Earth's Greatest Day
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler
The
incomparable English preacher, Charles Spurgeon, once said, "Every
circumstance connected with the life of Christ is deeply interesting to
the Christian mind. Wherever we behold our Savior, He is well worthy of
our notice….All His weary pilgrimage, from Bethlehem's manger to
Calvary's cross, is, in our eyes, paved with glory. Each spot upon which
He trod is, to our souls, consecrated at once, simply because there the
foot of earth's Savior and our own Redeemer once was placed.
"When
He comes to Calvary, the interest thickens; then our best thoughts are
centered on Him in the agonies of crucifixion, nor does our deep
affection permit us to leave Him, even when, the struggle being over, He
yields up the ghost. His body, when it is taken down from the tree,
still is lovely in our eyes--we fondly linger around the motionless
clay. By faith we discern Joseph of Arimathea, and the timid Nicodemus…
drawing out the nails and taking down the mangled body; we behold them
wrapping Him in clean, white linen, hastily girding him round with belts
of spices; then putting Him in His tomb, and departing for the Sabbath
rest."
On
the first day of the week, Christ broke the bands of death and rose
again. In the words of the angel who was there that glorious morning,
"Come, see the place where the Lord lay" (Matt. 28:6). It is in every
sense of the word, earth's greatest day.
WITNESS OF THE EMPTY TOMB
After
the crucifixion of Christ, Joseph begged Pilate for the body of Jesus,
that he might give it a proper burial. Once in his possession, Joseph
and Nicodemus wrapped the body and placed it in the tomb -- they placed
the Rock of Ages in a hewn-out rock. Then they removed the object
holding the "great stone" in place, allowing it to roll in front of the
entrance of the tomb. This stone is estimated to have weighed more than a
ton; in fact, it is said that it would have taken the strength of
twenty men to move it. According to the Scriptures, there were four
believers that day who witnessed the entombment of our Lord's body:
Joseph, Nicodemus, Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary (Matt. 27:57-61;
John 19:38-42).
Shortly
thereafter, the Chief Priest and the Pharisees requested that Pilate
secure the tomb. This was accomplished by doing three things:
"So they went, and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch" (Matt. 27:66).
To make the tomb sure
meant that the stone would have been removed from the entrance so the
religious leaders and the Roman soldiers could confirm the body of Jesus
was actually there. Obviously it was present and accounted for, seeing
that the soldiers sealed the tomb with the Roman signet. The motto in those days was, "Break a Roman seal, and lose your life." Finally, they set a watch,
which meant sixteen Roman soldiers were posted nearby, four of which
were stationed at the door of the tomb. We know for certain that there
were more than two soldiers on duty because Matthew clearly states that
"some of the watch came into the city" after Christ's resurrection
(Matt. 28:11,12).
As
dawn was breaking on resurrection morn, the air, in all probability,
was cool and crisp. When Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and
Salome arrived at the burial plot, they were amazed to find that the
massive stone had been removed and the tomb was empty (Mark 16:1-3).
When Peter and John arrived on the scene, they too were puzzled, but
eventually realized that the reason the body was gone was because Christ
had risen from the dead, as He had promised (John 20:19,20). The
secured tomb was empty, which bears witness to the fact that Christ did
indeed rise from the dead. Even the unbelieving Roman watch confirmed
that the tomb they had been guarding was empty (Matt. 28:11-15).
THE WITNESS OF ANGELS
"And, behold… the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it" (Matt. 28:2).
It
is interesting that, according to the four Gospels, there were two
different appearances of the angels on the day Christ rose from the
dead. As messengers of God, they announced the Savior's birth, and now
one of them announces His resurrection. But is it possible for one angel
to move what Mark calls a "very great" stone (Mark 16:4), estimated to
weigh well over a ton? The strength and ability of the angels of God go
far beyond our comprehension; they are supernatural beings. For example,
in the days of Hezekiah, one angel smote dead 185,000 Assyrian soldiers
in one night (II Kings 19:35; Isa. 37:36).
The
account given to us by Matthew makes it very clear that the Lord had
already risen from the dead prior to the angel of the Lord rolling the
stone away from the doorway. You see, the removal of the stone was for
our benefit. It was removed by the angel so we could see the tomb was
empty. This is why the angel said to the women present that day, "Fear
not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not
here: for He is risen" (Matt. 28:5,6).
THE WITNESS OF THE LORD
Luke
records for us that the Lord showed Himself alive by many infallible
proofs --undeniable, irrefutable proofs (Acts 1:3). In addition to the
aforementioned witnesses, the Lord was seen by over 500 brethren at once
in Galilee (Matt. 28:10; I Cor. 15:6). This was followed by perhaps the
most credible evidence of all: He appeared to James and Paul, both of
whom rejected Him before His resurrection.
Paul's
experience on the road to Damascus, when He saw the resurrected Christ,
was similar to that of Thomas, who couldn't deny his senses and said,
"My Lord and my God!" But there's still another infallible proof for
those who believe: He lives in our heart by faith. Amen!
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Les Feldick Ministries
30706 W. Lona Valley Rd.
Kinta, OK 74552
Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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