Second Presbyterian Church

"The Empty Tomb
Preaching From the Gospel of Luke"
November 13, 2005

Upcoming Events

Worship Schedule

Sermons

About the Church

• Accessibility to the Church

• Directions to the Church

• History of the Church

Church Staff

Groups & Organizations

• Boy Scouts of America - Troop 175

• Choirs

• Presbyterian Women

• SPY (Second Presbyterian Youth)

Committees

• Building & Grounds

• Church Growth

• Congregational Care & Fellowship

• Education & Nurture

• Finance

• Office & Personnel

• Stewardship

• Witness & Service

• Worship & Celebration

Ad Hoc Committees

• Architectural - Engineering

• Building Fund

Presbyterian Internet Sites of Interest

Virginia Links

• Virginia Cities

Web Site Statistics

Site Map

Second Presbyterian Church Homepage

Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2005 » Sermons for November 2005 » Sermons from the Series on Luke

#68 in the Series on Luke
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• Luke 24: 1-13

Earlier, as we entered the story about Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, I mentioned that we were entering the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no true Gospel without the crucifixion and death of Jesus of Nazareth. Today, and the next Sunday, we shall be passing through the rest of the heart of the Gospel, The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. The heart of our Christian Gospel is: Jesus died, Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus shall return. There is no Christianity without this heart to the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ!

The part of the gospel of Luke that we read today has to do with the empty tomb. The women, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the Mother of James (among others) had gone to the tomb very early on Sunday morning. They had brought their ointments with them, which were commonly used to prepare the body for the tomb.

When they arrived at the tomb, the women found the stone had been removed from the entrance and that the body was gone! The account in Luke noted that they were perplexed about finding no body. What could have happened to the body? Why would someone want to move the body somewhere else?

As they stood there in their confusion, the women suddenly noticed that there were two men in the tomb who were dressed in dazzling clothes. The women became frightened and fell down with their faces to the ground. The men asked the important question, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" The men continued,

He is not here, but 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 and on the third day rise.

The women remembered that Jesus had said these things. They ran back to the eleven and others and reported what they had seen and heard. "We went to the tomb! It's empty! Two men in dazzling clothes told us that Jesus was alive!"

Yeah, right. Tell me another one! It seemed like idle talk to the other followers, but not to Peter. He had wept bitterly over his denial of Jesus. He had a new and more realistic sense of himself and his weaknesses. No longer was his prideful self blinding him.

When Peter heard the report of the women, he also remembered the words of the Lord. He remembered Jesus trying to teach them what would happen to him, including that prediction that he would be raised from the dead! He ran to the tomb. Peter also found the tomb empty and the linen cloths by themselves. And he went home marveling at what had happened.

What had happened? They found an empty tomb. What could this mean? It is at this point that we jump ahead to our day and time. You see, the empty tomb is vital to our Gospel of the resurrected Messiah. It means that our risen and alive Lord is the one and the same as Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified and killed. No ghosts. No apparitions. No subjective contemplation of the resurrected kerygma (message). No rationalized attempt to explain away the resurrection on the subjective power of Jesus' message to love.

In the Apostles' Creed we state that when Jesus died he descended into hell. What that really means is that Jesus Christ really, truly died. The tomb was not empty, because Jesus didn't really die, but was put in a coma. Nor was it viable that Jesus' message is what lives on, for then there would be no empty tomb! Jesus really died. And the tomb was very empty.

The first ending of the Gospel of Mark is even more startling. It basically ends with verse 8 (chapter 16). The women had found the tomb empty, they had encountered what seemed to be an angel, and they left without telling anyone about what they had experienced, because they were afraid.

Sometimes I believe that we, today, make an arrogant mistake. Because of our so-called modern sophistication we just assume that these characters in the times of the ancient Bible were simplistic and naïve. We assume that it would be easier for them to believe that a person could be raised from the dead. I believe that it was just as hard for them to accept something so astounding as a dead person being raised to life as it is for us.

And that is why we have these few verses. The women encountered something virtually unthinkable and not understandable. The tomb was empty. And here were two angel-looking type men telling them, reminding them, that not only is Jesus alive, but HE HAD TOLD THEM SEVERAL TIMES THAT HE WOULD BE RAISED FROM THE DEAD!

I am reminded of Jesus' words to Thomas, in John's account of the resurrected Jesus. Thomas had finally gotten his wish; he had seen Jesus and the marks of the wounds on his hands and side. Thomas responds, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus said the following, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

That describes us. We have not been in the position to literally see Jesus as the Apostles, the witnesses, had. Yet we are especially blessed, because we believe the fact that the tomb is really empty, because Jesus rose from the dead. Praise the Lord! Amen.

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.