David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
April 7, 1985
Easter Sunday
The Empty Tomb and the Risen Savior
Matthew 28:1-10
Two thousand years ago the Apostle Paul said that the miracle of Easter was so important that Christianity would be meaningless without it. As he put it,
"If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain."
Even though the resurrection is if of utmost importance, it is still mysterious. Sometimes it takes the little ones of the world to show us the significance in a fresh way. One such incident has been related by Harry Pritchett. It's the story of a little boy named Philip. Philip was born with Down syndrome and was mildly retarded as a result. He was a pleasant child and seemed happy, but as the years went by he began to notice the difference between himself and other children.
When Philip was eight years old he went to the third grade Sunday school class at the local Methodist church. With all his differences Philip was not accepted easily by the other kids. They got along with each other but Philip never really became part of the group. The week after Easter the teacher came up with a special project. He brought in ten large plastic eggs - the kind that panty-hose come in. Each child received one. It was a beautiful spring day and the assignment was for each of them to go outside and find a symbol of new life; put it in the egg and bring it back to the class. They ate it up.
When they came back in they put their eggs on the table. The first one the teacher opened contained the small purple flower of a crocus. Another one contained a blade of grass and still another had a butterfly. The teacher opened the next one and there was nothing there. Like typical eight year olds, the other kids said, "That's stupid. Somebody did it wrong." About that time the teacher felt a tug on his shirt and he looked down to see Philip standing there. "It's mine." All the kids said, "You never do things right, Philip. There's nothing there." Philip answered, "I did do it right. It's empty - because the tomb is empty."
There is little wonder why Jesus says in Matthew 19:
"Heaven belongs to such as these."
Philip correctly saw that the empty tomb is a key to the Christian faith. The tomb itself is not important. Its value is that it is a sign that points to the resurrection. The resurrection sets Jesus apart from every other leader in history. The Jews believed in the resurrection but none of their kings experienced it. The apostle Peter emphasized that even King David's tomb still existed in their day. Mohammad was the founder of the Moslem religion but he did not rise from the dead. You can still go to his tomb, which is a popular attraction for tourists.
Around two hundred years ago the philosopher Voltaire, a leading critic of Christianity, was having a discussion with some other atheists. Tradition has it that Voltaire told them this:
"Gentlemen, it would be easy to start a new religion to compete with Christianity. All the founder would have to do is die and then be raised from the dead."
One of the fastest growing religions in our time has tried to do just this. I am referring to Communism. You may not think of it as a religion because they don't have any gods. But you would be wrong. Communism worships several gods and a few of them are on display.
Every year thousands of Russians line up in Moscow's Red Square to view the embalmed remains of Lenin. When he died back in 1924 the Soviets decided he would be a good candidate for "God-Building." That's exactly what they called it.
The preservation of Lenin's body was no simple matter. First they had to persuade his widow who wasn't too keen on the idea. When she finally agreed, the scientists on the "Immortalization Commission" worked around the clock to inhibit the rot and mold. Bear in mind that this was the first time anyone had tried to embalm a body for permanent public display.
After several weeks of feverish trial and error experiments, the Russians finally found a shrivel-proof preservative, which is still a closely guarded state secret. The Soviet Union has an official cult built around a lacquered corpse.
Christianity presents something far more dramatic - a risen Christ who is able to save us.
Matthew 28 contains three commands which are directed at everyone who hears the gospel. The first is that we must believe it. The early disciples thought it was too good to be true so it took awhile for it to sink in. Everything the angel tells them is meant to bring them to faith.
In verse 6 he encourages them to look at the empty slab Jesus had been on. Even today many people have been convinced of the truth of Christianity by studying the evidence of the empty tomb. Some have said the body was stolen, but whoever did it would have brought it out in the open to make the Christians look like fools. Others have said Jesus wasn't really dead and the cool tomb revived him. But Jesus had been scourged thirty-nine times, which was one stroke short of a death penalty by itself. And after six hours on a cross, followed by a spear thrust in the side, it would take more than a cool tomb to make you feel better. Finally, it has been claimed since ancient times that the disciples themselves took the body. The error of this theory is shown by the lives of the believers. People do not sacrifice their lives for something they know is a lie. There is every indication that they believed Jesus literally rose from the dead.
The second command from the angel is found in verse 7. He says:
"Go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead."
When someone has accepted Christ their first duty is to share it with others. In a way, I should not refer to this as a command because it makes it sound like we're going to be forced to do something distasteful. You may feel this way about witnessing, but the Bible always presents it as something that is so exciting you can't avoid it. If you have truly accepted Christ as your Savior and are not just going through the motions of being religious, you will have a desire to share about Christ. Tell others about what Christ has done for you.
The final command does not come from an angel but from Jesus. In verse 10 he tells them,
"Be not afraid."
People are afraid of many things and one of the main ones is death. If you do not believe in God, death holds no promises. Maybe you'll get a glass coffin like Lenin, but chances are no one will have more than fleeting memories of you a few decades after you are gone.
Jesus Christ not only conquered death, he also promises to resurrect everyone who believes in him. This is a very comforting promise.
You'll recall the young boy named Philip I told you about. Four months after that special Sunday school class, he died. His family had known since the time he was born that he wouldn't live out a full life span. Many other things had been wrong with his young body. And so, after catching an infection that most kids would have quickly gotten over, Philip died.
On the day of his funeral nine children marched right up to the altar. They didn't have flowers to cover the stark reality of death. They marched right up to the altar and laid on it - an Empty Plastic Egg.
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Typed on February 25, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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