Matthew 28:1-10
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come; see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ’He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you." So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
This is the Gospel of our Risen Savior.
Praise be to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
“Running On Empty”
Whenever I’m driving down the road and I glance at my gas gauge and realize that I have forgotten to fill the tank before I started out, I panic. Now, my little car gets pretty good mileage (about 42 mpg) but there have been times when I’ve glanced down and found that I was way below empty. Immediately I try to estimate the distance to the next town and the next gas station and I slow down to conserve gas. Once night, a few years back, while on a business trip I noticed that my tank was right on empty. I knew that there was a gas station at the next exit, which I knew was only a few miles away, so I wasn’t too worried. For some reason I got to daydreaming as usual and drove right on by. By the time I realized what I had done it was too late. I got a sick-to-my stomach feeling and became quite agitated and nervous. I slowed down even more to conserve gas but there is only so slow you can go on an Interstate Highway. After a few miles I noticed a sign saying it was 20 miles to the next exit. OK, I thought, that’s only about a half-gallon of gas, maybe more at 45 mph. I can make that easily. As I approached the exit my hopes were dashed when I didn’t see the friendly lights of any gas station. The exit was just that, an exit, nothing else. The next sign said 25 miles to the next exit. I prayed that I could make it and that there was a station open because I really didn’t relish the thought of running out of gas in the middle of Kansas in the middle of the night. That was the longest 25 miles I ever drove. Every bump in the road, every noise, every vibration I felt made me think my motor was sputtering, using the last of that precious liquid. When I finally got within a mile of the exit, I could see the dazzling, welcoming lights of a truck stop. I remember pushing in on the clutch and coasting up the exit ramp, not wishing to run out now. I made it to the pump and filled up. You can’t imagine how happy and thankful I was. I vowed never to get that low again, a vow I have since broken. I don’t really know how far I can drive once my gauge gets to empty and I hope I never find out the hard way.
The word empty is not a positive word. It stirs up many negative connotations such as, “my life is empty without you”, “my glass is half empty”, “my checking account is empty”, “the cookie jar is empty” or “the refrigerator is empty”. When we hear the word “empty” we may become panicked, nervous or, at least concerned or disappointed. Such was the case when Mary Magdalene and the other women came to the tomb that first Easter morning. When they saw that the tomb was empty, they became panicked and afraid. We recall in the reading from Mark’s Gospel of the visit to the tomb:
Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. "But go, tell His disciples and Peter, `He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’ " They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 16:5-8
Mark clearly states that Mary and the other women were terrified at finding the tomb empty. They were sure that something terrible had happened to the body of their beloved friend and teacher, Jesus. Now I can empathize with these women because I can think of nothing more disturbing or perplexing or cruel than for someone to steal the body of a loved one from it’s final resting place. Can you imagine that happening to you? We can feel Mary’s pain as we read from the Gospel of John:
But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." 20:11-12
Not only was Mary confused and afraid but so were the other disciples as we read in the Gospel of Luke:
Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened. 24:10-12
After seeing the empty tomb the disciples, Mary and the other women still didn’t get it, still didn’t get why it was empty. For all of their love and devotion to Jesus, they really didn’t pay attention to what he had told them while he was alive. Remember, I have told you from time to time that the disciples were not the brightest stars in the universe. They were uneducated and clueless even after being with Jesus and listening to his teachings and parables and witnessing his miracles for so long. You could not fault them for their love for Jesus but you could fault them for their failure to hear, understand and believe the good news that Jesus had told them previously. Reading from Luke once again we hear these words:
And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? "He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 24:2-9
Mary and the women were the first to believe and later the disciples as we read from the Gospel according to John:
So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes. 20:3-10
It took these followers of Jesus quite some time to discern what had taken place here. In fact it wasn’t until sometime later when Jesus appeared to them and cast off their doubts that they truly believed that their beloved teacher had actually risen from the dead. We read from Luke:
And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. But they urged Him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over." So He went in to stay with them. When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, "The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon." They began to relate their experiences on the road and how they recognized him in the breaking of the bread. 24:25-31
It took an actual visit from Jesus to convince these disciples and then only when they broke bread with him were their eyes opened.
The disciples were running on empty, oblivious to the signs Jesus had given them just as I had been running on empty that night in Kansas, oblivious to the sign my gas gauge was giving me. For all of their concerns, trepidations, doubt and fear at finding the tomb empty, we realize that this symbol, this empty tomb, was not a negative thing like my gas gauge. On the contrary, for us Christians, the empty tomb is a very positive thing. It shows us that our faith is justified. What if the tomb had not been empty? What if these followers of Jesus had found him just as he had been placed the previous Friday? That is what they expected when they went there that first Easter morning. That would have been comforting for Mary and the others to be able to anoint their beloved friend and teacher, as was the custom, but disturbing for our faith for it would mean that they and we had been deceived and our faith was false. The fact that the tomb was empty gives meaning to our faith, our hope for the future. Jesus did not lie! Jesus did not die! Jesus was the Son of Man and the claims he made were real! That fact was lost on Mary and the others that morning. The significance of the resurrection to us is that Jesus has paved the way to heaven for us. Jesus died so that our sins may be forgiven and as he rose from the dead, so shall we also rise. That is our faith, our belief, and our hope. The empty tomb was not a negative thing. It was a glorious event. No longer does the word “empty” bring fear or concern to us. It now brings joy and hope. Amen.
