The Jews knew it
They all knew, they had seen him die
Even so they made up a lie – the disciples stole the body they said.
They even bribed the guards to claim that a few men overpowered a whole company of Roman soldiers
Moved a 2 ton stone
And stole the body of Jesus – just so they could claim he had come back to life –
And then they even executed the soldiers who were standing guard to protect that lie.
But I need you to see
I need you to understand
Jesus really did die – that is why I want you to see the cross this morning.
It is the place where he died – but today, it is empty.
Empty of Jesus’ body
But full
Full of God’s promises
Full of hope – for you and me.
The promise of the empty cross is that you and I stand forgiven.
Because it was on that cross that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins.
Listen
OUR SIN-- my sin --and your sin- Not his own sin
He had no sin
Let’s talk a little about sin this morning
“SIN” is just not popular word or idea anymore
In fact it is almost profanity in today’s society.
It’s a word that isn’t “politically correct.”
You can’t judge me is a popular saying
As a matter of fact that the verse that that comes from has displaced John 3:16 as the most well known and quoted verse
But the simple fact is – we have all sinned.
Every one of us –
You
Me
The person sitting next to you,
Behind you
And
In front of you.
If you want to see a sinner just look right
Left front or back then go look in a mirror.
We have “all sinned, God’s word says fallen short of the glory of God.”
The only person who has ever lived a sinless life is the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
Everyone else has failed.
So, here is the problem – according to God’s law - “the wages of sin is death.”
He says; “The soul that sins will surely die.”
Because, we have sinned, we deserve God’s just punishment.
We deserve “eternal death” – Hell.
But
When you look at that empty cross – it is a reminder of God’s promises that we have been forgiven.
On that cross – Jesus paid the penalty for our sins.
God’s word tells us again – “God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,
CHRIST DIED FOR US!
He did not wait for us to clean up first
While we were still dirty , in our sin he died for us
It was on that cross that Jesus Christ offered his perfect, sinless life on behalf of each one of us.
No one else – not Moses or Abraham, not David or Isaiah
Not
Muhammad or Buddha –
No one else has ever lived perfectly and then offered his perfect life for our salvation.
That is why the Bible tells us that “there is no other name given under heaven by which we can be saved.”
When Jesus Christ breathed his last, he cried out; “It is finished.” The penalty was paid.
On that cross – that empty cross –
His blood was spilt for our salvation.
Before that fateful Friday
God could open the books and look up each name, and written in black were the words – “guilty of sin.”
But when Jesus went to the cross
God literally transferred our accounts to His name.
On that day, across the name of every believer – he wrote – in red, in Jesus’ blood –
Paid in full
Forgiven
Forgiven
Forgiven
Because of the work that Jesus did on that cross – you and I can now stand Forgiven.
The first “empty promise” of Easter is the empty cross – is filled with the promise of forgiven sins.
Let’s get back to our ladies.
After pausing briefly to view the cross, they continue on their way down the path to the tomb.
As they go they ask each other – “who will move the stone for us?”
They have good reason to be worried – the stone that was placed in front of the tomb was a big- maybe as big as 2 tons
Ands
Not only that, the Romans had sealed it, so no one was allowed to move it without their permission.
Kind of like crossing a crime scene tape, not a good idea now- not a good idea then
But
In spite of this
They kept going
All of a sudden they felt the earth move!
Scared to death - they looked at each other,
They did not know whether to run, hide. Or just fall down and play dead
After a few minutes, things seem normal so they continue on their way.
As they came close to the tomb
They are still wondering about what had just happened
But when they get closer
They see something even more confusing/ even more remarkable.
The soldiers are all unconscious
The stone has been moved, it has rolled away
An angel – glowing like lightening – is sitting on it
Listen to his words –
“Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here; He has risen!”
Jesus has risen – He is alive – the tomb is empty. And what a tremendous promise that holds.
I have told this story a couple of times before
But
I never get tired of hearing it
I pray you will appreciate it as well
I read about young boy named Philip some time back
Philip never felt like he belonged. Philip was a smaller than average, 8 year old and he had been plagued with sickness his entire life. He was a good kid but he looked a bit different and sometimes seemed unusual to his eight-year-old classmates. He was often absent because of illness and we not readily accepted into the group.
In his Sunday school class several weeks before Easter, Phillip’s teacher introduced a special project. She gave every kid a plastic "egg"-- she explained that they were to go outside, find a symbol for new life and put it into the egg. Kids love to go outside and they love a scavenger hunt , so they went out.
Back in the classroom the eggs were opened one at a time with each child explaining the meaning of his symbol.
In the first egg was a pretty flower; in the next a beautiful butterfly, while green grass was in a third. The children "oohed" and "aahed". In another was a rock, which prompted loud laughter. Finally the last egg was opened - there was nothing, it was empty.
"That’s stupid," said one child. Another grumbled,”Someone didn’t do it right!
The teacher felt a tug on her shirt. It was Phillip, who said, ’that’s mine, and I did do right! It’s empty, ’cause the tomb was empty."
There was an unusual, thoughtful silence. And strangely, from that time on, Phillip was accepted as part of the group.
Phillip continued to struggle with many physical problems. That summer he picked up an infection which most children would easily have shaken off. But Philip’s weak body couldn’t and a few weeks later, he died.
At his funeral nine eight year-olds with their teacher brought their symbol of remembrance and placed it near his coffin. Their unusual gift of love to Phillip wasn’t flowers. It was an empty egg - now a symbol to them of new life and hope.
It was Phillip, the "different" child, who had helped his friends see the wonderful hope in the message of Easter.
For, in the fact of the empty tomb is the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ
And
The promise to every one of us that we too will be raised to eternal life.
All who believe – will not perish – but have everlasting life”
To those who know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, death has lost its sting
It is no longer something to be feared.
What fear is there when we have the promise that one day we will live forever with Him in Heaven?
Forever!!
Why was the tomb empty?
Because Jesus is alive –
The Angel said; “He is risen.”
And the promise to us is that we too can live even if we die.
That is the second empty promise of Easter.
Hang on tight
it doesn’t end there.
There is one more promise that I want you to know about Easter.
It is the promise of the empty burial clothes.
Back to our story.
After the Angel had spoken to the women
They immediately went back
(Went back is probably a mild understatement) to the Apostles and told them what had happened.
When the boys heard the news
Peter and John immediately ran to the tomb to see for themselves.
When they got there, John stopped just outside the tomb- he was unsure of what to do
But
Peter (knot headed Peter) just ran right in. No hesitation
Jump out of the Boat
Cut off a guys ear
Run right in-Simon Peter
Ready ---shoot --aim
It didn’t take him long to discover that the tomb was just the way the women had said it was – empty.
But, that’s not all.
Inside, Peter found the clothes that Jesus had been buried in.
They too were empty.
This could only mean one thing – Jesus was alive!
If someone had stolen his body, they wouldn’t have removed the burial clothes and folded them up neatly and left them where they lay.
Truly, Jesus was resurrected!
It wouldn’t be long, before Jesus, himself would appear to Mary Magdalene, and to all of the Apostles, and eventually to over 500 people.
Not only did they see him
In the days to come
Jesus would
Sit down with them
Walk with them
talk with them
eat with them
Teach them
Once again, they would be able to fellowship with their Lord.
You see, that is the promise of the empty burial clothes
– The fact that the head covering was neatly folded and placed where he had lain even had significance--- this was a sign that he was coming back,
Jesus is alive, and wants to fellowship with you
Jesus isn’t some made up hero not a “force” out in the universe, influencing people.
He is a living Savior, and he desires to have a personal relationship with each one of us
just as he did with his disciples 2000 years ago.
Think about that – the cross couldn’t hold him;
The tomb couldn’t contain him,
The burial clothes were unnecessary
because Jesus is alive!
He has skin and bones and a face.
We serve a risen savior
And he talked, and touched and loved and healed.
He did it the day of his resurrection, and he does it still today.
And – most importantly – he wants to do it with you.
I want to ask you a very important question this morning.
Do you know Jesus Christ?
I don’t mean; “do you know about Jesus?”
Do you truly know Jesus Christ?
You see, we can know about someone, and not truly know them.
We all know who John Wayne was,
Or have heard of George Washington
Is there anyone here who does not know who Donald Trump is
But who here truly knows them?
These are people that we know something about, but do any of us really know them?
There are those who say, I know who Jesus is ---but never come to know him.
You can know Jesus Christ.
You can personally know him.
You can know his love,
His care
His healing
And
His forgiveness.
You can know hope
And peace
Mercy and grace
He says;
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me.
It has been nearly 2000 years since Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.
That 1st Easter Sunday, as the women went to the grave;
They had no idea what was about to happen to them.
They were not yet aware of the wonderful promises of that day.
• Off in the distance stood an empty cross – the promise that their sins were forgiven.
• At the end of their trip was an empty tomb – the promise of eternal life.
• Inside the tomb were empty burial clothes. ---The promise that they would once again have a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ – their living Savior.
The promises that they discovered that day, you too can have today;
• you too can know the freedom of forgiven sins
• you too can know the promise of eternal life in heaven
• you too can know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. personally
God has made us some great promises
Some so great that some of people in the world cannot bring themselves to believe.
But
This morning, we have heard about three promises that God has made to us;
The promise of forgiven sins;
The promise of eternal life;
And the promise of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
My question to you this morning is this; will you take him at his word?
If so, listen to this final promise – it is found in
Romans 10:13 – “for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
All means all
And all means you
This morning, if you have never accepted God’s promises for your life
He is waiting, probably wondering in cowboy terms
What are they waiting for?
Don’t wait another day, do it today, and know the joy of eternal life in Jesus Christ.
I trust the Lord will truly bless each of you this Easter.
Close from the heart
Pray
