| Luke 24:1-10 The Promise of Easter 4-12-09 We must be careful what we believe. An older brother said to his younger brother as they were getting ready to boil some Easter eggs, “If you let me break three eggs on your head I will give you a dollar.” The younger one’s eyes grew wide with the prospect of getting a dollar. “Really?” he asked, “A whole dollar?” “Yes,” said the older brother. “You let me break three eggs that have not been boiled on top of your head, and I will give you a dollar.” “OK,” said the younger brother. He closed his eyes and held his hands at the side of his face as the older brother cracked open the first egg. As the yoke was just beginning to roll down onto the cheeks, he cracked the second one. “This is cool said the younger boy,” and then he braced himself for the third egg. After about ten seconds he said, “Come on, I’m ready for the third egg, get it over with!” “Oh no,” said the older brother. “I’m not going to crack the third egg. That would cost me a dollar.” We must be careful what we believe, but one thing you can always count is God’s Word being true. This morning I would like for us to think about three promises and these are promises that we can be assured of because they are recorded in God’s Word, and one of the things that God cannot do, is to lie. The cross, the tomb, and the burial clothes were all emptied and bear witness to the fact that Christ had risen from the grave. These things, the cross, the tomb, the burial clothes could NOT contain our Lord. Let’s look first at the empty cross. Our Lord is not on the cross --- which gives us the assurance that our sins are forgiven. How wonderful; how amazing. There is no question about it. The cross was empty. Later the Jews would make up a lie, saying that the disciples came and stole the body. Can you imagine eleven fishermen overpowering a company of Roman soldiers, moving an enormous stone, to steal the body of Jesus, just so they could claim that HE had come back to life, and then, be willing to die in order to protect the lie. It is important for us to see the cross --- because this is the place where Christ paid the price for our sins. The cross of Jesus was empty of Jesus, the God-man, but was full of God’s grace and promises. We must never forget that it was on the cross that our Lord paid the complete price for our sins. SIN --- a word that is taken so lightly today. Christians on the whole don’t say as much about sin as they once did. We use such words as bad habits, or something else, but the simple fact of the matter is that we are all sinners. Every one of us; you, me, the person sitting next to you, behind you, in front of you of you. We all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God. The problem is that according to God’s Law -- the wages of sin is death. However, when we look to the empty cross we are reminded of God’s promise that His Blessed Son would pay the price for our sins. As we read in the Holy Word, God demonstrated His love towards us, that while we were yet sinners, God died for us. Oh friends, it was on a cross that our Lord offered His perfect, sinless life on behalf of each one of us. And it had to be our Lord because no one else has ever lived a perfect, sinless life. When Jesus took his last breath, He cried OUT, “It is finished.” His suffering was finished, His work was finished, and the penalty for sin had been paid. In the Gospel of Mark we read that the women were concerned about who would remove the stone from the entrance. And of course they had a reason to be concerned. The stone placed in front of the tomb was enormous. And not only that, but the Romans had sealed it, so that no one was allowed to move it without their permission. When they arrived at the tomb, the soldiers are unconscious, the stone had been moved and an angel, glowing no doubt like light itself is sitting on it. Knowing that the women were afraid, she said, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He’s not here. HE’s RISEN. He’s alive. The tomb is empty.” And what a promise that empty tomb holds for us. The empty tomb always reminds me of the story of Phillip. Phillip was in the second grade, but he never felt like he belonged. He was nice enough, but he looked somewhat different than the rest of the children and he had a hard time keeping up with them; the reason being that Phillip was born with Downs Syndrome. A couple of weeks before Easter, his teacher gave each child a plastic egg and asked each of them to go outside and find a symbol for new life and place it in the egg. Later the eggs were opened one at a time, with each child explaining the meaning of what was inside. In some were flowers, one had a beautiful butterfly, one had green grass. Finally the last egg was opened and there was nothing inside. “That’s stupid,” said one of the children. Another added, “Someone didn’t do it right.” The teacher felt a tug. It was Phillip who said, “That’s mine and I did do it right -- it’s empty because the tomb was empty.” There was an unusual quietness and strangely enough, from that time on, Phillip was accepted. Oh, Phillip continued to struggle with his many physical problems, but he always had a smile on his face. That summer Phillip became sick and within a few weeks had died. At his funeral his classmates, along with his teacher, brought their symbols of remembrance and placed them near the coffin. Their unusual gift of love to Phillip wasn’t flowers. It was empty plastic eggs. Phillip, the child who was different, helped his friends to see the wonderful hope in the Easter message. The fact that the tomb was empty is the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the promise that each one of us will be raised one day to eternal life. For those who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, death has lost its sting, --- it is no longer something to be feared. What fear is there when we have the promise that one day we will be raised from the grave and live forever with our Blessed Lord. After the angel had spoken to the women, they immediately went and told the Apostles what had taken place. Peter and John immediately ran back to the tomb to see for themselves. Peter ran right in, and it did not take him long to see that the tomb was indeed empty. Inside Peter found the clothes that Jesus had been buried in. If, someone had stolen the body, they would not have taken the time to remove, and fold the clothes. Oh, Jesus indeed is alive. The burial clothes bear witness to that fact. And friends, He’s just as much ALIVE today as he was then. He’s a living SAVIOR, and HE desire to have a personal relationship with each one of us, just as He did with His disciples over 2,000 years ago. The cross could not hold him, the tomb could not contain HIM, and the burial clothes were un- necessary, because Jesus is ALIVE. He had skin and bones, and a face, and was recognized by all who had known Him previously. He talked with them and they touched Him. He did it the days following His resurrection, and He does it still today, to all who will allow Him to reveal Himself. I want to ask you something this Easter Sunday. “Do know Jesus Christ?” I don’t mean, ‘do you know about Him,’ for we can know about someone, and still not really know them. You can know about Jesus, without knowing Him. To really know Him is to recognize Him as both Savior and Lord. Oh how I long for us to truly know Him as such. I guess the real question is, “Is His being alive effecting the way you live?” |
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