On This Easter... Jesus Was Not in the Tomb

On this Easter, I invite you to consider four key implications as you celebrate your day because Jesus was not in the tomb.

Jesus Was Not in the Tomb – He had victory over death

The ladies went to the tomb because Jesus should have been there. Since Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, every person who had died was there three day days later. If you place a dead body – especially a body that had been beaten so brutally, then hung on the cross to eventually die of suffocation, and also one whose heart had been pierced with a sword – in the grave, all of human experience tells us that the dead body will remain there. However, not on this day. Why? Because Jesus was resurrected.

Mary and the other women approached the tomb. As they did, they saw the stone rolled away. The soldiers were no longer there. The seal of the tomb broken. The angel told them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.” (Mark 16:6). The angel explained the simple truth that bore out throughout the day, He is risen. Their eyes did not fool them; He was not there. Instead, Jesus beat death for us.

Since Jesus beat death for us, we face death without fear. Read the words of the Apostle Paul as he explains the significance of Jesus having victory over death:

⁵⁴So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵“O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:54-58)

Jesus Was Not in the Tomb – Just as He said

The disciples at this point had not placed it all together. Jesus told them all more than once that this was going to happen. He gave them enough information to piece all this together. Luke explains what this sounded like at the tomb on that Resurrection Sunday as the angels spoke to the ladies:

⁵Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, ⁷saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ” (Luke 24:5-7)

The angel reminded them – this is exactly what Jesus said to you when He was in Galilee. Jesus predicted this. As often happened until after the Resurrection, they misunderstood to what He was referring. Only after the Resurrection through the Holy Spirit did they put it all together.

Jesus told them much earlier that He must suffer (Luke 9:22). As time continued to elapse, Jesus shared increasingly greater details (Luke 9:22, 44; 12:50; 13:32, 33; 17:25). He pointed out the fact that the prophets had prophesied of this (Luke 18:31), that He would be delivered over to the Gentiles (Luke 18:32), and that He would rise again (Luke 18:33). They simply had not understood until this point (Luke 18:34).

Jesus Was Not in the Tomb – Go tell the others

The ladies were instructed to go tell the others. Matthew in his Gospel describes it this way:

But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” (Matthew 28:5-7)

“Go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead!”

These words are no less true today for each of us. Go quickly and tell others that Jesus is risen from the dead!

Whereas in the earlier ministry of Jesus, He often would ask people to not tell anyone about Him since it was not yet time for others to know, that is not the case any longer. The story must be told. As Matthew wraps up his Gospel account, he quotes Jesus as saying,

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Jesus Was Not in the Tomb – You have resurrection power to live

The eternal significance of the tomb already leaves us in a state of awe. However, it gets better. Hard to imagine I know, but God delivers through the resurrection of Christ in a way that overwhelms us. The power of the resurrection gives us the power to live as well – power to live eternally and power to live today.

In John’s Gospel when Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). Jesus explains to Martha that the power of the resurrection provides those who believe in Jesus the power to live eternally. Incredible! But the resurrection offers more.

The Apostle Paul makes it clear that the resurrection power includes not just eternal power but power for daily living as well. He prayed that we would learn about it. Paul asked God to give all of us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, your eyes spiritually opened, that you may know:

…what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. (Eph 1:19-20)

Get this. The power that brought Jesus out of the grave works in you as well because it is the exact same power. Resurrection Power. Fellow follower of Jesus Christ, this. is. incredible. Power for eternity. Power for today. God provided the resurrection power to you for both.