"And They Found the Stone Rolled Away from the Tomb" Lk: 24:2
They came to the Tomb
where Jesus of Nazareth had been placed. They Knew that He was dead. They had witnessed with their own eyes His, beaten, bloody body taken down from the
Cross there at Calvary. They knew that place where Jesus' body had been laid to rest.
A great stone had been rolled over
the tombs entrance. It was the place of the dead and Jesus was there. Everything which
they embraced as they followed Him, and now apparently all of it was lost and
had come down around them. Jesus was dead there was no mistake about it. Roman
solders had carried out the death sentence with their customary
thoroughness. These men knew how to kill. That proficiency, that of handing out
death was employed against Jesus on the cross. He was dead, Jesus'
disciples would have to face reality. He was buried and a great stone
covered the entrance to His tomb. It was customary to cover tomb with such
stones, it kept grave robbers from disturbing the dead. It required a few
strong men to roll them into place and to move them again which seldom
occurred.
They Come
Matt 28:1, “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary.”,
in Mk 16:1,
"Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome."
in Lk 23:55, 24:1 and 24:10, "the
women who had come with him out of Galilee."
Also, there with these
women were "Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James."
Luke 24:10 mentions that there were at least two others as well.
At just about the time, they had reached the garden, the woman began to talk among themselves and recognize that they
do not have ability to move the great stone which barred them access to the
body of Jesus.
"And
they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of
the tomb?" Mk:16:3
But what they find is not what
they had anticipated. In the grief of their loss, Jesus' words regarding His
death and resurrection somehow did not take hold, in their hearts and minds. Jesus was dead, and that was a reality and they knew this to be true and for
the moment they could see Him no other way.
As they arrive at the tomb the group of women find, to their astonishment, the Roman guard squad, which typically consisted of twelve men, which had been assigned to watch the tomb are now dispersed. Gone nowhere to be found.
This guard had been requested by
the religious leaders. The guards were intended to keep the disciples from
removing Jesus' dead body, then claim that He was resurrected, the religious
leaders wanted Jesus to stay dead and buried, and in this desire, they turned
to the power of Rome, that is the world system, to keep Jesus in the
grave.
We are told that this guard squad of soldiers had an angelic encounter which frighten them to the point of senselessness.
"There
was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and,
going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like
lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.The guards were so afraid of him
that they shook and became like dead men" Matt:28:2-4
The Guards
Report It
The scattered guard had fled
the garden, some going to the Religious leaders and give them an account
of what had occurred.
"While
the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported
to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had
met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of
money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night
and stole him away while we were asleep.’If this report gets to the governor,
we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the
money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely
circulated among the Jews to this very day." Matt:28:11-15
The Stone
is Rolled Away
The group of women saw, as they
drew near the garden, that the great stone was rolled away from the
tomb entrance allowing them to look into the tomb in which Jesus had
been laid to rest. But, to their amazement they see that it is
empty. Jesus is not among the dead, yet, the import of what their own
eyes are tell them still has not yet become clear. Jesus is gone, the
great stone which now had been rolled away and allowed them to see into
the tomb and to see that it is empty. He is gone, risen.
Frighten and uncertain as
to what had occurred. They entered the empty tomb, when they did, the group of women
encounter divine assistance in the form of angelic appearances to aid them to
understand what is transpiring. The angelic messengers of God, gave help
to them to help them by reminding them of the words of Jesus Himself.
"And they entered in,
and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were
much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said to
them, Why seek you the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen:
remember how he spoke to you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man
must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third
day rise again. And they remembered his words," Lk:24:3-8
Rolling
Our Stones Away
The Scriptures are always so
much more then we can ever take in with the confines of one life time .Each word
speaks volumes to us, they are eternal and as such they are not fixed in time
as we understand it. What we read about here in the Gospel accounts are not
just the discovery of an empty tomb two thousand years ago by a group of
woman but rather their experience at Jesus' tomb is all of ours as
well.
They thought that Jesus was
dead, they saw Him placed in the tomb, each of them reckoned that Jesus was
dead, tried and convicted by the religious leaders and killed by the power of the world
system that took steps to insure that Jesus would stay in dead in the
grave.
Yet even the might of the world system, represented by the Roman Guard, was and is , powerless to keep Jesus in the grave, for they fell before the display of God's power and sovereignty and were scattered in fear. Jesus lives!
The rolled stone reveals
that He is gone. The rolled stone was not so Jesus could leave , it is moved
for our benefit so that we can see He is gone. The world system cannot
keep Jesus dead. He lives and there is nothing they can do to change that. They
cannot defeat Him. Even before His death and resurrection Jesus told the
Apostles.
"These
things I have spoken to you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you
shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have defeated the
world." Jhn: 16:33
The World system was beaten
even before the resurrection. This is what St. Paul wrote to believers down through
the centuries.
"And
having disarmed principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly,
triumphing over them in it." Col:
2:15
"No,
we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God
destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age
understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory".1 Cor:2:7-8
The great stone which
sealed the tomb and was rolled away through the power of God, and was moved to
give us and all humanity a clear view that Jesus is not among the dead. This
stone for us can take many forms, it is in short anything that prevents us from
seeing Jesus' tomb as being empty. The angels which were manifested represent
God's divine assistance in coming to see the truth that Jesus lives, He is
risen just as He said. God rolls the stone away from the eyes of our hearts and
minds so we see the truth that Jesus is not found among the dead.
The great stone which keeps us
from seeing this truth is beyond human ability to roll away, just as the woman
talked among themselves.
"Who
shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb?" Mk: 16:3
The great stone which block our
view of the empty tomb requires intervention of God, though the Holy
Spirit's work in our lives bring us to grasp the truth. The tomb is empty Jesus
is not among the dead.
The god of
this world blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the
light of the gospel of the glory of God.” 2 Cor 4:4
"But
God has revealed them to us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things,
yes, the deep things of God." 1Cor:2:10
"But
the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will
teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to
you" Jhn:14:26
He Is the
Resurrected
What occurred there in the
garden tomb only demonstrates what is, and always has been
eternally true, even before the resurrection became a moment in the flow
of human history, Jesus speaking to Martha the sister of Lazarus at her brother’s
grave said
"Jesus
said to her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live:" Jhn:11:25
He said this even before His
own death. The Resurrection is not just something that happened and event but it is Who and
what Jesus is...The grave cannot keep Him, it has no power over our Lord.
When the great stone is rolled
away from our eyes, but God himself and see the truth we see Him for Who He is.
Paul tells Christians what the Resurrection of Jesus really accomplishes.
"Paul,
a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of
God, (Which he had promised before by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according
to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:" Rm:1:1-4
This tells
us that Jesus is not the Son of God because He was resurrected, but
rather, He was resurrected because
His is the Son of God. The Resurrection shows us what is and
always eternally has been true.
The great stone is removed from before the eyes of our hearts and minds we can now see the empty tomb, and we come to see Who Jesus is, that is fully God and fully human, He is the living One Who is risen from the tomb of death , Jesus is not found among the dead, we each, now, come to that garden tomb and see that we will find, as they did that it is empty all because; "the Stone Rolled Away from the Tomb" Lk:24:2.
Benediction: May we each and all ever give glory to God that the stone has been rolled away from our hearts, Today, Tomorrow and Forevermore. Amen.
Rev. Todd Crouch, Pastor
Topinabee Community Church
Topinabee Michigan
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