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The Empty Tomb

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But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ²They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. ³So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. ⁵The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? ⁶He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, ⁷that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.” ⁸Then they remembered that he had said this. ⁹So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. ¹⁰It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. ¹¹But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. ¹²However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.—Luke 24:1-12 (NLT)

As the women arrived “very early on Sunday morning,” “they found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance,” revealing that the tomb was

.

Just as the birth of Jesus was first announced by angels to lowly shepherds watching their flock out in a field, so his resurrection is first announced by angels to

, who had no standing in Jewish social structures.

Jesus had said this would happen, and it did, proving that Jesus and his teachings could be trusted because he had predicted what no one could

.

The men couldn’t imagine this story coming from women, but

, the de facto leader of the disciples, did run to the tomb to see for himself.

All this confused Peter, and Luke says, “he went home again, wondering what had happened,” and that’s the question we all have to deal with –

?

Did Jesus’ death really pay the eternal price for our sins, so that we could be

and have life eternal through him?

If this is all true, Jesus issues us the same invitation he issued those first disciples: “come,

me.”

WHAT CHRIST DID FOR US

⁵You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. ⁶Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. ⁷Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, ⁸he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. ⁹Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.—Philippians 2:5-11 (NLT)

1. Jesus willingly “

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   his divine privileges.”

2. Jesus became “a human being,” and willingly “took the humble position of a slave,” of a

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   .

3. Jesus “died a criminal’s death on a cross,” because he had taken upon himself the

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   of the world.
   

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.—2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)
He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.—Romans 4:25 (NLT)

In all this, we see the

nature of God and His Kingdom.

Easter tells us that the way of Jesus will one day be the way of all creation, and we have a

– will we humbly join in with him, or will we oppose him until the day his rule is confirmed.

Jesus tells us

God did all this.

Jesus: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.—John 3:16 (ESV)
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.—Romans 10:9 (NLT)

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Next Week: Revelation 4

Discussion Questions

1. What’s the significance for the truth of this event that the ones who reported the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection were women?
2. What was the importance of Jesus having previously told his followers about his coming death and resurrection?
3. Why does the Apostle Paul tell his readers to have “the same attitude that Christ Jesus had”? Discuss what makes up that “attitude,” based on Paul’s passage to the Philippians.
4. What is the result of Jesus’ obedience to his Heavenly Father? Why is this important to us?
5. What “choice” does Easter give us? What happens to those who make Jesus’ choice? What happens to those who don’t?
6. Why did God do all this? What do you think of this reason? How does this affect your response? What do you want to do?