Loving the Word with the MudPreacher

A popular sermon illustration is this one from “Sermons Illustrated”.

“Every year thousands of people climb a mountain in the Italian Alps, passing the “stations of the cross” to stand at an outdoor crucifix. One tourist noticed a little trail that led beyond the cross. He fought through the rough thicket and, to his surprise, came upon another shrine, a shrine that symbolized the empty tomb. It was neglected. The brush had grown up around it. Almost everyone had gone as far as the Cross, but there they stopped.”

I can’t verify the place although I found some references to something similar. The pictures speak for themselves.

Neither can I find first hand proof that there is a shrine to the empty tomb. It doesn’t matter. I know the tomb is empty. I was not there. I can not find any time stamped photographs of the actual empty tomb. I have stood inside an empty tomb which they believe was His. I have read the eyewitness accounts recorded in the Scriptures. But none of that convinces me that the tomb was empty.

I know the tomb was empty because I have experienced the power of Christ’s resurrected life. Christ lives in me, and because He has changed me and continues to change me I know He lives. The tomb had to be empty. Jesus was not there, nor was His lifeless body taken somewhere. Jesus is ALIVE and He lives in me! Sometimes I am like Peter, marveling at what has happened in my life.

“But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened”. Luke 24:12 (NKJV)

I know many are skeptics. Even the Apostles had trouble believing at first: “Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.” Mark 16:14 (ESV)

If THEY had trouble believing, is it any wonder people of today fail to see the TRUTH of His resurrection?

“The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.” Luke 24:5-7 (NLT)

Why do you look for the living among the dead? This is the key to believing that the tomb is empty. If you love this life and love yourself the way you are, there is no need to believe in an empty tomb. Your life is full and complete by itself. You have your god whoever he is. But if you see the emptiness of this life, if you have a void in your heart that is never satisfied, then you are ready to find the empty tomb. For standing just outside is our Risen Savior. He has faced the sin and emptiness of this fleshly life, and He has won. He has defeated every enemy. The tomb is empty just as our life is empty without our Lord Jesus Christ. Look up and see Him reigning on High, ready willing and able to be your Living Savior. No other religion can say that. No other religion has a leader that got up out of his or her tomb. Their tombs are not empty, but filled with lifeless dust. Their religious belief’s can offer nothing else than lifelessness and death.

Why do you seek the living among the dead? The tomb is empty. See Jesus. He is ALIVE and REIGNING on high! Is He your Savior?Does He Live in You?

As Paul writes: “But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 (NLT)

Paul continues to discuss the ramifications of the empty tomb. “But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 (NLT)

Is there a need for God in your life? Discover the Living God, Jesus Christ.