He's Not Here
It always worked that way before.
When someone was buried, they stayed buried. You knew where the body was.
So, the women who were followers of Jesus went to the tomb. It was “very early” Sunday morning. For them Sunday was like Monday in our culture today. The body of Jesus had been placed in that tomb late Friday afternoon. Because they believed in Jesus and loved Him, they intended to add more spices and perfumes to His body.
It was unnecessary.
He was not there.
This had never happened before.
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words…”
Luke 24:1-7
The tomb was empty.
In the Gospel of Mark we’re given the concern these women had as they went to the tomb that early hour: how could they roll away the heavy stone that closed the tomb? They had a greater concern when they arrived-Jesus was gone!
Instead there were “two men” dressed in “lightning.” Let that sink in. They expected the dark silence of a tomb. They got light so brilliant, they bowed to the ground in fear.
In the brilliant presence of angels the women are told: “He is not here.”
Jesus was not in the tomb.
Yes, Joseph of Arimathea placed Jesus there on Friday. Yes, they wrapped His body in linen. Yes, they rolled a large stone in front of the tomb opening. Yes, a dead person always remained in the grave.
Not Jesus.
It’s Sunday morning (very early) and Jesus is not in the tomb. Understand, the body was not taken away. This is the story the religious leaders cooked up to cover up this miracle. They paid the soldiers who guarded the tomb of Jesus to say His disciples stole His body.
What did these messengers of God tell the women?
They told the women the truth. The words they spoke to the women cannot be said about any other human who ever lived or will live.
No one.
Ever.
What was the message of the lightning bright angels?
“He is not here; but has risen!”
Once more…
“He is not here; but has risen!”
These words forever changed the lives of the women. The words of the angels and the empty tomb would soon forever change the lives of the disciples still hiding in fear in Jerusalem. The words of the angels changed the course of human history. The Savior of the world was victorious. He defeated sin and death.
“He is not here; He has risen!”
Centuries ago, two visible angels spoke these words to a group of women who had just discovered the empty tomb of Jesus.
We return to the words of the Roman Centurion who watched Jesus die.
He said, “Surely, this man was the Son of God!”
Yes…Jesus is the Son of God.
He defeated sin and death on the cross. His suffering was for you and me.
The empty tomb is evidence.
The most important question each of us must face is: