And
entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side,
dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them,
“Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.
He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. Mark
16:5-6
Open
and Empty
Three days after Jesus' dead
body was taken down from a Roman cross and put in a tomb, the tomb
was found open and empty. Many suggestions have been around for
centuries trying to explain away the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Some of the suggestions are that He wasn't really dead when He was
taken down from the cross to the absurd story that His disciples came
in the night and stole His body from under the noses of seasoned
Roman soldiers who were all sleeping on duty and then spreading the
story Jesus had risen from the dead.
When the guards reported the
empty tomb to the chief priests and the elders responsible for the
death of Jesus they were bribed to say Christ's disciples stole the
body while the guards slept (Matthew 28:11-15). In the Roman Army the
penalty for any soldier sleeping on duty was death (fustuarium).
The elders told the guards if the matter came to the governor's ears
they would satisfy him and keep them out of trouble (Matthew 28:14).
The guards accepted the bribe and spread the farfetched story that
Jesus' disciples had stolen His body.
The only plausible
consideration, and the only one that fully agrees with the eye
witness accounts, is God resurrected Christ from the grave and He is
alive today and seated at His right hand (Acts 1:9, Romans 8:34,
Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1). The question that leads all the rest
is if the resurrection of Jesus was concocted by His followers why
didn't the religious leaders simply produce His body? That would
have stopped Christianity in its tracks. The chief priests and elders
knew where He was buried. They put the guard detail at the tomb
themselves under the command of Pontius Pilate (Matthew 27:62-66)!
With the body missing from the
tomb there was no reasonable explanation for the chief priests and
elders as to how a sealed tomb with guards present could be open and
empty nor explain the guards fearful reaction to what actually
happened when the resurrection occurred. There was an earthquake and
an angel appeared and moved the stone from the mouth of the tomb and
sat on it and for fear of him they trembled and fell down as dead men
(Matthew 28:2-4). The elders could not deny the tomb was open and
empty. The only thing they could do was concoct the ludicrous story
that weak and unarmed disciples outwitted some of Rome's best
soldiers and made off with the body of Jesus.
All of the Christian faith
revolves around the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection is
the pivotal point of human history. Without it Christianity lapses
into simply a man-made religion and loses any relationship with the
Living God. If we only have hope in Christ in this life then we are
of all people the most to be pitied (1st Corinthians
15:19). That Jesus rose from the dead means He is now alive and
returning soon to restore and sit upon the throne of His ancestor
David to rule in righteousness forever (2nd Samuel 7:16,
Luke 1:32).
Easter is upon us and it is a
joyous time of celebration and anticipation of the Second Advent of
Christ. It is not about eggs and bunnies. It's about a Lamb. A Lamb
that was slain for the sins of the world even before its foundation
(1st Peter 1:18-20) and is risen from the dead and is
alive forevermore. Rejoice and praise God for the day! The tomb is
open and empty. Jesus Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Happy
Easter.
Ken
