The Tomb Is Empty! Christ Is Risen!

As kids, my friends and I loved to go exploring, and around my hometown there was much to explore. One day five or six of us decided to go exploring on the old Air Force base adjacent to town. Hopping on our bikes, we raced toward the base, ending up near some old airplane hangars and other buildings. As we peeked inside each structure, occasionally someone would yell, “Hey! Check this place out.” Peering through a dirty window or through some crack, often our response was something like, “It’s empty” or “There’s nothing in there” and we would move on to the next building. Eventually we found a hangar with its large doors wide open. This particular hangar had been slightly renovated into a storage facility. Naturally with the doors being wide open curiosity got the best of us, so we entered. In the middle of the building on the concrete floor, we discovered a very large deposit of seeds piled several feet high and several feet wide. We also discovered there were no adults present in the building. What a combination for adventure! Wondering how to best celebrate the occasion, we did what many kids would probably do – we played in that huge pile of seeds to our heart’s content!

I simply share that story as a segue to the story of Easter and Christ’s resurrection. Really, my story has little to do with the Easter story except in relationship to two words: “empty” and “celebrate.” We discovered that some of the old aircraft hangars and buildings were ‘empty’ and we certainly ‘celebrated’ our discovery of seeds in one of them. 

On the third day after Jesus’ death and burial, as it began to dawn on the first day after the Sabbath, some women headed “to look at the grave” (Mathew 28:1). They discovered the large stone that covered the entrance to the tomb had been rolled away. An angel told them that Jesus was not there, that he had been raised from the dead. The tomb was empty!  

Can you imagine the celebration among the early disciples as the truth of the resurrection began to sink in? The Church has been celebrating the resurrection of Christ ever since. Although every Sunday is a mini celebration of the resurrection and Easter 2024 has past, let’s continue to celebrate that glorious event. The tomb is empty! Christ is risen! 

Pastor John