Easter - 2024
The “Empty” Promises of Easter
Easter is about
“Our getting something for nothing.”
(at least nothing that costs us)
God never makes a promise that is “Too good to be true”.
They are all just “True”.
Instead of
“Promises full of emptiness”,
on Easter,
God gave us
“Emptiness that is full of promise.”
The word “Empty” usually means something bad or negative.
The Two “Empty” Promises of Easter
Each promise is marked by something empty.
1. The “Empty” Cross.
“It is finished” = Forgiveness
2. The Promise of the “Empty” Grave.
I wonder what the women were thinking when they went.
Who was going to move the stone for them?
Don’t let fear cause you to do nothing.
“Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here; He has risen!”
EMPTY “Grave”
The Burial of Jesus (Luke 23)
“Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. 54 It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. 55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.”
-Luke 23:52-56
The Burial of Jesus (John 19)
“Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.” 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”
-John 19:38-42
“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.”
- Matthew 28:1-4
The women:
Dealt with their grief in a healthy way.
Did something.
In their fear, they were not paralyzed.
Were not gripped with fear.
They were blessed to be the first to hear the Good News of an “Empty” Grave.
Not “Empty” Things
Darkness from noon until 3:00pm on Friday.
A criminal became a Christian on the cross.
Jesus died on the Passover as our Passover Lamb.
Two Jewish leaders stepped up and buried Jesus.
Two earthquakes (Friday & Sunday).
An Angel scares the soldiers guarding the tomb.
Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene first.
The Grave is empty.
We are all offered forgiveness who believe.
God’s “Empties” are the very best “Empties” in the world:
An “Empty” Cross
An “Empty” Grave
An “Empty” Piece of paper listing all of our sins.
Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die…”
-John 11:26
The Angel said to the women Easter morning…
“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay.”
-Matthew 28:5,6
Pastor: The Bible says, and we rejoice that, “He has risen!”
All: HE HAS RISEN INDEED!