1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him. See, I have told you.” ~ Matthew 28:1-7
Early Sunday morning, the day we Christians call Resurrection Sunday, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb of Jesus. But they found an empty tomb. Jesus was not there; He had risen as He said He would. He lived, though He was dead, and now He is alive forevermore. Paul said that if Jesus indeed had not risen from the dead, then we have no salvation, and we are still in our sins, and we Christians are most to be pitied of all people. Not only that but they are found to be false witnesses about God because they testified that He raised Jesus from the dead.
Friends, I want to assure you that Jesus did die a physical death; He was buried and laid in the tomb for three days and three nights, and He did rise again, holding the keys of death and Hades in His powerful hand.
There is something else I want you to notice. The Scriptures declare that an angel descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. But the account does not say anything about Jesus coming out of the grave at that time. Instead, it says,
… the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay …”
Jesus had already risen by the time the angel got there. Because, after all, it was not the angel’s job to let Jesus out, but to let the believers in, and to prove to the world the empty tomb. If the angel had not rolled the stone away, the world would never know that the tomb is empty. But the soldiers saw the angel come down. They saw him roll the stone away. They saw that the tomb was empty but did not see Jesus emerge from the tomb, yet they had seen His dead body go into the tomb, and they feared greatly, so much so that they became as dead men. There was no denying that Jesus had risen from the dead. The empty tomb proved it for them.
You and I can rejoice in knowing that what we believe is true. What we hold on to is not a cleverly devised lie but the everlasting Truth. We can be assured that what was passed down to us about the Resurrection is an eyewitness account. So, rejoice in your salvation, and rejoice in the resurrection of your LORD and Savior.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, who was obedient to You and accomplished everything that You sent Him to accomplish. I accept His free gift of life, and I rejoice in the fact that He is alive forevermore and that He is coming back for me. Help me to live for You and to serve You wholeheartedly without becoming disillusioned or weary. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
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