“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 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 wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: “The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”’ Then they remembered his words.” (Luke 24:1-8 NIV)
It has been many years since I have visited the graves of my father and mother. One thing, however, I know for sure, their remains are still there where they were buried more than 30 years ago. It is the same with every grave in every cemetery, except for one. Underneath every marker, there are remains, except for one.
On that faithful day over 2000 years ago, women who had been close to Jesus expected, as we all would have, to find the remains of their friend and teacher in His tomb. He was dead; no one would have expected His remains to be anywhere else. They had gone there to tend to His body, but it was gone; the tomb was empty. He had risen!
At no time, before or since, has this ever occurred. Of the billions of people who have died since the earth was created, only one has ever died and then risen from the grave, never to die again. This is what sets Jesus apart from everyone, including so-called religious prophets or leaders. Mohammed died and remains in the grave. Buddha died and his grave is occupied.
So crucial is this fact that if proven to be right, no one could deny the superiority of Jesus. The rulers during the time of Jesus’ death knew that, so they concocted a story to explain the empty grave (Matthew 28:12-14). Additional stories and “theories” have been espoused down through the centuries to explain what happened to Jesus’ body, including that He actually recovered from His crucifixion. As Paul declares, the empty grave is the foundation for all that we believe. Without it, it is our faith that is empty (I Corinthians 15:12-19).
Today, embrace the hope of the empty grave of Jesus. Because He lives, we know death has no permanent hold on us. One day each of our graves will be empty as well.
© Jim Musser 2016
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