The Empty Tomb

·32 min·3 clips

Pastor Johns declares that what you believe about Jesus's resurrection determines if Christianity is a hoax or your eternal destiny.

The scripture comes first. The sermon begins in 1 Corinthians 15, with Paul preaching the gospel believers received and still stand on. The tomb is empty, and the preacher does not treat that as a holiday slogan. Christ rising from death gets tied to people being raised out of sin and out of their past. So what do you believe? That question sits right in the middle of the message, because the resurrection is preached as the hinge of faith, not a nice ending after the cross. The cross still carries the weight. Jesus is presented as the spotless Lamb of God, with the Old Testament sacrifices pointing to his death according to the scriptures. Then the sermon slows down for the burial: sundown, Sabbath, Passover concern, linen cloth, spices, and Joseph of Arimathea's tomb. The irony lands. The leaders who had tried and killed Jesus still rushed to keep ceremonial law while putting his body away. Joseph and Nicodemus step in. They ask Pilate for the body, wrap it, carry it to the tomb, and roll the stone into place before Friday ends. Saturday may sound quiet, but the leaders are shown as nervous because Jesus had already said he would rise in three days. Their fear puts guards around the tomb. They seal the stone and post Roman soldiers because they think the disciples might steal the body. Then the sermon turns. Stone cannot stop resurrection. The close moves from history to response, with baptism named as burial with Christ and the start of walking in newness of life. The empty tomb becomes present mercy: Jesus Christ can empty the tomb of a listener's past and sins and make them right with God today.

As heard by us

A Resurrection Sunday sermon connects the empty tomb to baptism, renewal, and leaving the past behind.

The Empty Tomb is framed by 1 Corinthians 15: Christ died, was buried, and rose again. From there, the sermon treats the tomb as more than an Easter image, turning it into a picture of what happens to the believer's past and sins.

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Why you'd press play

Press play when you want Easter's empty tomb tied to the tomb of your past.

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