AN EMPTY TOMB
Notes
Transcript
1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.
5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
8 And they remembered his words,
9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
Welcome to our Easter Service for 2021! As we celebrate an empty tomb, signifying the resurrection of Christ, today we can take assurance that we too will be raised from the dead, also. We find in all four Gospels where the resurrection of Jesus is described, and in each account we find the stone was rolled away and Jesus had resurrected! He no longer was dead, but was ALIVE! As we look through the life of Christ throughout the Gospels, and see the death, the burial, and the resurrection, we might be tempted to ask why Jesus had to die. Simply put, Tetelestai. It is finished. God’s divine plan for the redemption of man had been finished with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Resurrection
Resurrection
1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.
5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
At the first available time since the burial, Mary Magdalene, Mary (Jesus’ Aunt) and Salome, the mother of James & John, went out to purchase and prepare the spices to anoint the body of Christ. Why would they do this? Did they not know what had previously happened?
38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body.
39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.
40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
Nicodemus had brought an enormous amount of spices for the burial. Seventy five pounds equates to around $175,000-250,000. This was a royal and regal burial! Because of the promptness of the burial, it is possible the others knew nothing about the prior preparation and were preparing to anoint their beloved Lord. As they approached, a second earthquake had occurred and the stone that had been placed in front of the tomb was rolled away!
2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
The tomb was empty, and the angels confirmed the resurrection – why do you seek the living among the dead!
This give us great hope knowing that, because Jesus resurrected in a physical body, we have the same hope WE TOO will one day be resurrected!
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Sometimes we must be REMINDED that we will be going home in a new, perfect, glorified body, JUST LIKE JESUS DID!
Reminder
Reminder
6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
Prophecy is being fulfilled. Christ reminds the disciples three times prior to His death.
22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
44 “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”
33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”
The angels reminded the ladies what Jesus had said. Jesus had truly died, but he had risen from the dead as he’d predicted when telling them he would be crucified and rise on the third day. "And they remembered His words."
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Sometimes it takes a reminder to get us to remember what we have been told. It is no different as a Christian. We are told many things, given promises, and told of what will come – but there are times we don’t remember what we have been told. Because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is no penalty left to pay for sin, no more wrath of God to bear, no more guilt or liability to punishment – all has been completely paid for, and no guilt remains. They had been given hope through their remembrance!
Remembrance
Remembrance
8 And they remembered his words,
9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
Up until this point, they did not fully understand or believe what Jesus had said about his resurrection. They had not accepted, or maybe they didn’t want to BELIEVE what they had been told. NOW THEY REMEMBERED AND BELIEVED, and they became the very first witnesses to the resurrection! Because of this, they returned to the disciples to tell them the good news, also.
We have been given the good news – Jesus is risen! We do NOT serve a tomb, but a RISEN AND LIVING SAVIOR! What does it take for us to believe? Don’t we sometimes have to be reminded, just like the Mary’s, of the words Jesus continues to tell us.
7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
We know that Jesus will return, and what better time for us to look towards His return that the time we celebrate His resurrection?
Closing
We should never forget that there was no unknowns when it came to the death of Jesus. While we know Jesus asked His Father to allow the cup to pass, if there was any way it could happen, He yielded to the will of God. He had already given the apostles the prophecy of His death, burial, and resurrection. He knew what God’s will was, but it does not mean he was looking forward to the process. Yet because of Jesus’ faithfulness,
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
His sacrificial death was the very reason God loves His Son so much. Of course this does not mean that God does not love His Son just because of who He is. God naturally loves His Son just as any man loves his child. But God loves Jesus even more, in a much more special way, because Jesus was willing to pay such a price to bring men to God. Jesus died so that He might arise from the dead. He took the sin of man upon Himself to free man from sin. Today, are you willing to be freed from your sin? We all have sinned, and the earnings we receive for sin is death. But God loved us so much, that while we were still yet sinners, Christ died for us. Today, will you ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins? Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Altar Call
Salvation
Backsliden
Re-dedication
Transition to Communion - Deacons please come forward and prepare the elements.
Time of reflection - prepare oneself for communion. We are instructed by the apostle Paul to examine ourselves for sin in our lives, to confess those sins, and ask forgiveness before taking communion so that we can do so in a worthy manner.
Instructions:
Deacons will usher families one pew at a time.
Bottom contains bread, top contains juice. Eat and drink the elements, placing empty containers in the trash cans provided and return to you seat.
Please remember to maintain social distancing.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.
31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.
32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
The bread represents the body of Christ that died on the cross for our sins. He suffered many abuses on the way to the cross. He gave His all on the cross for us all.
The cup represents the blood of Christ that He shed on the cross for our sins. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:22 that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. Christ had to shed His blood for us. It was His blood sacrifice that was needed to save the world. His blood was enough for all those who would accept Him as their personal Savior.
Paul tells us that celebrating with these elements reminds Christians of the sacrifice Christ made for each of us. Let us take this time to honor the incredible sacrifice Jesus made for us, as believers.
Deacons usher one family at time, maintain 6 ft. distance.
“Blessed Be The Tie That Bind”