In this lesson we see the greatest miracle recorded in the New Testament. Without this miracle, there is no Easter...there is no Christianity.

It was on the Friday when Jesus was crucified that a spiritual darkness settled over Jerusalem. The hearts of Jesus’ followers were broken. The two men on the road to Emmaus expressed the feelings of everyone who had put their faith in Jesus when they said: We thought He was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. - Luke 24:21

The next day, Peter, John, and the other disciples experienced a very long and sad Saturday. They had given up everything to follow Jesus, and now He was dead. All their hopes and dreams, all their plans and their future, had collapsed in a heap at their feet. They spent all this Saturday feeling crushed, hopeless, confused, fearful, and devastated.

But they were in for a surprise! They had no idea what would happen the next day. But a miracle was about to occur which would change their lives and the life of every person in the world forever. The miracle was the resurrection of Jesus. He had died and now three days later He is alive again. Luke begins his account of the resurrection by introducing us to the empty tomb where Jesus had been laid.

THE EXPERIENCE OF THE EMPTY TOMB

THE VISITING WOMEN: Luke 24:1

A group of women came to the tomb on the morning after the Sabbath (which is our Sunday morning) bringing spices they had prepared to embalm the body of Jesus. They had seen Him die on the cross and be buried in the tomb on Friday, and they had no reason to expect anything would be different. They were devastated by His death but their love for Him remained strong.

Jesus had mentioned His resurrection on a number of occasions, but He was either not believed or not understood. The women did not have the slightest idea that He would be alive. Their arms were filled with embalming spices which tells us that they expected Jesus to be where He was laid two days earlier - but they were wrong.

THE MASSIVE STONE: Luke 24:2

Probably the biggest problem the women were discussing among themselves was how they were going to move the massive stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb. (Mark 16:3). However the women only discussed the stone for a short time, because they saw that it had already been moved away...before they got there. Jesus was buried in a tomb cut out of solid rock which had a very large, round, flat stone to cover the opening. The stone, standing on edge and set in a channel in front of the tomb opening, could be rolled away from the front of the tomb to allow entry. The opening of the tomb was probably between four and five feet high, because verse 12 says that Peter had to bend down to look inside. A round stone that was large enough to cover such an entrance probably weighed between 1 1/2 and 2 tons (3 to 4 thousand pounds). Scripture suggests that the stone had not been simply rolled along its channel in the normal way, but that it had been physically removed some distance away from the tomb. No wonder these women were shocked when they arrived.

Who could have removed something so heavy?

And why did the Roman guards not notice?

THE TOMB WAS EMPTY: Luke 24:3

The stone being moved was the first miracle of Easter. When the ladies looked inside the tomb they discovered the second miracle...It was empty! The stone was not moved so Jesus could get out; it was moved so people could look in and see that the tomb was empty.

The very heart of Christian belief rests squarely on the fact the women found no body in the tomb on Easter morning. No one has ever been able to disprove the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If the Jews or the Romans had been able to produce the body of Jesus to prove He was still dead, they would have done so in an instant to keep the story of a resurrection from spreading. But they could not produce a body. Many people refuse to believe that Jesus was resurrected, but their belief is not based on any proof - it is based on their opinion or on some vague “feeling”.

Jesus came back to life after being dead since the previous Friday. The empty tomb was even more startling because it happened right in Jerusalem. This was not out in the country somewhere, in some rural setting. The tomb was within walking distance of everyone in the city. This is definitely something that would be a top news story throughout the entire city. The Jewish leaders tried to prove that this was a hoax, a trick, a lie; but they were unable to do so because they could not find a body.

Most of the skeptics who study the evidence conclude that Jesus really was raised from the dead. The evidence is simply too overwhelming to believer otherwise.

THE EXPLANATION OF THE EMPTY TOMB: Luke 24:4-8

The women were “puzzled” (one translation says they were “greatly perplexed”) when they saw the tomb was empty. Then they were “terrified” when they saw two men in shining garments standing in the tomb. These were two angels who God sent to make sure everything went well with those who came and discovered the empty tomb (24:4-5).

Tombs all over the world are famous for the bodies they contain. But the tomb of Jesus is famous for the body it does not contain. The angels asked the women this question:
“Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive?” - Luke 24:5

In this way, the angels gave the women the assuring message that Jesus Christ was alive and would not be found in the domain of the dead.

The angels reminded the women that Jesus spoke of His resurrection. They told the women that they should have remembered this and should have expected it to happen. When the women heard this reminder from the angels, They remembered that Jesus had said this. - Luke 24:8

What had the women been thinking when Jesus mentioned the resurrection? Perhaps they thought it was a figure of speech or a parable. The same thing happens to us occasionally. We find ourselves saying, “But I did not know you were serious!” when we remember something someone has said.

Jesus had mentioned the resurrection on a number of occasions (Matthew 12:40; 16:21; John 2:19; 21). But it was not until the first Easter when the women stood before an empty tomb that His words took on fresh and serious meaning. He really did mean He was going to be raised from the dead on the third day.

THE DECLARATION OF THE WOMEN.

The women who went to the tomb were Mary Magdalene,
Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several others.
They told the disciples, and everyone else, what had happened. - Luke 24:9-10

This shows us the beautiful way that Christianity has elevated the role of women all over the world. Women were the first to discover the empty tomb. Women were going to anoint Jesus because of their love for Him. Women saw the angels. Women first saw the resurrected Lord. And it was women who first preached the Gospel as they returned to declare the good news of the resurrection to the others.

THE DISBELIEF OF THE DISCIPLES.

The disciples did not show much respect to the women who rushed back with news of the resurrection: The story sounded like nonsense to them, So, they did not believe it. - Luke 24:11

THE DECISION OF PETER: Luke 24:12

Suddenly Peter apparently thought better than to disbelieve these trusted women. He got up and rushed to the empty tomb and saw for himself that Jesus’ body was gone.

PETER’S DETERMINATION: Luke 24:12a

Peter took off running for the tomb where Jesus had been buried. Luke makes a point of Peter’s intensity to find out the truth about the risen Christ. In John’s Gospel we discover that Peter did not go to the tomb alone, but that John went with him (John 20:4). And John records that he outran Peter and got to the tomb first. Can you just see these two disciples racing each other, running as fast as they can to get to the tomb? Can you imagine what is going through their minds?

PETER’S DISCOVERY: Luke 24:12b

When Peter got to the tomb he stopped down and saw the empty grave clothes lying there. The tomb was not totally empty; the clothes in which Jesus had been wrapped were there (John 20:7). It was at this time, seeing the evidence, that John believed the report of the women (John 20:8). When John saw the grave clothes still lying there in the outline shape of a body he knew that a miracle - a resurrection - was the only explanation.

PETER’S DISBELIEF: Luke 24:12c

Peter was slower to believe. He saw the same things that John saw, but instead of believing, the Bible says he “Marveled”. Another translation says that Peter “Wondered what had happened”.
Many people today are like that. They look at the evidence for the resurrection of Christ and they marvel at it, or they wonder about it. They become perplexed or confused. But instead of just believing the evidence, they just think about it. But believing it is the only proper response to the evidence of the resurrection. Jesus said it would happen; it happened; and we should believe it happened.

THE EVIDENCE THAT JESUS IS ALIVE TODAY

It is one thing to believe that Jesus came out of the grave 2,000 years ago, and yet a further step of faith is to believe that such a historical act could have any effect or impact on your life today. We should all spread this resurrection story because it changes so many lives.

There are three kinds of evidence that confirm the resurrection story is true.

1. FORGIVENESS FOR THE PAST.

How is the resurrection connected to the forgiveness of your sins? Romans 4:25 says

Jesus was handed over to die because of our sins,
And He was raised from the dead to make us right with God.

“Handed over to die” was the crucifixion. “Raised from the dead” is the resurrection. If the only thing that happened in Jerusalem was Christ dying on the Cross, we would have no salvation - no eternal life - no hope or assurance for the future. Why not, you wonder? Because we would have no way of knowing whether what Christ did was acceptable to the Father as payment for the sins of the world...for our sins. But when Christ was resurrected, it showed that the Father accepted the sacrifice of the Son. God the Father accepted the sacrifice as a payment for the sins of everyone who puts their faith in Jesus. The resurrection is how we know our sins are forgiven. The fact that millions of Christians around the world live guilt-free lives is strong evidence that the resurrection really happened.

2. FELLOWSHIP IN THE PRESENT.

The resurrection is not just a historical fact. It also has enormous effect today and everyday. Because Jesus came out of the tomb, that means He is still alive today. He is ministering to everyone who believes in Him. We do not worship a dead Savior, but a living one! Jesus forgives our sins and comes to live within us through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9-11 says it this way:

You are not controlled by your sinful nature.
You are controlled by the Spirit
If you have the Spirit of God living in you.
(And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ
Living in them are not Christians at all.)
Since Christ lives within you,
Even though your body will die because of sin,
Your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God.
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.
And just as he raised Christ from the dead,
He will give life to your mortal body
By this same Spirit living within you.

Because Christ is alive we can have fellowship with Him any time we want to...every minute of every day. We can have His presence in our lives. Because of this we can be joyful as we go through the challenges of our lives. Jesus was not resurrected just to forgive us of our sins. He was raised to be a living Savior, a friend and a brother for all who will come to Him by faith.

3. FAITH IN THE FUTURE

Not only does the resurrection have an influence on my past (my sins are forgiven) and my present (I can have fellowship with the God of the universe), it also influences my future. I do not live in fear of my life on earth or my life after I die. People are fearful about many things -the doctor’s report from medical tests, flying on airplanes, not having money to live on. But none of those things can cloud the future of the person who knows the resurrected Savior. Because He was raised from the dead, you will be too.

If you ever hear that I have died, do not believe it! My “earth suit” will perish, but I will be more alive than I have ever been before because I will be in the presence of God the Father and His resurrected Son, Jesus Christ. That is not a boast; it is just a fact based on the death and resurrection of Jesus 2,000 years ago.

I know my sins would keep me out of heaven, and I know they have been paid for by Jesus. One of the things promised to those who believe in the resurrected Christ is the gift of eternal life (John 3:16). Whoever believes that promise, and I do, and have received that free gift, will never die, regardless of what happens to the tent you live in here on earth.

First Corinthians 15:20 describes Jesus as the “first fruits”. That is a reference to the Old Testament practice of presenting the very first part of the harvest to God as a statement of faith that He was going to bless the rest of the crop that would follow during the harvest season. The first fruits were a symbol of what was to follow. Therefore, Jesus was a symbol, by His resurrection, of all who would follow and likewise be resurrected as well. Jesus was the first to conquer death by His resurrection, and is a guarantee that all who believe in Him will conquer death as well.

If you have not looked at the evidence and believed in the resurrection, and then believed that the resurrected One is Lord and Savior of all, I encourage you to do so today.

We celebrate Easter once a year, but the resurrection is a miracle which has daily meaning for everyone who runs to the empty tomb and believes.