Not a secret resurrection

 NOT A SECRET RESURRECTION

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. (Luke 24:2-3)

What’s the deal with the stone? Why didn’t Jesus just pass through the stone? Afterall, that is what he did later when he materialized out of nowhere into a locked room. It was so shocking, the disciples thought they were seeing a ghost. (24:36-37)

Why did Jesus not just pass through the solid object at the tomb? THE STONE WAS NOT ROLLED AWAY FOR JESUS TO GET OUT BUT FOR OTHERS TO SEE IN! It was a demonstration of the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead just as he had repeatedly predicted (Luke 9:22, 9:44, 18:31-33).

The evidence for the resurrection was so overwhelming that the scaredy-cat disciples became as bold as lions and Jesus’ brother James went from being a skeptic to a fired-up proclaimer. Do any of you have a brother? If your brother came and said, “Behold, I am the Son of God,” what would it take for you to worship your brother in the literal sense? I mean really. I know you would say to him, “What have you been smoking?” James, however, was so convinced of the resurrection that he was willing to die for this rock-solid truth. The stone was rolled away, the calendar was split in two, our forgiveness and future were provided for.

One of my most favorite spots on earth is the garden tomb in Jerusalem. This popular site provides a visual example of what the burial site may have looked like after the stone was rolled away. I love to meditate at that spot about the greatest event in world history and the one that changed my life. 

I know people visit other graves of great religious leaders and meditate. Those graves are all marked, “occupied.” Jesus’ tomb reads, “He is not here. He has risen just like he said he would.”