Matthew 28: 5 – 7A “The angel said to the women, ‘Don’t be afraid.  I know you are looking for Jesus, the one who was killed on the cross.  But he is not here.  He has risen from death, as he said he would.  Come and see the place where his body was.  And go quickly and tell his followers Jesus has risen from death.’”

There are certain universal phrases parents dread hearing. “I need a frog costume for school tomorrow,” or “My stomach hurts,” make even the strongest of parents shudder. My personal words of distress have always been, “It’s Empty.” Daily something runs out: the milk jug, the chip bag, or heaven forbid, the toilet paper!

In contrast, we find the words, “It’s Empty,” celebrated in Matthew 28: 1–15. This “empty story” tells of an empty tomb. With Jesus’s death, all hope for a Messiah had died. No one could fathom that a cross would be God’s plan. Those who had believed saw all hope vanish as evidence pointed to the fact Jesus was not who He had claimed to be.

Then early on Sunday as women arrived at His tomb, they were met by an angel. How could they have realized His words to them would rock the world to its core.

“He (Jesus) is not here; for He is risen.”   

The look of confusion on the women’s faces surely reminded this angel how deeply we humans crave affirmation. So, the angel beckoned the women, “Come and see,” the empty tomb, then instructed them, “Go and tell.”

Yes, JESUS HAD RISEN FROM DEATH! What a tender scene it must have been as a loving Father bent over the lifeless body of His Son to breathe precious life back into death. Surely this was another great act of sacrifice from a Father anxious to receive His Son back home (Acts 2:24).

For Christians, past, present, and future, the empty tomb confirms Jesus as the Son of God and our Savior. Just like those women long ago, we too are commissioned to “Come and see. Go and tell.” The love we encounter at the cross will stir us to go and tell others because, like the women at the tomb, those words, “It is Empty!” are just too glorious to keep to ourselves.

Father, thank you for breathing human life back into Your Son allowing him to conquer death. May we ever glory in the words, “It is Empty!”

Blessings of Eternal Life,
Rita Cochrane

As time allows this week, read the four Gospel accounts of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Each account offers new glimpses to the glory of an empty tomb.
Matthew 28
Mark 16
Luke 24
John 20