The Empty Tomb

Text: 1 Corinthians 15:19-26; John 20:1-18
Service Date: 4.20.25
Sermon:

• Today is a day to rejoice! Today is a day that we are celebrating the resurrection. Today is the day that we celebrate the empty tomb.
• As we look in the scripture, we see Mary Magdalene and the other disciples discovering the empty tomb. We see Mary Magdalene in tears due to Jesus’ body missing from the tomb. I must believe that the disciples had been mourning in the death of Jesus, who was crucified only a few days prior. Those emotions were still there. That wound was still raw. And yet, the disciples are now looking at an empty tomb, wondering if their savior was risen or if the body was stolen.
• They would have been solemn and scared. They would have felt a pit in their stomachs. Was the person that they followed for three years the person that he claimed to be? Or was this all a hoax and everything was now gone? And if it was real, what are they to do now? These are probably some of the questions and concerns that the disciples had before discovering the Risen King.
• Then, Mary Magdalene encountered the Risen King, Jesus Christ! Hope returned! Mary had not recognized Jesus at first. It seems that her grief had blinded her; I believe that she could not see him because her grief was too heavy, her focus was on her pain. Then he spoke her name, and immediately she recognized him. Imagine the love that flooded her heart when she heard his voice.  
• Mary did not meet the Risen Lord until she discovered the empty tomb. Similarly, we cannot meet Jesus until we discover that he is indeed alive, that his tomb is empty. It seems that God often meets with us in our darkness and in our times of mourning.
• With the revelation that Jesus resurrected, it seems that the disciples’ passion was reinvigorated. They found their hope and joy in the resurrection of the Risen King.
• I believe that this is a story that many of us can relate to, not just the joy of Jesus’ resurrection, but the reigniting of passion and hope in a time of hopelessness and mourning. I believe that this is a day that we can reimagine who we are as Christ followers and as people.
• Every single one of us has been hopeless. Every single one of us has mourned the loss of passion or the loss of love. Today is the day that we celebrate the resurrection of Hope. Today is the day that we celebrate the resurrection of love, the resurrection of passion. Today is the day that we can finally be at peace.

 
Conclusion: Let us be people who accept the hope and peace from God and can be at peace.