“He is not here; he has risen!”
(Luke 24:6)
Reflection:
The empty tomb is important in a number of ways. And for us to realise its full significance the disciples had to be able to see into it and even enter it. So the stone had to be removed. This could not happen by human action for the guards would have prevented it. Instead Matthew tells us that
“An angel of the Lord came down from heaven
and, going to the tomb,
rolled back the stone and sat on it”
(Matthew 28:2)
The guards, quite understandably, “were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.”
When the disciples arrived and entered the tomb the found the strips of linen lying there and the burial cloth folded carefully and laid down separately. Jesus body had clearly not been taken away nor had He needed any help, but had risen and left the tomb by Himself. It would have seemed to the disciples that He had vacated the linen cloths that had collapsed without Him, taken off and folded the head cloth, and left by His own power in His own time. As Peter Marshall wrote, “The stone was rolled away from the entrance not to permit Jesus to come out, but to enable the disciples to enter.”
Such was the impact of this that John, one of the two who entered the tomb, could later write of himself,
“The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first,
also went inside. He saw and believed”
(John 20:8)
There was more to the empty tomb but for the moment this was sufficient and paramount. Jesus Christ has risen and left the tomb by the power and authority of God. As He had foretold He had laid down His life and taken it up again.
“I lay down my life–only to take it up again.
No one takes it from me,
but I lay it down of my own accord.
I have authority to lay it down
and authority to take it up again”
(John 10:17-18)
Response:
Jesus Christ is alive today
Prayer:
Lord Jesus I acknowledge You as the King eternal and my Lord and Saviour for today and every day. Amen.
—————–
The Soaring Eagle 