ANCHOR DEVOTIONS (JANUARY 10, 2013)

The Tomb is Empty

Luke 24:1-12


"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)

It is Saturday in Jerusalem. There is a hush over the city as Jews observe the day of rest. Commerce ceases, shops are shuttered and trucks don't rumble. It reminds me of the day before the first Easter, when all was quiet, and the disciples were in mourning, with no hope for the future.

Thanks to the account of the Gospels, we today know the outcome. There were miracles over the prior three days, sudden darkness in daytime, an earthquake, tombs opening, the dead walking. Astounding though those things were, still none of it compared to the grand miracle to come on Easter Sunday.

Because of that Miracle we have the personal gladness of realizing our Messiah lives and reigns and that we are forgiven. We are new creations in Christ. His dominion reigns inside of us and yet extends over all His creation. Our risen Lord no longer hangs on the cross, and His body no longer rests in the tomb outside Jerusalem. We serve a risen Lord who conquered the grave! There is no other god who could claim or prove that.

INSIGHT
ONE DAY HE WILL RETURN AGAIN. MARANATHA, COME QUICKLY, LORD JESUS! ARE YOU READY?

READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Deuteronomy 19-20
Psalm 89
Acts 13

Luke 24:1-12
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Has Risen
24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.


THE LAMB OF GOD
with Darrell Johnson

Do you know the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world? This weekend we celebrate the risen Christ who offers forgiveness on the basis of his own sacrificial death for our sins.