Beside The Tomb - April 10,
2001
As Easter approaches this year I've been thinking
about something I never noticed before. On that first
Easter Sunday the most momentous event of all time
occurred. Jesus, who had been definitely dead, came back
to life and walked out of His own tomb -- and no one was
there to see it. It wasn't exactly a surprise, Jesus had
told His followers three times what would happen and
when, yet not one of them was there waiting for His
return. Even the Pharisees who didn't believe Jesus was
the real thing had heard about His promise and petitioned
Pilate to post guards at the tomb. Still Jesus' closest
friends and disciples were absent. These men had believed
Jesus to the point of leaving everything to follow Him.
They had seen Him heal the sick, calm the sea, feed the
hungry and evict demons with a word, yet His words about
His own death and resurrection fell on deaf ears. Oh,
they heard Him all right, they just didn't believe Him.
If they had, they would have been waiting to see Him walk
out of that tomb with their own eyes. The very ones who
had every reason to believe, didn't.
What about you? You've heard the facts, seen the
results in the lives of others, maybe even experienced a
miracle in your own life -- do you believe? You can
attend church, wear a cross around your neck, and tell
others you are a Christian, but when the moment of truth
comes, will you be waiting by the tomb? We can condemn
the disciples by saying, "How could they have missed it?"
But if we were walking in their shoes, would we have done
anything differently? I've got some news for you, if you
are following Christ you are walking in their shoes.
You've heard the ring of hammer on nail. You've seen
Christ's bruised and bloody body hoisted into the air on
a cruel wooden beam. You've heard those precious, swollen
lips utter final dying words. You've seen the spear
thrust into His side spilling out both water and blood.
You've watched the limp, lifeless body be lowered to the
ground, wrapped in burial clothes and carried away to a
cold, stone tomb. Now one by one the spectators turn and
walk away. Their eyes have seen, but their hearts remain
unchanged. They are through with Jesus. They know who He
was, they know what He did, but come Sunday morning they
won't be waiting at the tomb. Their life will go on as if
He was never there. What about you?
Where will you be this Easter Sunday? Will you be at
church, or will you be at the tomb? Will you be singing
the songs and celebrating the story, or will you be
watching with wide-eyed wonder as the stone is rolled
away and Jesus steps from the blackness of death into the
brilliance light of life. The experience can be yours,
but you must be willing to wait through the dark midnight
of doubt. The vigil won't be easy, there will be times
you'll want to give up and go home. But when the night is
over and Jesus appears in all His glory, with one look in
His eyes you'll know it was worth every long and lonely
minute beside the tomb.
