June 12 – And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre, and they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. Luke 24:2,3
I can, if you wish, take you to see the place where my father is buried, and within a few minutes, also guide you to the locations where each of my grandfathers, and at least one of my great-grandfathers are buried. Since their deaths, their remains have remained undisturbed, awaiting the day of resurrection. Over their graves stand monuments bearing their names and indicating the years of their birth and of their death, telling a sad tale of their mortality. How gloriously different the grave of the Lord Jesus!
On the first day of the week, we gather to remember the One Who could not be held by any grave, Whose body has not returned to dust, Whose death was temporary. Yes, we remember His death today, but we also remember that the stone was rolled away and the sepulchre in which He was laid is empty forever.
Did Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus expect Jesus to rise again? We don’t know, but we can guess that if they did not, they would at some point have sought to place an inscription on the stone naming and describing the One Whose body lay inside the sepulchre. They never got to carve that inscription. The One they laid inside did not remain there. Unlike the headstones of our fathers, and of ourselves in time, this stone has nothing to display and no sad tale to tell. If the stone were to bear an inscription, it would be the words of the angels in verse 6: He is not here, but is risen.
The empty sepulchre is a historic fact, witnessed by the group of devout women and others who had approached the garden that morning. They actually entered the sepulchre, and saw the empty place where the Lord’s body had lain. These devout followers also heard the words of the angels who asked them why they sought the Living among the dead. Angels, with all their power, could roll away the stone, but they could never give life to a dead body or empty a sepulchre. The angels were giving witness to One Who had laid down His life, and had – by the authority given Him by His Father – taken up His life again.
Our fathers died for their own sins, and remain in their graves. Jesus died for my sins and yours, and lives in the power of an endless life! -Jim MacIntosh