AN EMPTY TOMB
INTRODUCTION
A. Halicarnassus (h²l”¹-kär-n²s“…s) is an ancient Greek city of southwest Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). In the 4th century B.C., Queen Artemisia wanted to honor her husband, so she built him a tomb. What would you think about your spouse if he/she hired a contractor to build you a tomb? This was no ordinary tomb; it was a magnificent structure. In fact , it became 1 of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world. As magnificent as the Mausoleum is, this tomb has not made the world a better place.
B. Today, I want to tell you about another tomb that has changed the world (Lu.23:50-24:12). The word “tomb” occurs 6 times in our text.
a. tomb (Greek.) – “a monument or memorial to perpetuate the memory of any person or thing; a sepulchral monument; a sepulcher or tomb”
b. tomb (English) – “a grave or other place of burial; a vault or chamber for burial of the dead”
C. When the Garden Tomb was discovered in 1885, General Gordon was convinced that this was the place where the body of Jesus had lain. There is a traditional tomb inside the wall of modern Jerusalem, but no certainty attaches to the site. The Garden Tomb, hidden for centuries, was covered with rubbish twenty feet high. When they 1st cleared the spot, with great caution they gathered all the dust and debris within the tomb and carefully shipped it to the Scientific Association of Great Britain. Every part of it was analyzed, but there was no trace of human remains. If this is the real tomb of Christ, then Jesus was the first to be laid there and he was also the last.
D. Know one knows with 100% certainty the location of the tomb where Jesus’ body had been laid. What we do know is that it was in a garden near the place of the crucifixion, that it was a new tomb hewn out of rock, had never been used until Jesus’ death & that it belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. Oh! There is one other thing we know – the tomb became empty!
A. (Lu.23:56-24:7) The women shouldn’t have been surprised that the tomb was empty.
B. (Lu.24:10,11) The apostles shouldn’t have been surprise that the tomb was empty.
C. (Lu.24:22-24) Cleopas & his companion shouldn’t have been surprised that the tomb was empty.
D. The resurrection of the Messiah had been prophesied (Psa.16:10).
II. THE EMPTY TOMB WAS WITNESSED
A. (2Cor.13:1) We have more than 2 or 3 witnesses to the empty tomb.
a. Mary Magdalene (Mt.28:1; Lu.24:10; Joh.20:11)
b. Mary the mother of James (Mr.16:1; Lu.24:10)
c. Salome (Mr.16:1)
d. Joanna (Lu.24:10)
e. other women out of Galilee (Lu.23:55; 24:10)
f. Peter (Lu.24:12; Joh.20:3-10)
g. John (Joh.20:3-10)
h. guards (Mt.28:4) – unbiased
B. The testimony of these witnesses corroborates one another & passed the acid test of the 1st century world. Even the “chief priest” & “elders” confirm their testimony (Mt.28:11-15).
A. After His crucifixion, 11 terrified men sat in a locked room afraid they too would be killed. From their perspective, when Jesus died so did their dreams for the future. The hope of His Resurrection wasn't something they seemed to take very seriously. Yet, days later they were boldly proclaiming Jesus’ tomb was empty.
a. Pentecost day (Ac.2:23,24,32)
b. after the healing of the lame man (Ac.3:14,15,26)
c. among the people of Jerusalem (Ac.4:33)
d. before the Jewish council (Ac.4:10; 5:30)
e. in Antioch of Pisidia (Ac.13:30-37)
f. to Cornelius (Ac.10:39-41)
g. to the Athenians (Ac.17:18)
B. It would have been impossible for the disciples to proclaim the resurrection in Jerusalem had the tomb not been empty.
a. would not have changed from cowards to brave men unless they knew the tomb was empty
b. would not have suffered persecution if they knew the tomb was not empty
c. would not have changed their life unless they knew the tomb was empty
CONCLUSION
In the early part of last century, a group of lawyers met in England to discuss the biblical accounts of Jesus’ resurrection. They wanted to see if sufficient information was available to make a case that would hold up in an English court of law. When their study was completed, they published the results of their investigation. They concluded that Christ's resurrection was one of the most well established facts of history!
In his little book, Countdown, G. B. Hardy has given us some thought-provoking questions about the resurrection. "There are but two essential requirements: 1. Has anyone cheated death and proved it? 2. Is it available to me? Here is the complete record: Confucius' tomb -- occupied. Buddha's tomb -- occupied. Mohammed's tomb -- occupied. Jesus' tomb -- empty!