The Significance of the Empty Tomb

Luke 24

May 28, 2023

Introduction: In Mark 9, we read these words: 31- The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after He is killed, He will rise three days later.  I Corinthians 15:20- But now, Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  “Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion. The resurrection lies at its heart. If you remove it, Christianity is destroyed.” Look at these facts about the resurrection:

• It affirms that Jesus is the Son of God:
• It proves His sacrifice has been accepted, and that the work of salvation has been completed:
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• Those who trust Him can walk in “newness of life” because He is alive and empowers our spiritual resurrection unto salvation:
• The Lord’s resurrection also declares to us that He is the Judge who will one day execute judgment upon the world

 It should come as no surprise that Satan has attacked the resurrection.

• His first lie was that the disciples came and stole away the body
• Satan’s second lie was that Jesus did not really die, but that He swooned and revived while lying in the cool tomb
•  Satan’s lies have continued down through history as many have tried to refute the gospel accounts and others have presented alternative gospels and messiahs of every description…

 The message of the gospel rests upon the death and resurrection of Jesus:  The reality of the resurrection was so important that the gospel accounts give irrefutable evidence to the fact…  Perplexed Hearts: He Opens the Tomb (1-12)  The earthquake and the angel opened the tomb, not to let Jesus out, but to let the witnesses in.  Jesus had told His followers more than once that he would suffer and die, and be raised from the dead.  It is sad when God’s people forget His Word and live defeated lives.  All that the evidence at the tomb said was that the body was gone, and that apparently there had been no violence.  It is one thing to see the empty tomb, but quite something else to meet the risen Christ.  Conclusion: What difference does the empty tomb make for us?