The Tomb Is Empty (Luke 24:1-32)

The Tomb Is Empty…..Luke 24:1-32

Song: Because he lives I can face tomorrow…God sent his son, they call him Jesus

*Your presence in church today is a Universal evidence that the tomb is empty….An empty tomb is what birth all Christians.It is the foundation of Christianity . An occupied tomb means there is no testimony to stand on…today I decree your testimony shall manifest IJN

When Jesus rose again, death was also returned to its original state – meaning, its power was empty, just like the grave He walked out of.  This carnal flesh may die, but the spirit dwelling inside keeps living.  Now, there is nothing that can separate us from the Father’s love – that was the state man was created to live in.

The empty tomb to the child of God means that sin’s ability to keep us from God is empty, death’s power to separate us from God is empty and anything in this world that could try and keep us from knowing the love of Christ in our lives is empty!  And it’s all because the tomb of Jesus is empty.

There is nothing that’s more valuable than the emptiness of that place.

In John 17, Jesus prayed His High Priestly prayer and when He finished, this is what He said…

“Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”  – John 17:24 and 26

Today we celebrate the resurrection of our perfect Savior.  We rejoice that His love for us was so deep that He bore the sin of the world and redeemed us from eternal death that we could dwell with Him forever.  I pray that the reality of His empty tomb is as much of a blessing to you as it is to me IJN………

oh, how tragic it would be if this were not the case. "If Easter be not true,
/ Then faith must mount on broken wing.
/ Then hope no more immortal spring.
/ Love must lose its mighty urge.
/ Life prove a phantom and the dirge,
/ If Easter be not true."

But I am delighted to announce that it is true. No bones have been or ever will be discovered, for Jesus Christ on the first day of the week arose from the dead.
And with a mighty stride he came forth bursting the bonds of death. He is alive forevermore!

The greatest historical evidence for any historical fact is that an institution be built upon that fact. Any secular historian will tell you that the church of Jesus Christ began in the year 30 A.D. in Jerusalem, when the followers of Jesus of Nazareth began to proclaim ... That he had risen from the dead—
The church is built on an empty tomb. The greatest institution the world has ever seen, the largest institution that has ever existed on this planet, was built on a hole in the ground with nothing in it.

You may go to the tomb of Mohammed, and they will tell you, "Here lie the bones of the great prophet."

You may go the tomb of Napoleon, and they will say, "Here lie the bones of the emperor of France."

You may go to Moscow and see the tomb of Lenin, and they will say, "Here lie the bones of the great founder of Soviet Communism."

But you may go to the tomb of Jesus, and they will tell you, and you may walk in and see for yourself,

“Here lie the bones of no one. He is not here. He is risen, as he said he would." The message from the empty tomb is a message of hope.

This term “empty tomb” is both Universal and relative. It is Universal because it can never be contested that Jesus came, suffered, died, rose up and he is now in heaven where he has gone to prepare a place for us that where he is, for everyone who is living a holy life might come there to reign with him.

It is relative because when you still live in sin, enjoy sin, play with it, dine with it …Your tomb is yet to be empty..it literarily means you are nailing him to the cross again and again.

Benefits of the Empty Tomb to all:

1. Salvation of Mankind: Acts 4:12,Titus 3:5.Eph 4:8-16,1 Pet 2:9

The fact that the tomb is empty is a reminder that Jesus is alive and that his death and resurrection gave us the opportunity to be called saved and redeemed from our sins.

2. Access to Eternal life. This means as believers we will attain new resurrection body just like Jesus. 1 Cor 15:51-58.

The Empty Tomb doesn’t just say that one day we’ll go to heaven and get compensated for our loses here on earth.  No.  The message of the Empty Tomb is God’s promise that He is going to renew this material world.  The message of the Empty Tomb stands against the thinking that one day the soul will be liberated, and we will live in some ethereal bodiless afterlife. ……

Notice what St. Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians: ”When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true:

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  Paul does not write that the perishable will put on the immaterial.  He writes that the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable.  This means that our future is more physical not less.

The physical resurrection of Jesus and his eternal possession of a physical resurrection body gives clear affirmation of the goodness of the material creation that God originally made.  In other words, with the Empty Tomb, God is once again proclaiming over His creation that It is good!

What do we think Jesus meant when he said pray this way:  Thy Kingdom come thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.  The Empty Tomb is the first great answer to that prayer.

The living God did not shun this real world but came into the very thick of it, hugging unwanted children, forgiving prostitutes, dining with the lowest of society, saving wretches like you and me and getting his hands dirty in acts of mercy, blessing, and love.  These acts of mercy were so real and so deep that they could not be crushed by death itself.

The Empty Tomb is God’s great guarantee that, at the end of the day, beauty will not be sullied, truth will not be denied, goodness will not be overcome, and pandemics will not have the last word.  That’s the message of the Empty Tomb, and that’s what we celebrate this Easter.

3.The LIVING HOPE in all you are going through. Try to picture the scene when you find yourself down and in need of hope.  But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.  And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.  Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” (John 20:11-13) That was the scene just moments before Mary became the first witness to the greatest miracle to ever take place – the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus from dead.  Try to imagine the scene – she is standing outside the tomb and sees the stone has been rolled away (a feat that no human could have done alone).
She’s weeping.  She’s sobbing.  Her emotions are going from bad to worse – not only is He dead, but they’ve gotten rid of His Body too (something very disgraceful in the ancient Hebrew culture).
A bad day just became worse and you can imagine her feeling standing inside that tomb – that empty tomb.  Crushed.  Depressed.  Defeated.  Hopeless.  The tomb was the worst place ever.
But then it all changed.  It all changed when she saw Jesus.  He appeared to her and called her by name, “Mary.”  She recognized Him immediately and that was it.

That changed everything.
Defeat turned to victory.  Depression turned to joy.  Hopelessness turned to hope…real hope…the kind that cannot be taken away, even by death itself!  What a turning point.

And where did it all take place?  IN AN EMPTY TOMB!

Stand by Mary inside the tomb and see that it is empty and the stone has been rolled away.  The bad guys tried to kill Him and they tried to lock Him in there, but they couldn’t.  No man or no stone or no nothing could keep Him in there!
As the angel said to the women, “He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.” (Mark 16:6).

I think we all need to take the angel’s advice.
Feeling down?  See the place where they laid Him – look to the empty tomb. Feeling defeated?  See the place where they laid Him – look to the empty tomb.
Hopeless?  Weak?  In need of a miracle?  See the place where they laid Him – look to the empty tomb.

Conclusion

Whatever your situation might be, go to the tomb of Jesus and as long as it’s still empty (and it is, I checked this morning), then there’s hope.  There’s always hope!  There’s always hope because that tomb is empty and our Savior is alive!

Prayer:Alter Call,those who want their tomb to be empty and want to give their life to Jesus.

Prayer Points..
-My father,bring to life every thing dead in me.