THE TOMB OF JESUS

Rarely would a tomb be celebrated, but Easter is a celebration of the tomb of Jesus for four reasons.

1. The truthful tomb: Despite attempts to discredit the tomb of Jesus and the biblical accounts of the crucifixion and the resurrection as myths, investigation adequately demonstrates the historical accuracy of these events. This is important because if the resurrection of Christ never took place, the message of salvation through Christ would fall flat. There is more than enough manuscript evidence for the Bible than any other historical book and for an unbiased investigator, the crucifixion and resurrection are undeniable events.
2. The empty tomb: On the first Easter Sunday, the tomb of Jesus was empty-his body was missing. While dead people remain dead, Jesus did not remain so. This is because Jesus was sinless compared to other men and women. Being without sin, he could not have died and even the account of the resurrection by all four gospel writers informs us that his death was a deliberate one, of giving up his spirit. And so when Jesus died, the tomb had to give him up, and the highlight of the first Easter was an empty tomb.
3. The broken tomb: It was not just to escape death that Jesus went to the grave, it was to also destroy death. Death can engulf any person, but Jesus who was God and also a perfect sinless man. And so when Jesus descended into death, he came out of death having destroyed the tomb and the death that threatens all of us. No longer can the grave contain a person who believes, because death has been destroyed forever.
4. The exemplary tomb: The tomb on the first Easter was also an example to come for all of us who believe. Jesus after his resurrection had a different body- one that could be touched, that ate food and that could be held on to, yet was able to pass through locked doors, appear and disappear and ascend into heaven. Likewise, our resurrection bodies will be different as well. We are not going to remain dead forever, rather on the last day, we would be resurrected like Christ was.

Easter is a celebration of the tomb, of the One that the tomb could not contain.

• ← WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE?
• TRIUMPH THROUGH ADVERSITY →