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The Empty Tomb

By: Alan Harvey

Posted: June 5, 2019

Category: Daily Devotional

Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12

As I read these scripture readings and thought about the Spark Bible, I began to wonder how long did it take those women, who went to the tomb on Easter morning, to go from sad to glad? Did they set a record even though they were the first to be gifted with such glorious and startling news?

Now most of you know that I am not the pastor fascinated with motor cars, their various features and their speeds. Nevertheless, I was curious about seeing what vehicles could go from 0 to 100 mph in the shortest time period. Naturally I went to the Internet and viewed some remarkable test drives. It was astounding to see cars go from 0 to 100 mph in a matter of 5 seconds or less. Can you believe it … 5 seconds or less?! It takes minutes and seconds to cook a frozen dinner!!

We read

The women … hurried to the cave that contained Jesus’ body. [They carried the spices to rub on the body of Jesus. They had a job to do.

When the tomb of Jesus came into sight. They froze. Uh oh! They had forgotten about the huge stone that sealed the opening to the cave. How would they move it?

The women kept going to the cave anyway! As they came closer, the women could see that the stone had already been rolled away. They peeked inside. Ooh! It was dark in there. Brr! It was cold in there. Drip, drop! It was damp in there. What? It was empty in there! Jesus was gone!

An angel appeared. “Don’t be afraid!” the angel said. Jesus isn’t here. This is a place for the dead. Jesus is alive.” “Hurry,” the angel said, “go tell His disciples!”

How fast do you think those women ran? How swift were they to share the good news of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? If we had been with them, would we have outrun the women, or would they outrun us? We have good news to share, so let’s make haste in doing so … for there are still people who have not welcomed the Risen Savior into their hearts and lives.

Prayer

Hallelujah! Lord we are so thankful that the tomb was empty, Jesus is alive and that we, like the women, are gifted with good news to share. How lovely on the mountains are the feet of the ones who bring good news, who announce peace, and bring good news of happiness, who announce salvation and say to Zion, our God reigns.” Thank You, Lord! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.