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” (Matthew 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 (Matthew 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” (Matthew 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 (Matthew 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 (Matthew
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” (Matthew 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; Isiah 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”
(Matthew 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 (Matthew 28:10; I
Corinthians 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!
Transformed By
Grace -
Kevin Sadler
Transformed By Grace
#1 - Unity in Christ
Transformed By Grace #2 - One Body in
Christ
Transformed By Grace #3 - The Apostle of
Grace
Transformed By Grace #4 - The Gifts of
Christ
Posted By Cecil and
Connie Spivey
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