Advertise Your Business Or Website At HomewithGod.com


THE EMPTY TOMB

By George W. Sinquefield


Matthew 28:1 through Matthew 28:8 (KJV)
1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. 5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. 8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

        This Lord's Day, as we assemble together for this service, we are surrounded on every hand with the evidences of springtime. All nature is awaking from the slumbers of the winter. She is vibrant with a new life. The bursting buds, the singing birds, the golden sun, the   robe of green covering the field and forest -- give testimony to the fact of a resurgence of new life.

        There is an ever recurring resurgence of life in nature. Paul asked King Agrippa a serious question --

Acts 26:8 (KJV)
8 Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?

        Why should any intelligent being desire to believe that the resurrection of our Lord was an impossibility for the Almighty God to accomplish?

Genesis 17:1 (KJV)
1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

Luke 1:37 (KJV)
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Luke 18:27 (KJV)
27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

        Yet many embrace the heresy of the Sadducees and deny the resurrection.

Acts 1:1 through Acts 1:3 (KJV)
1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

        The American Standard version puts it like this:

Acts 1:1 through Acts 1:3 (ASV)
1 The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, 2 until the day in which he was received up, after that he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 to whom he also showed himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God:

      Jesus showed Himself alive by many infallible, convincing proofs after His resurrection. First to Mary Magdaline, to the women returning from the tomb, to Simon Peter, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and to all the apostles, except Thomas. Later to the apostle, Thomas being present. Then He met them by the seashore and ate with them and we are told that He appeared to more than 500.

        Dr. A. H. Cullen, "We are told that one eyewitness can establish murder, two eyewitnesses establish high treason, three eyewitnesses can execute a written will. Seven can execute an oral will. Seven is the largest number required by any court in our land. Yet, here we have the witness concerning the resurrection of Christ given by more than 500 men and women who looked upon Him.

Acts 10:39 through Acts 10:41 (KJV)
39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: 40 Him God raised up the third day, and showed him openly; 41 Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

        Once a Moslem said to a Christian, "We have proof in our religion which you do not have in yours. When we go to Mecca we can definitely identify the tomb of Mohammed, but when you go to Palestine you cannot." The answer is simple -- We have no tomb because we have no corpse. There is no decaying corpse at the center of our Christian faith.

        Dr. Ralph Grant said, "It is not enough to say that Christ lives in literature, art, music, and even in us, though He does. He lives in a risen glorified and ascended body at the right hand of God the Father."

        Lidden, "The empty tomb is the central sanctuary of the Christian faith. No other spot on earth says so much to Christian faith as does that tomb!"

Acts 2:29 through Acts 2:32 (KJV)
29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

        Could any message be more relevant for 1999 than this which energized the apostles and disciples? "Jesus and the resurrection" were the twin messages which the Apostle Paul proclaimed. Judas is dead; Caiaphas is dead; Pilate is dead; Herod is dead; Nero is dead; Stalin is dead; Khrushchev will die! But Jesus Christ the Lord is the living One  who became dead, and behold he is alive forever, and has the keys of hell and of death. At a time when a large segment of Christendom looks upon the Resurrection merely as an historical event in the remote past, it is imperative that the Christian Church and the individual Christian make crystal clear the relevancy of Christ's resurrection to the bewildered world of 1999.
 

I.     The Resurrection of Jesus was necessary for our salvation.

1 Corinthians 15:13 through 1 Corinthians 15:17 (KJV)
13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

        If there is no resurrection:

1.    Christ is still dead. Death would have the victory. Paul said, "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

2.    Preaching the gospel is all in vain. What is the gospel? The answer is found in :

1 Corinthians 15:3 through 1 Corinthians 15:8 (KJV)
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

1 Corinthians 1:21 (KJV)
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

Romans 1:14 through Romans 1:17 (KJV)
14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

3.    Our faith is vain. It is vain to place our faith in a dead Christ. If He could not overcome sin and death, He would be powerless to save others.

4.    We are yet in our sins. That means we are lost and on our way to hell an that would be the darkest possibility ever presented to man. "But" verse 20 declares:

1 Corinthians 15:20 (KJV)
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

        No wonder Fairbaun said, "If it be proved that no living Christ issued from the tomb of Jesus, then that tomb becomes the tomb, not of man but of religion." I would say that it becomes the tomb, not of religion, but of Christianity.

Romans 10:9 (KJV)
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

        It is faith in the living, reigning Lord that saves us from our sin. The redemptive work of Christ consists of more than His death on the cross; it includes His resurrection. If He is not risen, our faith is vain for it is faith in a dead Christ." The death of Jesus alone cannot justify a lost sinner.

Romans 4:25 (KJV)
25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

        What is justification? It is an act of God whereby a guilty sinner (when he repents and accepts Jesus as Savior) is declared free from all guilt, because Jesus paid the penalty for his sins on the cross of Calvary. Justification means "To announce the verdict 'not guilty.'" "Just as if I had never sinned."

        It is not enough for a sinner to be declared not guilty. He must be righteous if he is to stand acceptable in the presence of God. When a sinner repents of sin and accepts Jesus as Savior he has the righteousness of Christ imputed (put to his account) so that in reality he is righteous before God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV)
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

II.    The resurrection of Christ provides the motive to live for Him and serve Him.

        No one would be motivated to serve a dead Christ. What is a normal Christian? Watchman Nee wrote that the normal Christian life is a day of prayer, Bible reading, soul-winning and design for God to be in full control of one's life.

        A normal Christian is characterized by saying, "Speak Lord for thy servant heareth" and then acting upon what He says. The French infidel, Hume said, "You Christians live upon the fragrance of an empty tomb." No, it is not the fragrance, not the fancy, not the fable, but is the fact of an empty tomb. "The fact of His resurrection illumines our hearts, strengthens our wills and motivates us to greater service." Though the Holy Spirit Jesus is always with us. He said, "I am with you always." He said again, "I will never leave thee or forsake thee." Only a living Christ can fulfill that promise.

        A famous preacher once said that he would give ten years of his life if he could realize as fully, as keenly, as certainly, that Christ is alive as did the early Christians. And he added that he could do ten times more in the shorter life span if he had such a glorious realization.

        Before Jesus sent the early church out to evangelize the world, He had to prove to them that He was alive. A Frenchman once cried out, "Why will men follow Christ and not me and my teachings?" The answer came, "If you will die and come back alive from the grave in three days, men will follow you as they do Christ."

        A missionary to Turkey asked the question,
Suppose I were traveling a road and suddenly came to a fork and I did not know which way to turn. Then I discovered along     one fork a dead man and along the other was a living man. Which one should I as for directions? Those listening agreed that he should ask the living man. "Then, the missionary asked, "Why should I ask a dead Mohammed when I can ask and follow the Christ who is alive?"

        Erling C. Olsen said, "Whoever reads the New Testament seriously or give thought to the impact which the apostles made upon their generation, must acknowledge that one outstanding historic event alone spurred that small band of eleven men to an amazing task of evangelization in their generation. Defying every obstacle, loss of home, persecution, even death itself -- they evidenced the supreme relevance in their ministry of the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

III.    The Resurrection of Christ provides a power for our lives and service.

        In this day man handles power never dreamed by the ancients. Electrical power, atomic power, hydrogen power. These powers have been harnessed and put to work, but all the power known to man is but weak in comparison with the mighty power of god that was exercised when Christ, our Savior, came forth from the grave.

Ephesians 1:19 through Ephesians 1:20 (KJV)
19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

      Jesus stood on yonder side of the grave and cried, "I was dead and behold I am alive for ever more." God raised Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells every Christian.

1 Corinthians 6:19 (KJV)
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

        Oh, the power which is over as children of God. Power to live God-like, power to be an effective servant, power to do whatever He wants us to do.

Philippians 3:10 (KJV)
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

2 Corinthians 12:9 (KJV)
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Romans 8:11 (KJV)
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

IV.    The Resurrection of Jesus is our assurance of resurrection.

        By faith in Jesus, we experience the first resurrection which is the resurrection of the soul.

John 5:24 (KJV)
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

        Caesar stood in the Roman Senate and said, "If there be anything beyond the grave I cannot tell, if there be anything beyond the tomb I do not know." Ingersoll, the agnostic said, "Is there beyond the silent night an endless day? Is death a door that leads to light, we cannot say. The tongueless secrets locked in fate, we do not know. We hope and wait."

        Caesar didn't know but we who are God's children do know because His Word tells us so.

1 Corinthians 15:20 (KJV)
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

        At harvest time the Jews would gather a small bundle of grain and offer it as a thanks offering to God for the great harvest waiting to be gathered in.

        Christ is "the first fruits," the first to experience resurrection. He raised others to live out the remainder of their lives but they did not experience resurrection. The great harvest will be gathered in when Jesus comes.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 through 1 Thessalonians 4:18 (KJV)
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.