The Empty Tomb?
Little Philip, born with Downs syndrome attended Sunday School the other 8-9 years old children didn't know how to act with him, but the teacher began to show through her kindness how to show care and patience. They tried but were not fully convinced.
The Sunday after Easter the teacher bought egg box containers and asked all the children to go out into the garden to bring as many objects they could find that represented new life. One by one they brought their boxes to the front, the boxes were opened, one showed a flower bud, butterfly, new leaves. Then one was opened but there was nothing inside, so you can imagine the other children saying "Well that's not fair someone didn't understand what the teacher asked"
Just then Philip spoke up, "That's mine" another child said "Oh you never get anything right Philip, there is nothing there its empty" Philip said " I did do it right, I did do it right, its empty - The Tomb was empty!
The class went silent, and from that time on Philip was fully accepted by the class.
Not long after this event, little Philip became very ill and died, which caused the class much sorrow. At the funeral all the 8 year olds from his class marched to the front of the church with their Sunday School teacher, but they didn't come with flowers but each laid an empty egg box at the front, for Philip was no longer there but with Jesus.
This is much the same today with the majority of people who view the Empty Tomb, the Resurrection of Jesus as fantasy, illusion, its despised or rejected or with just plain ignorance. Well this is nothing new, down through the ages since the greatest event in human history occurred, it has been dismissed. We are advised by experts that Jesus swooned, He did not really die, or if He did it was just His soul who lived on, these and many other excuses are put forth to evade reality. Easter has just become a time for spring flowers, rabbits and eggs, just as Christmas has for presents and Santa Claus so the reality of what truly happened can be hidden from view.
Well eggs, bulbs, dormant plants and rabbits cannot represent new life because Resurrection is entirely different. For in these items there is a germ of life in all of them, there was no life in Jesus in the grave.
But Christ's body was a dead body, there was no life in it, the body was buried, the religious leaders told Pilate to make sure He was not stolen away to make the lie that He would be resurrected 'true '. So they posted guards at the entrance to the tomb.
There was the soldier who pierced his side with a spear when blood and water came forth which attested his death, His legs were not broken while still on the cross, as was the custom, to quicken the death of the crucified, because Jesus was already dead. No Roman soldier would allow a living body to be taken down from the cross, that is why Jesus was speared in the chest to make doubly sure.
Before the cross Jesus had been beaten, punished, flayed with the whip till His back was like a ploughed field, He was punished more than any man could have been even before the excruciating agony of the cross.
There was NO LIFE in JESUS when they put Him in the tomb. HE WAS DEAD
Resurrection is entirely different from restoration- Jesus raised people from the dead when He was on earth, like Lazarus, Jairus's daughter but they were restored to their same body, and would, in the passing of time, die again in that same body, that stays in the grave because it is a sinful body. Jesus did not awaken out of the sleep of death, He did not put back His old garments, His physical body, which still bore the scars of the nails and the piercing of the spear was now a glorified resurrected body. He died as the sinless substitute for our sin, taking the punishment we deserved, His blood paid God's ransom price for our freedom.
On the third day God raised Him from the dead, He had accepted Christ's sacrifice for our sin. His body had gone through death and came out the other side a unique creation, not the old made new but a completely New Creation.
This New Creation was the beginning of a totally new realm. He was seen by His disciples and many others, they saw His wounds, He spoke to them, gave them food on the beach in Galilee, but He was changed. He came into a room as if from another dimension and instantly left their sight. His body was transformed it is a New Creation.
We are descendants of the first creation - Adam, who rebelled against God which is sin, bringing death hatred and all manner of evil into the world. We are all sinners, no one is innocent all are guilty, we all belong to the old creation, destined to die. For those who do not repent of their sin and rebellion this will bring everlasting wrath in hell.
Jesus died to bring an end to the old creation of sin and death. Resurrection is the most important event ever to take place on the earth. When Christ came back from the dead He entered a new realm which no one had never entered before, the New Creation.
So the final word we must ask ourselves, what creation are we in, the old creation of Adam leading to everlasting death and hell, or the New Creation in Jesus Christ leading to everlasting life.
We are in one or the other. All are born into the old creation of Adam through our parents, but to be born into the New Creation we must be Born Again of the Spirit of God. Jesus said "Unless a man is Born Again he cannot see the Kingdom of God" John 3
We can go to church all our life, even be a Minister or Priest and know about God, but not know Him and be lost, read our Bible, do good works and all the things that outwardly make us look the part, but if we are resting on our own efforts we will be lost, we must be Born again.
We are all lost sinners we must come humbly to Jesus and confess that we have been rebels and sinned against Him to find forgiveness, then by God's grace alone we can be saved and Born again.
So which creation are you in ?
Welcome to Dunk's Green Free Church
Dunk's Green Evangelical Church is the last remaining independent village church in the Tonbridge and Sevenoaks area. First established in 1838, today's church remains true to its founders' original vision -- to preach the full Gospel of Jesus Christ and to encourage local people to seek and trust Him alone for their salvation.
Enquiries: epastor@dunkschurch.org
