"A RISEN SAVIOR AND AN EMPTY TOMB" 

No event in human history surpasses our Savior's entrance into this world. The putting on of flesh by God (Phil 2:6) is one of the incomparably beautiful events of all time. The account of His lowly birth is well-known by all, and the great hope presaged by that birth was fulfilled and realized entirely at Golgotha! Wonderful though His birth was, it would be largely unremarkable without the other "bookend" of His life. His death and resurrection. 

The miracle of the resurrection must stand forever at the heart of the Christian's faith. The echoing emptiness of the tomb transfigures the tragedy of the cross into the glorious gospel of hope and human redemption. A cross and an empty tomb are the central themes of the gospel, and it was this message which Paul "certified" in 1 Cor. 15:1-4. 

What this means is profound; Jesus was no mere man, but God in human form! It means our faith is not mere wishful thinking but is well-founded in fact, and that we should utterly trust Him to fulfill His promises! The religion of this "Babe of Bethlehem" is exquisitely different from any other faith on earth because the empty tomb means Christians have a living Lord.

There are three "major" world religions in addition to Christianity: Judaism, with a cave as the sepulcher for Abraham and a tomb for David the king, undisturbed to this day (Gen. 25:9 and Acts 2:29); the earliest records of Buddhism state that the Buddha died, with no record of any resurrection; and Muhammad, who founded the religion of Islam, died at age 61 on 8. June, 632 A.D. in Medina, and his body remains there in its tomb today! While thousands worship these, their disciples agree; they remain dead and gone! But an empty tomb proclaims that its' occupant lives! 

Jesus Himself foretold this in Jn. 2:19-21, when He said of His impending death and resurrection "...Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. ...speaking of the temple of His body." Paul records that Jesus was "declared to by the Son of God with power . . . by the resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4). Unlike other religions, the hope of the Christian lies in a rolled stone and abandoned burial garments! 

Now think about the contrast between the prophets of other beliefs, and a risen Savior: An empty tomb means Jesus' body did not decay, as Peter pointed out in Acts 2:29-32. Note also that 2 Tim. 1:10 says He "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." Unlike the "saviours" of other religions, He IS able to save us, because He is alive, and making intercession for us, Heb. 7:25. Unlike us. He was not born in order to die and await judgment! Rather, he conquered the power of death, and reigns in heaven over His people!

The empty tomb is a message of hope. It is a point well-taken that if the resurrection is not a historic fact, then the power of death over us remains unbroken; the effect of sin on us likewise remains; and we who believe are exactly where we were before we ever heard of Jesus! It was truly a wonderful day the first time people were told "He is not here. He is risen" (Mt. 28:6-7). The same joy those original disciples experienced should rest in our hearts also, at the knowledge that "/ am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death" (Rev. 1:17-18). The true message of hope lies in the fact that our Savior could not be contained by the power of death, but broke its bonds as the "first-fruits" from the grave, 1 Cor. 15:20-23. 

Much of the religious world is united in celebration and remembrance of the human birth of our Lord. That event only heralded the entrance of genuine hope into our world. That hope is realized, however, in the empty tomb He left behind! Where does your hope rest?