Teaching Notes

(unknown photographer) The tomb was empty!  Not because it was the wrong tomb but because Jesus rose!

What Should I Know About the Bible?

Matthew 27:57-28:15 (The Message)

57-61 Late in the afternoon a wealthy man from Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, arrived. His name was Joseph. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate granted his request. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linens, put it in his own tomb, a new tomb only recently cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the entrance. Then he went off. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary stayed, sitting in plain view of the tomb.

62-64 After sundown, the high priests and Pharisees arranged a meeting with Pilate. They said, "Sir, we just remembered that that liar announced while he was still alive, 'After three days I will be raised.' We've got to get that tomb sealed until the third day. There's a good chance his disciples will come and steal the corpse and then go around saying, 'He's risen from the dead.' Then we'll be worse off than before, the final deceit surpassing the first."

65-66 Pilate told them, "You will have a guard. Go ahead and secure it the best you can." So they went out and secured the tomb, sealing the stone and posting guards.

1-4 After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God's angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn't move.

5-6 The angel spoke to the women: "There is nothing to fear here. I know you're looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.

7 "Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, 'He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.' That's the message."

8-10 The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples. Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. "Good morning!" he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, "You're holding on to me for dear life! Don't be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I'll meet them there."

11-15 Meanwhile, the guards had scattered, but a few of them went into the city and told the high priests everything that had happened. They called a meeting of the religious leaders and came up with a plan: They took a large sum of money and gave it to the soldiers, bribing them to say, "His disciples came in the night and stole the body while we were sleeping." They assured them, "If the governor hears about your sleeping on duty, we will make sure you don't get blamed." The soldiers took the bribe and did as they were told. That story, cooked up in the Jewish High Council, is still going around.

Note: I know this is a lot of scripture so I won't write as much.  The question about belief we examine today is that Jesus had not really risen but that individuals went to the wrong tomb.
 
Question: How many eyewitness do we have that this was the right tomb?
 
Answer: First we have Joseph the man that placed Jesus in the tomb.  We also have the two Mary's that stood and watched everything.  They would never forget where they saw their master laid.  The were sitting in plain view of the tomb. We now have the Pharisees because there were trying to prevent Jesus' resurrection.  So they asked for guards to be posted outside of the tomb.  Surely they had to know where he was to be able to seal the tomb.  I do not believe they would have just taken someones word.  When the two Mary's came back, the stone was rolled away and Jesus was no longer in the tomb.  Yet they met an angel that told them he was no longer in the tomb but he had risen.  Let us know forget that also met Jesus themselves along the way back to tell the others. What happened then is the guards become fearfully and went back and told the religious leaders Jesus was gone.  They paid the guards and said the story we are telling is the disciples took the body.  Today we still struggle with believing the truth about the resurrection.
 
Prayer: Help me to believe this truth because it is what may faith is founded on that Jesus died and rose again for my sins.  Help me not to be deceived with the foolishness of this world but to see and accept what your word tells me.  This I pray in Jesus' name.