He is not here.

Welcome to OnMission.

Today we stand outside a tomb. The commotion has passed. The tomb is indeed empty. We again peer into this vault that was once sealed by sin and death. He is not here. Neither death nor sin nor this tomb could constrain Him. Darkness could not overcome His Light. Death has lost its sting for all who, faced with the irrefutable fact that He is not here, now believe.

Can you imagine? He is risen. The implications are immense and the repercussions echo through eternity.

As we turn now to hear and contemplate God’s Word, let us pray:

Holy God, have mercy on us according to Your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy open our eyes to the Truth.

Give us eyes that see… help us understand the amazing Truth and the implications of this fact that He is risen.

May only Your Truth be spoken and heard. In the mighty Name of our risen Lord and Saviour, we pray.

Amen

Our reading today is from the Gospel inspired by God in Luke, chapter 23 verse 55 to chapter 24, verse 8:

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment, but on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

While they were confused about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling white garments.

The women were frightened.

As they bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, He has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified but on the third day He would rise.”

It was then the women remembered Jesus’ words.

Here is the OnMission message entitled, He is not here.

Come stand with me here today. It is the place where Jesus lay.[1] See the empty tomb.[2]

 The commotion has passed. The investigations and accusations are now focused elsewhere.[3] The tomb is empty.

 What happened here has been widely reported and the news quickly spread throughout the city and spilled into the countryside.

 He is not here[4] - the tomb is empty.

Two well-known leaders among the Jews, Joseph the Arimathean and Nicodemus received permission from the Romans to take His dead crucified body from the cross. They retrieved Him from the place of skulls and laid Him here in this new tomb that Joseph had actually been preparing for himself.[5] They hurried to entomb Him as the light receded and the Sabbath approached.[6]

The women who had watched Him die saw Him laid in the tomb.[7] They saw Him quickly wrapped in a shroud, strips of linen and a face cloth[8] - the smell of myrrh and aloe[9] filled this place of death as the huge stone sealed the tomb.[10] It seems the women had decided they would return later to properly anoint and prepare Him for death.[11]

On the Sabbath, they rested according to the Law.[12] The Passover Sabbath first, then the Sabbath of the feast of unleavened bread. It would be two more days before they could return on the third day to properly care for Jesus’ body.[13] For three days Jesus would lie dead in that tomb.[14]

But when they returned, He was not there.

See this tomb where Jesus laid - it is cut right into the rock[15] upon which Jerusalem itself is built.[16] This is a secure vault - once closed by that massive stone,[17] there is no way in and certainly none laid here would escape either death or this tomb.

Yet the stone now lies over there,[18] and He is not here.

This is a new tomb.[19] Untouched by the dead. Never before cradling a man in death.

The people of Nazareth remember this man and His mother. They say she claims His was a virgin birth- she claims God had established her pregnancy; that she was untouched by man yet her virgin body nurtured His life. [20]

Now some people are calling Jesus, the Son of God[21] - they now remember how many times He had responded to questions about Himself saying ἐγώ εἰμί I AM[22] … and then described some nature of God Himself? ἐγώ εἰμί I AM - the sacred Name of God.[23]

Was He born of God? He was murdered by man.[24] He was dead.[25] Yet He is not here?[26]

The grave clothes had been left here[27] as if to say, "I have no need of them."

Clothes, the product of sin in Eden[28] are cast away, with the one cloth that had covered His face neatly folded and discarded to one side.[29] It is almost as if He is saying, I am finished here.

He said He is finished as He hung on the cross.[30]

He is finished with the cross – and now it seems He has finished with the grave as well.[31]

This tomb is a truly expensive grave. Is there irony in this? Is this yet another of Jesus’ parables - one lived rather than spoken?

Jesus who warned of death earned by chasing after rusting treasures; Jesus who warned of the mortal danger in coveting wealth and lusting for luxury; Jesus who warned of the condemnation earned through pride was laid here in a rich man’s tomb.[32]

He was laid here poor, scorned and murdered among the rich, honoured dead.

Those who struggled in life for reputation and recognition - dignity and honour; those who took God’s abundance for themselves; those who demanded more, bigger and better; those who hoarded for themselves lay here stripped of everything. But He is risen, as they remain in their luxuriant graves.

What does it mean?

Are we not forced to ask, what possible benefit is wealth here among a community of bones?[33]

I wonder, would any of these dead ever surrender their wealth now to live? Sadly, I suspect most still would not.[34] Such is the grip of pride and greed - they grip us just as tightly as we grasp them.

Sadly, we will cling to wealth and the signs of status even as our grasping fingers become bones and those bones turn to dust.[35]

We all know others live in need; they suffer without basic necessities yet still, we do not have that compassion this Jesus said would be the mark by which His followers would be known. We know well that all we grasp and covet in life will be ripped from us in death. And worse, we know these things we covet and hoard will convict us before God[36]… yet still, somehow we choose them over Love for others – we choose them over God. We all know this. It is obvious in God’s Word. It is hard not to see it. Yet somehow our eyes remain closed and our hearts hard.

See the tomb. What has value here?

These expensive tombs imprison those who might have used God’s abundance to serve Him but chose instead to chisel out these luxurious graves.

If God is just a myth, then I suppose this way and these choices make a sort of sense. But if we believe, surely it would be different -  surely none would hoard so much while others suffer in need. This is the challenging Truth spoken by this poor despised Jesus among the honoured rich and famous; but look, He is no longer here among their graves. This extravagant grave He was laid in would not, could not hold Him. He had told His followers He would be killed and would rise from death. And see, He is not here.

Death is a wage He did not earn.[37]

He did not forge the chains that bind sinners.[38]

He did not accumulate the eternal debts of decadent depravity.[39]

Did He not promise those who knew Him and Loved Him redemption from their debts, enslavements and bondage?[40]

Did He not promise those who would follow Him and so Love others resurrection from death?[41]

Why do so few believe?[42]

Why do so few Love?

Why do so few follow?

Why do we choose hard graves over soft hearts?[43]

Here He was laid, but here He did not stay.[44]

The tomb was sealed by the temple to guarantee there could be no tampering with the grave. Though they had missed and misconstrued much else, the Jews noted and sealed His death as if to affirm and confirm it. There is no doubt - He was dead. But still, see He is not here.[45]

Many hundreds have encountered Jesus alive[46] and the number of witnesses is growing. Mary, the one from Magdala claims He stood here outside this tomb.[47] Others saw Him in the countryside.[48] Some say He appeared in rooms locked tight and barred.[49] Unlike a mere apparition, He broke bread, ate, and drank with His followers.[50] They held His scarred hands. He showed them the wound where the Roman spear was thrust deep into His side. He was dead, yet now is alive. They have seen and they believe.

People tell how He opened the Scripture to them - they understood Torah as they never had before. They say their hearts burned, they filled with joy, and their eyes opened… in an instant, their lives had changed. Now, their desires and ambitions are for God alone … they feel deeper love and compassion… they know a Truth beyond any of the platitudes merely spoken in our rituals among polite religious societies... He has risen … just as He had said.

Scripture - like this tomb, had once held only death and condemnation for them.  Now it is open and God’s compassion is revealed in His offer of redemption, restoration and life eternal – death and grave have no sting.

His birth, His death and His resurrection are so clearly spoken by the prophets … our need of a Saviour is so obvious in the Law … the Love of God is so evident even as His wrath burned among an idolatrous and stubborn Israel. Jesus is there, everywhere, revealed in the ancient Word.

Even His cry upon the cross that so many claim was abandonment was not that at all … in His tortured agony as He endured our sin upon the rebel’s cross, He recites the Scriptures that speak of that very moment as it is recorded in the Psalm… it is a cry of faith, of restoration… even a cry of victory.

Now, He is finished with this tomb. A borrowed tomb because He had no need of a permanent place. Death and the grave could not and so would not hold Him.

See the tomb where Jesus lay. It is empty. He is not here. He lives. Alleluia.

…

Today, almost two thousand years later, we might ask, “Where is this tomb that I might go there and see?”

Some say it is here and others there.

We don’t know where it is. Jesus has no need of it, and really, neither do His followers.

The only significance of the tomb is that it is empty. Our faith rests in God not graves.

Sure we might walk the countryside where Jesus walked and meditate on the immense implications of the fact that Jesus was born, killed, buried and is risen. Yes, sit in a garden, read Scripture and eat and drink in memory of Him … it is a beautiful physical act that draws us close to Him in remembrance.

The tomb is empty. He is alive. He is the God the Son.

When you more than just know this to be true – when you believe in your heart, it changes who you are – it changes everything. Amen

Will you pray with me?

As we read God’s Word we stand before the empty grave. It amazes us.

We bear witness of His Love that “overcame the sting of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers”[51]. It amazes us.

As we contemplate that wondrous truth, He is not here, how can we not be “cut to the heart.”[52] Jesus was killed bearing and enduring our sin, yet He rose still offering us His Love. His Light is not overcome by darkness. His Love is not overcome by sin. His Way is compassion, mercy and grace. He calls us to follow Him.

Today, Holy God work in us so that we might grasp the vast extent of Your Love; that we might receive Your Love and so respond in Love – let us be Your people – let us reflect You in all the world – let us truly follow Jesus.

We pray in Jesus’ mighty Name and by the power of God the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[1] Matthew 28:60, Mark 15:47, Luke 23:53, John 19:41-42

[2] Matthew 28:6, Mark 16:6, Luke 24:3, 24:12, John 20:5-9

[3] Matthew 28:11-15

[4] Matthew 28:6, Mark 16:6,

[5] Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42

[6] Matthew 27:57, Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, John 19:42

[7] Matthew 27:61, Mark 15:47, Luke23:55-56

[8] Matthew 27:59, Mark 15:46, Luke 23:53, John 19:40

[9] Matthew 27:60, John 19:39-40

[10] Matthew 27:60, Mark 15:46

[11] Luke 23:55-56, Luke 24:1 see Matthew 27:61, Mark 15:47-16-1

[12] Luke 23:54-56 see Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1

[13]  See Matthew 27:24

[14] Acts 10:40 See Matthew 12:40, 16:21, 24:40, Mark 9:31, Luke 24:7, 1 Corinthians 15:4

[15] Matthew 27:60, Mark 15:46 Luke 23:53, John 19:41

[16] See Isaiah 25:7

[17] Matthew 27:60, Mark 16:4

[18] Matthew 28:2, Mark 16:4, Luke 24:2, John 20:1

[19] Matthew 27:60, Luke 23:53, John 19:41

[20] Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:26-38, 46-55

[21] Matthew 14:33, Matthew 27:54, Mark 15:39, John 19:7, 20:31 interesting Note, satan (Matthew 4:3, 4:6) and demons (Matthew 8:29, Mark 5:7, Luke 8:28) knew this before we recognized Him;   In addition to the above, He is called the “Son of God” 18 times in the Epistles. These are by: The Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:37), Saul / Paul (Acts 9:20, Romans 1:4, 2 Corinthians 1:19, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 4:13), In Hebrews: 4:14, 6:6, 7:3, 10:29), the Apostle John 1 Johns 3:8, 4:15, 5:5,10,12,13,20 and finally by Jesus Himself 2:18.

[22] I AM the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51); I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12); I AM the Door of the Sheep (John 10:7, 9); I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14); I AM the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25); I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6); and I AM the True Vine (John 15:1, 5); also see

[23] The name “I AM” referring to God (remembering God is in Trinity) is heard more than 300 times in the Bible, see Genesis (15:1) for the first and Revelation 22:16 for the last. In John 5:18 we see what contemporary understanding of these statements is “He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” And in John 8:56-59 “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM. So they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.”

[24] Acts 3:15, 5:30, 10:39

[25] Mark 15:44-45, John 19:33

[26] See above, but also Acts 2:24, 2:32, 3:26 10:40

[27] Luke 24:12, John 20:5

[28] Genesis 3:21

[29] John 20:7

[30] John 19:30

[31] Acts 2:24

[32] See Matthew 6:19-24, Luke 12:13-21. 16:19-31, 18:9-14, 1 Timothy 6:9

[33] Romans 1:32, 6:21 see Proverbs 14:12

[34] Luke 12:21, James 5:3 see Matthew 6:19-24

[35] James 5:1-4, Luke 12:21

[36] Ibid, see 1 Timothy 6:9

[37] Romans 6:23

[38] 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 John 3:5. 1 Peter 2:22

[39] Matthew 6:12-15, 18:21, Luke 7:36-47 see Romans 6:16-23

[40] John 8:32*36, Acts 3:26, 1 John 1:19, Galatians 5:1

[41] Luke 4:18, John 3:16, 8:32-36 see 1 John 1:7-9

[42] Isaiah 53:1-3

[43] Matthew 6:24, 7:13-14, 22:14, Romans 1:32, 6:21, James 4:17, 1 John  1:8-10, Hebrews 10:26

[44] Acts 2:24, 3:26

[45] Matthew 27:62-66, Act 2:24

[46] 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

[47] John 20:1-18

[48] Mark 16:12-13; Luke 24:13-35

[49] Mark 16:14; Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-31

[50] Luke 24:41-43, John 21:12-14

[51] Te Deum 1 Corinthians 15:55-56

[52] Acts 2:37