The Empty Tomb

Here is an article I wrote around Easter a couple of years ago. Hopefully it still holds up well today:

One can imagine what the women felt as they walked to Jesus’ tomb early that first Easter morning. They had likely spent the previous Sabbath day in fear and despair. All of their hopes and dreams had been dashed just two days before as their holy teacher was brutally murdered at the hands of his own people. The king and savior they had wished for had died the ignominious death of a common criminal. They did not even have the time to fully prepare His body for a proper burial before the start of the Sabbath.

Just a week before as Jesus rode into Jerusalem it seemed like the kingdom of God was imminent, but now their messianic expectations had faded. They were probably asking themselves questions like “How did we get from there to here? Why did this happen?” Unfortunately these were the kinds of questions for which there were no easy answers, so they focused on the practical matters of the here and now instead. It was much easier for them to contemplate how they were going to move the stone than to try to answer the more difficult question of what would happen to their fellowship.

The disciples’ faith at that time was shattered beyond any ordinary hope of recovery. Most of them had scattered in fear, and only John had been willing to stand with the women at the foot of the cross. Their dream of ushering in the kingdom of God had been washed away like so much flotsam, and their fragile alliance was on the verge of permanent collapse under the weight of Roman imperialism and the intolerance of the Jewish religious establishment.

So it is not without a certain amount of despair that these women walked to the tomb with their spices. It was probably only a short distance away, but the trip there could have felt longer than expected. Seeing the tomb would only make His death more real to them and touching His mutilated body again would remind them firsthand of the cruelty of a Roman crucifixion. It is a testament to their character that they continued on to the tomb. They wanted to pay their former master one last measure of respect and love even if it meant reliving those sad events.

Their pulses quickened when they saw that something had changed since their master was laid in His tomb. The massive stone blocking the entrance had been rolled away. Their hearts sank as they realized the most logical reason for this change in events. Someone had taken their Lord! His enemies could not even allow His body to rest in dignity! They hurried inside to confirm their suspicions, but then something totally unexpected happened.

The Gospels differ on the exact flow of events, but what they heard from the angels at the tomb was essentially the same. “He is not here. He is risen.” As the reality of the resurrection hit them they were overcome with both fear and joy. They initially did not understand the full truth of what had happened, but that did not prevent them from hurrying to tell the disciples of the glorious event.

It is interesting that women were the first ones chosen to proclaim the good news to others. Mark and John’s Gospels attest that Mary Magdalene was the first person to see Jesus in his resurrected body and tell the disciples (which led to her being called “the apostle to the apostles” by St. Augustine and some of the other early Church Fathers). Why did the events play out that way? The patriarchal culture that they lived in did not regard the testimony of a woman very highly, so if anything this would have raised doubts in the minds of those who heard their story.

Maybe God chose to reward them for their loyalty and steadfastness at the foot of the cross, or possibly the rest of Jesus’ followers were too depressed to even witness such a glorious event, much less comprehend it. It also had prophetic implications for the roles of women in the church once strictly patriarchal cultures were no longer the norm. In any case the fact that women were chosen first adds credibility to the resurrection. The Gospel writers had nothing to gain by recording the events in that manner. So what does this all mean?

The resurrection of Jesus Christ had established a new age of faith and belief. The proclamation of the gospel requires no special social status, intellectual might, or exceptional piety. All that is required is an open heart to accept God’s message and a willingness to share the good news with others. These women certainly exemplify these values, and they exhibit good examples of faith that we can look to for guidance almost 2000 years later.

All Christians, male or female, clergy or laity, have one primary mission that we share with these women: to proclaim the gospel. How we do this is manifested in different ways as we all have different gifts, and each of us have distinct roles within the Body of Christ. It can be as simple as reaching out to a stranger in need, telling our children about our faith, or comforting a friend in distress. In this way we are taking the message of the resurrection and living it out in faith supported by hope in Jesus Christ for our salvation and love of God and our fellow human beings.

The empty tomb gives us hope and adds meaning to our lives. As I Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Jesus’ passing from death unto life has opened the doorway to an existence that transcends ordinary human experience, and this hope should permeate all aspects of our lives.

Now that Jesus has conquered death we no longer have to live in fear or despair despite all the cruel things that are happening around us. We must look beyond the reality of the present age to an even greater reality. Jesus has risen, and the kingdom of God is truly in our midst. We have only to embrace it.