17th April 2022

The empty tomb. What’s in it for you?

… she [Mary Magdalene] came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
John 20:2 (NIV)

John’s account of the most extraordinary event of all time begins with an empty tomb. Mary Magdalene was the first person to see it, arriving at the place early, while it was still dark, and immediately seeing that the stone had been rolled away. Although the text doesn’t say this, she must have looked inside, but saw… there was, literally, no body there.

It’s worth taking a few minutes to reflect on what the empty tomb meant for everyone involved in this remarkable drama. And what it means for us today.

For Mary it meant that Jesus’ dead body must have been removed from the tomb – she didn’t immediately understand the significance of what had happened. For Joseph of Arimathea, who generously gave up his own tomb for Jesus, it meant he got his tomb back – Jesus didn’t need it anymore! For the Pharisees and the occupying Roman government, it meant that their troubles hadn’t ended, in fact they were only just beginning. For the disciples of Jesus standing trembling in the tomb, it meant their worst fears were now beginning to be replaced by hope. Hope that he really was alive and that they might see him again.

Some 2000 years later, what does the empty tomb mean for us? The empty tomb means that some day, our own tombs will be empty. The empty tomb means that because he lives forever, so also, will we live forever. The empty tomb means that Christ has united himself with us for eternity. 

Actually, the empty tomb is full: it is full of promise. For Mary Magdalene, for the disciples and for every human being.

Prayer
Almighty Father, as the angel said to the women at the tomb, “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said…” (Matthew 28:6). Let us rejoice at the promise given us by the empty tomb. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Study by Peter Mill

About the writer:
Peter Mill is a Minister in Grace Communion International and the Regional Pastor for Scotland, Ireland and Northern England

Local congregation:
GCI, Edinburgh.
Please email local congregational contact (below) for details of Edinburgh zoom service

Local congregational contact:
edinburgh@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church