Sunday, April 16, 2006
Easter Sunday
Matthew 28:2-6 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."
THE EMPTY GRAVE
The earth begins to rumble, tremble and shake. A fiery figure comes streaking across the sky, down to the garden -- a young man dressed in a brilliant, shining white robe. He advances to the grave as Roman soldiers cower in fright, spread-eagled on their faces, shaking.
Nor have those legionnaires misjudged the strength of this single shining soldier of the heavenly host. With a flick of the wrist he sends the great rock rolling from its slot at the mouth of the tomb, toppling to the ground some distance away. The angel then calmly walks to the stone and seats himself on it, plainly unimpressed by the wax remains of the imperial seal of Tiberius Augustus Caesar.
The grave in the garden was revealed to be empty when the angel rolled the stone from its mouth. It had been empty ever since, in the darkness before dawn, the soul of Jesus re-entered His undecayed body -- and the limbs stirred, the heart again began beating. His body was restored to life, glorified. Jesus then left the sepulcher. The great stone could not prevent it -- and was left to guard His now unneeded grave clothes.
The resurrection from the dead -- that's what we celebrate today. Jesus physically returned to life from the dead. That's what the angel told the women. That's what the apostles' finally believed and taught and died confessing. That's why the original Greek of the creed named for them says, "I believe in the resurrection of the flesh".
It was the physical body of Jesus the crucified Christ that returned to life from death on the first Easter morning.
HALLELUJAH! AMEN!
