Celebrate the Empty Tomb
by Ellen Clodfelter
This month we are focusing on the discipline of celebration, and we sure do have a lot to celebrate in March. This Sunday we will celebrate Palm Sunday, remembering Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Then a week later we celebrate Easter and Jesus’ resurrection.
Matthew 21:9 tells us the people shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” as Jesus entered Jerusalem. The people were ready to crown him king. Almost everyone thought Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. They wanted Jesus to be King and free them from the slavery of the Romans.
It has always shocked me that in just one week, the people went from wanting to crown him King to wanting to kill him. What happened that changed their minds so quickly?
Well, Jesus was very busy that week. He caused a big disturbance when he went into the Temple courts and turned over the tables and drove the money changers out. That week, Jesus upstaged or embarrassed the priests several times. Jesus insulted them by telling them, “Tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God in front of them.” He told them that, “They will be rejected and the people who are rejected will be celebrated.” Jesus told them, “They were the chosen and invited, but they did not show up to the party.” He told all the people to do what the priests said, but not what they do, because of their hypocrisy. Worst of all, Jesus outright called them “blind guides, snakes, brood of vipers, full of greed, whitewashed tombs,” and “murderers.”
Now it makes sense why the Jewish leaders wanted to kill him at the end of that week. The week before, the crowds were ready to crown him King, yet by the end of the week, those same crowds wanted him killed. What gives? Why the sudden change of mind? Were the people easily swayed by their religious leaders? What happened to their excitement and support of Jesus? Moreover, are we easily swayed by public opinion and by our culture as to our spiritual convictions? Still, Jesus was arrested him on charges that he claimed to be king of the Jews. He was brutally tortured, made to carry his cross, and crucified between two thieves.
What should have been a holiday marked with joy, laughter, food and festivity (i.e., Passover) became a holiday of profound suffering. In a matter of hours, their joy turned to mourning. Their hope was gone. What was there to celebrate? No wonder the disciples experienced despair, hopelessness, and confusion. Jesus couldn’t liberate them from the Romans and become King if he was dead. But this holiday doesn’t end on Friday, does it? Sunday was still coming!
And for us, when our joy suddenly turns to sorrow and when our dreams morph into nightmares, always remember that the tomb is empty! Jesus conquered sin and death, which gives us eternal reason to celebrate. In the last letter he wrote before his own execution, the Apostle Paul told Timothy, “remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead” (2 Tim 2:8), and so must we. Every day and throughout the day, no matter how bad the day is, remember Jesus raised from the dead!
Let’s worship this weekend and praise Jesus that He is the Lord of all creation, He is heaven’s perfect sacrificial lamb, and He is the great I am. Happy Easter!
Let’s all celebrate that the tomb is still empty!
