The Resurrection: An Empty Tomb

The writer of Hebrews said that through his death Jesus destroyed the one who has the power of death, the devil, and delivered all those “who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death” (Heb 2:15). The fear of death causes us to try to minimize the effects of aging. We’re told, “Be younger, eat healthier, color your hair, and remove wrinkles.” We don’t want to face the truth. We’re aging, and every day brings us closer to the grave. We try to cosmetically push death further into the future. If we ignore death, maybe death will ignore us. The fear of death chains our hopes and dreams to the earthly, transient desires of this life. If Jesus hadn’t conquered death, we might as well spend all of our energy eating, drinking, and being merry, for tomorrow we might die, but because Jesus conquered death, we can live for the next life, the eternal life, not this temporary one. We are participants in Jesus’s resurrection, and our priorities should reflect that truth (cf. Col 3:1-2).

Here is why materialism and Christianity cannot peacefully coexist. Materialism is pursuing happiness by accumulating stuff in this life. Christianity is giving up stuff in this life to pursue happiness in Jesus. Materialism is the binding death uses to chain us to this world. We try to insulate ourselves from eternity by mounding up more and more treasures around us. We’re like children building a pillow fort of cars and cash, hoping it will stop death’s progress. It’s a silly and sad way to live. For us as Christians, the resurrection of Jesus brings a revolutionary change in our perspective. We don’t live for the seen but the unseen. Because Jesus conquered death and lives forevermore, death no longer has a claim on us, and we’re free to live for what lasts. We’re able to live with open hands, giving up everything in this life because we’re guaranteed another, greater, eternal life with Jesus.

One hundred eight times in the Gospel of John, Jesus refers to God as “Father.” Twenty-seven times he says “my Father.” Seventy-one times he says “the Father,” and only one time does he refer to God as the disciples’ Father. He does that here in verse 17, as he passes the message to the disciples through Mary. He tells her to say he is ascending to “my Father and your Father.” It’s also the only time in John’s Gospel he calls the disciples his “brothers.” When Jesus rises from the dead, the position of his disciples is radically altered. They’re no longer cut off from God, enemies, dead in trespasses and sins. They’re family members. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ for their sin, and the divine acceptance of that sacrifice demonstrated in the resurrection, ushers them into a new family with God as their Father and Jesus as their brother.

Only when God does a work in our hearts, granting us the gift of faith, do we become his children (1:12-13). From our perspective we must believe on Jesus Christ to become part of God’s family. But that’s not all that needed to happen. Jesus had to do something. He had to pay for our sin so we could be declared righteous. His sacrifice had to be accepted by God so we could be forgiven. That’s why, after he rose from the dead, his first words to the disciples, through the lips of Mary, were that they were now, by faith, part of God’s family—sons of God and brothers of Jesus.

Many wonderful promises become ours because of our position as children of God.

The promise of inheritance: the immeasurable riches of God are eternally ours. This promise helps us move beyond the flat-screen TVs and new cars that occupy so many people’s dreams. We should be willing to die penniless if that’s what God desires, knowing an eternal treasure chest awaits us upon our entrance into the Father’s house.

The promise of love: we are now God’s children. No matter what kind of earthly father you had, you now have a perfect Father. His love for you will not ebb and flow based on his emotions. His treatment of you won’t be affected by your performance. He will love you enough to chasten you when you sin, not because he’s vindictive but because you’re his child and he wants what is best for you.

The promise of acceptance: Jesus’s ascension to the right hand of the Father brings assurance we will be accepted into the Father’s house. We didn’t become God’s children because of what we did but because of what Jesus accomplished. So our confidence in our standing before God doesn’t rest in what we do but in what Jesus has done on our behalf. As long as Jesus stands at the right hand of God, all who follow him will be welcomed into God’s presence. If God accepted Jesus, then he has accepted you.

Who the disciples are is bound up totally in who they have become in Christ. No longer are they merely sons of Adam; they are now sons of God. Their validation won’t come from other people but has come from what Jesus revealed to them about their new position, their new identity. A new identity in Christ, as members of God’s family, radically changes every area of life. For instance, we call one another “Brother” and “Sister” because we relate to one another as members of God’s family. This relationship affects our prayer lives, how we give, and how we care for others.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not trivial. The resurrection is central to our faith. Marcus Borg wrote,

For me it is irrelevant whether or not the tomb was empty. Whether Easter involved something remarkable happening to the physical body of Jesus is irrelevant. My argument is not that we know the tomb was not empty or that nothing happened to the body, but simply that it doesn’t matter. (Borg and Wright, Meaning, 131)

The apostle Paul would disagree: we must believe the tomb was empty because Jesus rose from the dead, was vindicated by the Father, secured our salvation, and brought us into the family of God. He told the Romans, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9; emphasis added). Without the resurrection, there’s no gospel. The gospel is the good news, and the best part of the good news is that Jesus won. Death was defeated and eternal life is ours through him.