The Empty Tomb

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Death, Where is your sting, Hades, where is your victory? First Corinthians fifteen fifty five. Dear Lord Jesus, these words ignite a fire in our hearts, for they proclaim the magnificent reality that death has been defeated once and for all by the resurrection power of Jesus. How can we contain our praise and thanksgiving for such a triumph. Thank you God for conquering the grave, for transforming the gloom of death into a doorway to everlasting life. Because of Jesus, death has lost its power over us. The sting has been removed, and the victory is swallowed up in the glory of the resurrection. In a world where we encounter suffering, loss and the shadow of mortality, remind us, Lord that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Let our lives be a living testament to the fact that death no longer has dominion over us. May we live passionately for You, emboldened by the reality that our eternal future is secure in You. In the name of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen. Thank you for praying with me today. You're listening to the Jesus Podcast. Continue listening to be swept away by the dramatic and awe inspiring story of Jesus. Follow this podcast on whatever platform you're listening to. Doing so will keep you updated, but also help us get discovered by more people. We want the story of Jesus to be known throughout the world. Thanks for making that possible. John's forehead was pressed against the windowsill. His eyes stared blankly outside, watching the gulls overhead. Memories of Jesus' death flashed through his mind. He was stuck in a loop of regret and horror. He's gone, John whispered for the thousandth time. A deep ache returned to his chest each time he uttered the words. He was the only one of jesus disciples that watched the whole thing. He heard the crowd clamor for his crucifixion. He watched the soldier strip him naked and flog him to near death. Then he watched helplessly as Jesus carried his cross up Golgotha. John closed his eyes again and saw Jesus suffering face, crying to God from the cross. His final words reverberated in his mind as lightning split the heavens, Jesus called out with a broken voice, fished. John's eyes began to water again. He looked behind him. Matthew, James, and Nathaniel were sitting at a table in silence. Andrew, James and Philip were weeding baskets and nets, meandering in and out of sad conversations. Then there was Peter. Peter sat by the other window, brooding in silence, with clenched fists, wincing whenever anybody mentioned Jesus' name. Peter's memories of that night were different from John's. While John followed Jesus up the hill to watch him die, Peter had run away in shame. He had denied even knowing Jesus. By the fire outside the temple courts, Peter cursed at the notion of being jesus friend. Then, as the rooster crowed for the third time, Peter's eyes locked with Jesus. As he was thrown out of the temple, Hurt, betrayal, and sorrow were emanating from his eyes. Peter couldn't stand himself. He's gone, Peter sighed, and I denied him. Peter thought of crying often, but never allowed it. Weeping would be too much of a release for him. He deserved to be in pain. He earned the weight of shame and was determined to hold on to it as long as he lived. The disciples huddled in Matthew's home, occasionally leaving for food and fresh air. Since the arrest of Jesus, the eleven remaining disciples feared what the Jewish leaders would do to them. They were powerless, stagnant, and paralyzed by fear. They felt like empty shells, unable to escape their shame, and so as they coward in Matthew's home, they heard a frenetic knock on the door. Everyone stood to their feet in fear. They were like skittish sheep, alert to the slightest sound of trouble. The banging on the door grew louder and more desperate. Let us end, Joanna shouted from the other side. The Disciple sighed in relief and let in Mary, Magdalene, Joanna, and Solome. The women were frantic, beaming with a mixture of joy and terror. 00:05:38 Speaker 2: If God is dead, then so is our hope. But God isn't dead. This is the Jesus Podcast. Gospel inspired stories meant to enliven your faith and awaken your potential. If you've enjoyed this podcast so far and you're wondering how to support us, share it with a friend and leave a review. Doing so will help us get discovered by others so they can be inspired by the story of Jesus. We're spending the month of April immersing ourselves in the events following Easter. We often see the Resurrection as a single day in event, but for the Disciples, it was an unfolding drama. They had to slowly come to terms with the Resurrection, who Jesus truly was, and what it all meant for them. The disciples slow discovery of the Resurrection gives us some hope. Sometimes we take a while to see Jesus for who he really is and what he's doing in our lives. Our lives can be a slow moving ship, sometimes taking ages to change course. Thank the Lord for his patients towards the Disciples as they figured everything out. And thank the Lord for his patients towards us as we wrestle with the Resurrection and how to live lives that honor him. Today's episode is an emotional roller coaster following John Peter and Mary in the aftermath of his crucifixion. At this point in the story, the angels have told Mary Magdalen, Joanna, Salome, and the other Mary that Jesus has risen. They aren't sure how to communicate what they've heard. Everyone is still stuck in a fog of confusion and fatigue. But as the light of Jesus's resurrection rises, the fog will lift. Let's die back into our story afterwards, We're going to pay special attention to the story of Mary and how her dark past reveals the light of Christ. 00:07:17 Speaker 1: The women shook their heads in disbelief and terror. It's Jesus, Mary said, gasping for air. 00:07:25 Speaker 3: They've taken him away or he's out of his too more. 00:07:30 Speaker 1: Mary struggled to find the words. Her hands were shaking with grief and confusion. She looked at Peter inside. We don't know where he is what Peter shouted indignantly, They took him whose day? It's not that simple, Joanna replied. 00:07:50 Speaker 3: There was a man, or or something else who told us he was. 00:07:55 Speaker 1: Joanna didn't have the chance to finish explaining. Peter ran out the door and sprinted toward the tomb. He ran like a man possessed, desperate to see the empty tomb for himself, John followed after him, and Mary was far behind. Peter's large frame struggled up the winding path to the olive grove. John, being the youngest disciple, quickly gained on him. The two descended the path, surrounded by blooming jasmine and olive trees. John arrived first and stopped at its entrance. He placed a hand on the stone that had been rolled away. He glanced inside and whispered, He's gone, but this time, he said it with a tinge of hope. Peter arrived at the tomb, gasping for breath and holding his knees. His eyebrows, once furling with intensity, turned upward into confusion. He slowly stepped forward into the grave. Peter stepped softly as he approached the stone bed cawd into the side. There Jesus linen gravecloths were neatly folded. He's gone, Peter said, in disbelief. John entered the tomb behind Peter. The two of them stared in awe. Neither knew what they were witnessing, but the air was thick with glory and hope. Something had happened in this tomb, something beyond comprehension, A voice said from behind. The disciples turned to see Mary Magdalen at the tomb's entrance. Her countenance was anxious and frenetic. John and Peter knew Mary's past they had witnessed first hand. Mary struggled to hold on to her sanity. Mary's breath was frantic and her face revealed a deep well of hurt. 00:09:50 Speaker 3: We can't even come to visit his body anymore. 00:09:56 Speaker 1: John gently touched Mary's shoulders. 00:09:58 Speaker 2: Come back to the house with us, Mary, we don't know what would happen next. We need to pray and be together. 00:10:05 Speaker 1: Mary recoiled and shook her head. Her voice cracked. 00:10:10 Speaker 2: I'm going to stay here. 00:10:13 Speaker 3: You two go it be with the others. 00:10:17 Speaker 1: Peter and John gave Mary a reassuring smile and left. They walked back up the dirt path, wondering what had happened to Jesus. A whirlwind of uncertainty swirled around in their minds. Peter's heart was still heavy with shame, and John struggled with what to tell Jesus mother. As they walked back, the two disciples fell out of view, and Mary was left alone in the garden. She leaned against the stone walls outside the grave, placed her head between her knees, and wept. Her eyes were closed, memories of her past stabbing her mind aimed like a rusty blade. 00:11:01 Speaker 3: What am I going to do without you? 00:11:05 Speaker 1: Mary whispered in a broken voice. She felt her mind beginning to slip away into the darkness. The demons of her past were slowly tugging at her heart, pulling her back into despair. Oh no, Mary said repeatedly. Her weeping was a mixture of grief, confusion, and fear. Mary was in free fall. Then a gentle voice called out to her from the garden. 00:11:37 Speaker 3: Woman, why are you weeping? 00:11:41 Speaker 1: Mary didn't look up, supposing the man to be the gardener. 00:11:45 Speaker 3: Sir, have you carried him away? Do you know where he is? Tell me so I can't take him away. 00:11:56 Speaker 1: The man slowly approached Mary and stood over her. Silhouetted by the afternoon sun, Mary still refused to look up at him, afraid of looking anyone in the eyes. The man's voice called out to her, like a soft breeze blowing in from the coast. Mary, he said, tenderly, and that's all it took. Mary looked up. The sun's rays were scattering behind him, and her vision was foggy from tears, but she knew it was him. The moment he said her name, she knew beyond a doubt that her savior was alive. That moment, the damn of pent up worry, shame, and hopelessness burst. She leaped for Jesus like a little girl to her father. She shouted with pure delight. Her tears of sorrow were replaced with tears of joy as she clung to him. Mary looked up at Jesus, his smile shone brighter than the sun behind him. The cold and dark pull of her past loosened its grip on her heart, and she felt free once again. Her hope was alive. Jesus propped her up and placed two gentle hands on her shoulders. With love beaming from his voice, he said. 00:13:29 Speaker 3: Don't cling to me, Mary, But I haven't yet descended to my father, going to my brothers. I'm going to them before ascending to my father and your father, to my God and your God. 00:13:44 Speaker 1: Mary renewed with purpose, nodded, and bowed to Jesus before ascending up the dirt path. She passed through the canopy of olive trees, heart fluttering with freedom. Before descending the hill, she looked back. Jesus had disappeared. Mary looked at the grave. She knew at that moment that her dark and tormented past was buried in that grave. 00:14:24 Speaker 2: If only we could see our own lives like we see the Bible from a bird's eye view, with commentary on what God is doing in sermons, on how He's transforming our life, even though we don't know it. Because we see Mary here in this hopeless state, balling her eyes out because she thinks the body of Jesus has been taken, little does she know that Jesus is risen and alive. The sting of the crucifixion is still there. It only happened a few days ago, and although there were hints at the resurrection, it didn't fully compute with the followers of Jesus. Right now, it seems as though sin has won. Here's the reality. Without the resurrection, none of our faith matters, None of this holds any weight because we're unable to spar with what really plagues us, and that sin and death without the resurrection were doomed to a kind of nihilism. Paul says this in one Corinthians fifteen. But if there's no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise. If it is true that the dead are not raised, for if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. And if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people to be most pitied. What Paul says is true from a literal and an ideological sense. If Christ claims to rid us of death but he himself couldn't conquer it, then what use is it following him? What use is it following him for salvation him self cannot overcome death, then why are we following him for eternal life? And if our faith can't hold up with that which truly plays humanity and solves the core issues of sin, death and destruction? Then what are we wasting our time with? Do you remember that famous quote from Nietzsche? He made this declaration God is dead. God remains dead, and we have killed him. How should we comfort ourselves the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned, has bled to death under our knives? Who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement? What sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become God simply to appear worthy of it? Atheists have had a field day with this quote from Nietzsche, thinking that it somehow is this sarcastic and victorious declaration that we're in a post religious world. We've killed God and we don't need him. But this quote is not a declaration of victory. Nietzscha says God is dead not in victory, but with sadness, because in a post God world, we are left to our own devices, yielded to nothing greater than ourselves, no upward direction that calls us to something high or keeps us accountable. Nietzsche feared that we as human beings aren't capable of handling a world without God. If God is dead, we are just like Mary. Our faces are buried in our hands, trapped in nihilism and despair. You see, Mary's life was not easy. Mary experience firsthand all sorts of tragedies. In Luke chapter eight, we are told that Mary had many demons. Mary's surname was Magdalen, which means that she was probably from the fishing village of Magdala. Certain scholars believe she was a wealthy woman, although most likely an outcast because she was plagued with seven demons. You can imagine her fear at this moment when she's sitting before the grave of Jesus. If Jesus is dead and there isn't even a monument she could visit to connect herself with him, then will she slip back into darkness? If Jesus is dead, Mary is a demoniac woman, defined by her abuse in her abusers, thrashing in a life of dysfunction and despair. If God is dead, then so is hope. But if God is alive, then the opposite is true. Mary beheld the risen God, but she didn't recognize him at first. And I find that scene fascinating because Jesus is right in front of her. She thinks that he's perhaps the gardener tending to the garden around Jesus's grave. And even though she might not literally have her face in her hands, she's still unable to see what's right in front of her. There's a shroud of grief that is preventing her from truly seeing Jesus. And wow, isn't that the case for so many of us? Grief, shame, habitual sin, so much can blur the view we have of Jesus. He can be speaking right to our faces, and we wouldn't know it because we're too consumed with our emotions and our hopelessness. But then something brilliant happens. Jesus says her name, and Jesus said to her Mary. She turned and said to him in Aramaic rabbo nigh, which means teacher. Jesus called her by name, and her eyes were opened. If you get nothing else from this podcast, I want you to understand this. Jesus doesn't just call all of us generally. He calls out to you specifically your sins, your shame, your hopelessness, your past. Jesus sees you as an individual. He calls you individually. Jesus died for the whole world. Yes, but hear me now. He died for you, and he is calling out to you. He wants to lift you up out of your despair. He wants to lift you up out of brokenness. We have a personal God who would have endured all of the cross all of the beating, all of the scourging, even if he was only doing it for you. When Jesus calls us by name, we find ourselves looking up instead of down. Mary clings to Jesus, wraps her arms around his legs because he's finally here and she doesn't want to let go, but she has to. Jesus tells her not to cling to him. She says, go and tell the others what you have seen and what you have heard. Two details are critically important about that one. As we've covered, Mary was a former demoniac. Jesus casts seven demons out of her two. Mary was a woman, and at that time a woman wasn't even considered a reliable witness in court. Their testimony wasn't considered valid, and so if anyone was unqualified to be the first to herald in the resurrected Jesus, wouldn't it be Mary, a demoniac woman. Yet, Mary, this former demoniac and woman, is chosen to be the first to proclaim Jesus's resurrection. She is the first evangelist proclaiming the good news. This would be the last person you would expect to testify to something credible and reliable, But to Jesus, she was the perfect person to proclaim the resurrection. Her pain makes her healing all the more exceptional. Fear or makes her boldness all the more compelling, Her sorrow makes her passion all the more profound. Mary Magdalen is a perfect example of what the resurrection does to you and I, broken people tortured by our past and sins, lifted out of death and into life. It had to be Mary. She was in the grave before, she had experienced a type of darkness that nobody else had. Her life was an anthem to the power of Christ, and listen, the power of Christ is all that matters. Paul says this in First Corinthians, Chapter two, and I when I came you brothers did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Today, I want you to rid yourself of any fear or pretense that what transforms people as eloquent speeches and polished pitches. I want you to rid yourself of any pretense that you have to have everything put together and have to be the perfect type of preacher in order to proclaim the gospel. What is Jesus actively doing in your life? Who is Jesus to you, and what is your testimony? That is what matters to people. Go out into the world, no matter who you are and what your broken past may be, and tell them what Jesus has done for you today. In our next episode, we are going to visit the dark halls of the High priest court room, where the soldiers who witnessed the resurrection, grapple with what they beheld. Thank you for joining us today. For more inspiring stories, encouragements, and wisdom to last a lifetime, visit pray dot com.