“Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘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. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.” [Luke 24:1–9]
It was the third day since Jesus had been among His followers; the third day since His arrest at Gethsemane, the third day since His suffering on our part had begun – where were His disciples and those women who loved Him dearly? They were in Jerusalem mourning His death. Had they forgotten the words of their Master spoken just days earlier? Had they forgotten that He said, “On the third day I WILL rise again?” Had they forgotten or did they just fail to believe what He said?
To be fair to His followers, what Jesus said about His suffering and death was unconscionable – unthinkable, unreasonable and unacceptable; they could not bear the thought of their Teacher and friend being treated in the ways that Jesus had described He would be; but it was after all Jesus who told them – shouldn’t they have believed?
The Proof of the Resurrection of Christ…
The fact that Christ’s closest followers were still in Jerusalem is an important one for this reason – had they believed that He would rise again they should have been well on their way back to Galilee. It was on their way to Gethsemane Matthew writes, where Jesus spoke the following words [Matthew 26:30–32]:
“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ [Zech. 13:7]
But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.””
Jesus did not command them to go to Galilee but He suggested to them that they’d find Him there. A point that the angel confirmed to Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome “and certain other women with them” in the gospel of Mark [16:7]:
“But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.””
If you had believed the words of Christ concerning His resurrection where would you have been?
I say this to you for a reason this morning. You see, from that time till now there have been those who suggested that Jesus’ own disciples and followers had taken His body and hidden it so as to create the illusion of His resurrection. Had they believed – perhaps; but seeing as they did not yet believe – that they didn’t even understand the point (see John 20:9) concerning Christ’s resurrection; seeing as the women were coming to complete the burial process begun two days earlier – seeing as they came to the tomb that day to anoint a corpse and not to see a risen Savior it can then be safely ruled out that the resurrection of Jesus was a hoax.
And just where were the men while the women went to anoint the body of the Lord? They were where the risen Lord would soon meet them – in the same secret place wherein they shared the last supper with Him in fear of the Jews, behind locked doors (John 20:19)
Jesus’ followers were in Jerusalem and He did not scold them for their lack of faith – He met them where they were.
The Witnesses of the Resurrected Christ…
There were many witnesses of the resurrection and the resurrected; among them the angels and the empty tomb, these bore witness to both the resurrection and the resurrected. The Apostle Matthew wrote [28:2] “And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it.” The angel opened the tomb and heralded the message of the resurrection to all who came to look in (Luke 24:6; Matt 28:6):
“He is not here, but is risen, as He said!”
The empty tomb, the folded grave clothes these became evidence supporting the announcement of the heralding angel’s – the same who had announced Christ’s birth to the shepherds 33 years earlier were now announcing that He who had been killed and who was dead, was now alive! Good news – Christ is alive! The Angel rolled the stone away for one reason – so that we could look in and see the evidence of the resurrection.
Consider this as well – Jesus died before a crowd but He rose before no one. No one bears witness to His walking out of the tomb, through (not past) the boulder that sealed it back into the land of the living. Perhaps the guards who had been stationed at the tomb since just after the Lord’s body was placed in it (Matt. 27:62-65) saw the actual resurrection; they no doubt saw something (Matt. 28:4), something which overwhelmed their senses, something which was so significant that the chief priests and elders felt it necessary to bribe the guards to tell a lie, [Matt. 28:13]: ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’
“We operate every day with the principle that truth may be established on the testimony of eyewitnesses. We punish criminals even when we did not see the crime being committed, precisely because the evidence gives away the truth of the matter“[i] – in the case of the risen Savior there are many witnesses both to the empty tomb AND the risen Savior:
- He appeared to the women who had come to anoint His body for burial [Matt. 28:5-10]:
“But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.””
- He appeared to Mary alone at the tomb [Mark 16:9]:
“Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.” (see John 20:11-18)
- He appeared to Cleopas and another disciple whom I suspect was his wife Mary on the road to Emmaus [Luke 24:15-16]:
“So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.” [for the larger context see Luke 24:13-35]
- He appeared to Peter [Luke 24:33-34]:
“So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”” This is not the appearance at the sea of Galilee recorded in John 21 but another otherwise unmentioned meeting.
- He appeared to the remaining apostles [John 20:19-20]:
“Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.”
The Bible says that later Thomas (John 20:26-28) and a number of others adding up to over 500 more witnesses spoken of in [1 Cor. 15:5-6]:
“…and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.”
Why mention all of these witnesses? Because the Bible states that a case is substantiated by the witness of two or more people (Deut. 19:15); in the account of Christ’s resurrection there were many more than 2 or 3 who saw Him alive AFTER His death, burial and resurrection.
The Attitudes concerning the Resurrection of Christ…
There were many emotions and attitudes at work during the period of Christ’s suffering, death burial and resurrection as you might imagine – there was fear, then grief and heartbreak at His suffering and death. Then hopelessness as expressed by the two on the Emmaus road [Luke 24:21]:
“But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.”
These two represent the disappointment and hopelessness felt by all who totally misunderstood why Christ came; in their understanding of the old testament scriptures they “saw the glory but not the suffering, the crown but not the cross”[ii] they didn’t fully understand until Jesus explained it to them on the road home (v.27; 32). Let me tell you that Jesus meets people at the point of their despair and hopelessness [v31] says,
“Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.”
When Thomas later handled Jesus his hopelessness and doubt was also changed and He exclaimed [John 20:28]:
“My Lord and my God!””
The Bible says that after their eyes had been opened the two from Emmaus rushed back to Jerusalem over 7 miles away to tell the others the good news – they had seen and spoken with the Savior but before they could tell them that the disciples also had news that Peter had seen the Savior – Unbelief was turned to joy unspeakable when the disciples saw for themselves the risen Lord in the upper room – hope fulfilled has a way of doing that. [Luke 24:41] tells us that “they still did not believe for joy;” but that is the “I can’t believe it’s you!” kind of joy that comes when one is coming to terms with something amazing!
There aren’t many places more heartbreaking than a children’s hospital cancer ward; there, children who ought to be out playing and enjoying life are isolated, medicated and otherwise treated for their menacing life-threatening illness. David Jeremiah told the story recently of a woman who with her Christian drama team went into such a place to put on a show for the kids – the drama was to be a musical reenactment of C.S.Lewis’ classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The children piled in and kept coming in wheel chairs, crutches one even on a gurney; there were so many kids that portions of the set had to be removed to accommodate them all; still the kids were nearly right next to the actors.
In one scene the Witch of Narnia kills the lion Aslan. The children were silent except for their soft weeping – many of the children were crying. You see, Aslan is in the story is symbolic of Jesus Christ – kind, loving, strong, brave and the lion was dying to save the life of another.
The tears and weeping of the children brought the activity director alongside the representative of the troupe and she was furious exclaiming that the children were already suffering enough without such a thing. The troupe director calmed her down and the scene continued to unfold –two girls, sisters singing and weeping in front of the body of their dead friend Aslan who at that same moment was rising up again alive! The excitement and joy of that moment was electric as the children celebrated even poking their neighbor’s young and old alike saying “did you see!!!????He is alive!!” The director said that at that moment it was as if she were present at the very resurrection of Christ Himself – expressing that she imagined this is how it was when Christ arose victoriously over death and the grave.
Unbelief gave way to unspeakable joy the day Christ arose.
The Reason for the Resurrection…
What is the reason for the resurrection? Joy? Believability? No Jesus didn’t give His life and take it back again so that you’d necessarily be happy – that’s a benefit. Neither did He lay His life down and take it up again just to prove the point that He could. No, the reason for Jesus’ death burial and resurrection is much more profound:
All mankind was “dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1).”
All mankind needs the forgiveness of God because all have sinned against Him (Rom. 3:23) and anyone, if they will live for God need new life.
You see, Jesus’ death is the key to the forgiveness of God.
The Bible says in [Hebrews 9:22] “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” “It is the blood” says God in [Lev.17:11] that makes atonement for the soul.”
According to the word of God it is Christ’s blood that paid the price to rescue, save, deliver, ransom, and forgive us [1 Peter 1:18–19]: “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” He laid His life down as [Heb. 2:9] says “…that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.”
If Jesus’ death and specifically, His shed blood is the key to God’s forgiveness then His resurrection is the key to our new and eternal life.
[1 Corinthians 15:20–23]: “But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.”
The scripture declares [Eph. 2:4-7]: “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Jesus died so that we might be forgiven and rose so that the life we have from Him we can share with Him forever.
Earlier I said that Jesus met His followers where they were.
Today, he is meeting you where you are.
Today he is meeting with the skeptic, the addict, the cynic and the sinner – He is saying, “Come awake, come awake, come and rise up from the grave” of your sin or your addiction and your doubt. He came to rescue and save not to judge and condemn (John 3:16-17) but that time is coming.
Jesus’ empty tomb proves that death does not have the last word.
The Lord said in [John 11:25]:
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”
Adding in (v.26)
“Do you believe this?”
That is the question of all questions on this day. Your unbelief does not change the truth that Jesus is Risen but your belief in the risen Son of God will change your life…. Do you believe?
The women who came to anoint the body of Jesus had to believe the angels report; the disciples who heard the women’s account had to believe the women; and we who have heard today and you who would have eternal life must believe the report of the disciples in the Word of God – Christ IS risen; risen indeed!!!
[i] Campbell, I. D. (2008). Opening up Matthew (p. 173). Leominster: Day One Publications.
[ii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Lk 24:13). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
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