An open door is like an invitation to enter. On sunny summer days quaint little stores in an old town off the main road open their doors. Walking by you can’t help but sense the invitation.
Imagine finding the tomb empty and the stone rolled away on that first Easter morning. Matthew describes the scene in Matthew 28:1-2 “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.”
The empty tomb was an open invitation to step inside. That is what the women did. Matthew 28:5-6 “The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”
We can also step into the empty tomb. Jesus is risen as He said. When we choose to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we step into the empty tomb and rejoice that He is Risen.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Jesus had told His disciples what He had to do for them and for all of us. He was the sacrifice for all mankind. He had to suffer and die, go to hell, take the keys, and break the curse. On the cross Jesus declared, “It is finished.”
Then darkness descended and an earth quake shook the earth. The veil in the temple was torn. The torn veil is an open invitation for us to have a personal relationship with the Lord. Everyone is welcome. Please come in, but you have to choose to step into His presence.
Recently as I was studying the events of Holy Week, I thought about one of my favorite stories, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. Aslan, the Lion, goes willingly to the Stone Table and allows himself to be bound with ropes. I thought of Jesus as He willingly went to the cross. He was God. He could have refused, but Jesus went willingly for us.
Luke describes the scene at the empty tomb in Luke 28, verses 5-8 “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.”
In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe the children are afraid and hide when Aslan is killed. Then with the rising sun everything changed. As the children cautiously return to the Stone Table, they see it has broken in two pieces and Aslan is gone. He meets them and assures them that he is alive. The good prevailed and the evil was defeated.
“Arise, shine; for your Light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Isaiah 60:1
On the morning of the third day the women who ran to the tomb were greeted by angels. As they stepped into the empty tomb, they remembered what Jesus had told them. He had risen just as He had said. And nothing will ever be the same again. He is risen, He is risen indeed.
The tomb is still empty. Jesus is seated at the right had of the most High God, and He is interceding for each of us. Jesus is offering each of us an invitation today. Choose Him and choose eternal life.
Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”