In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” Luke 24:5-6
In the early hours of the morning, the women came to the tomb of Jesus. They were like weary travelers looking for a place to stop and rest. But it was rest for their souls that they longed for. The one thing they needed more than anything else, the hope of salvation in the promised Messiah, must have seemed to them simply unobtainable. They had witnessed Jesus’ enemies crushing the life out of him. With his death, their hopes in him had also been crushed. So as they prepared to visit Jesus’ grave on that Sunday an open, empty tomb is not what the women expected to see.
However, they were met by heavenly receptionists–angels of heaven who brought them the news: “He is not here; he has risen.” Those weary and astonished women who had come to the tomb expecting to find it sealed with the dead body of Jesus inside, instead found that it was open and that Jesus was no longer there.
Jesus performed many miracles during his ministry here on earth. The Bible records some of them in detail: who Jesus healed, what Jesus said, and how the miracle affected people. There are other verses in the Bible which state in general that Jesus performed miracles for masses of people. But of all the miracles that Jesus did, the greatest is the one he did to himself–he came out of his tomb alive!
This miracle of miracles is vital for us. Like those women, we come to the empty tomb where God beckons us—the weary, the lost, the frustrated, the discouraged, all who are searching for shelter from the storms and trials of this earth.
The open tomb is our assurance that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. By the open tomb of Jesus, God says to us that he has accepted the sacrifice Jesus offered on the cross to pay for all of our sins. The open tomb testifies that Jesus is our Savior.
The open tomb is Jesus’ greatest miracle, and most meaningful for us!
Living Lord Jesus, your open tomb is the miracle that assures me that you are my Savior from sin. Fill my heart with the confidence that your ultimate power over death is also the great miracle that you will perform for me. Amen.
Living Hope Church 