John 20:1-10
The Rev. Dr. Robert S. Langworthy, preaching
April 5, 2026 – Easter
In the gray dark of dawn, with the eastern sky lightening little by little, Mary Magdalene visited Jesus’ tomb. She was startled to find the stone that had sealed it shut removed and the tomb empty. Jumping to the conclusion that someone had stolen His corpse, she ran to tell Simon Peter and another disciple (likely John); and they in turn ran to see for themselves. They also found only emptiness where Jesus’ corpse should have been. Beside a few small items, there was nothing there! And it hadn’t yet dawned on any of them that that emptiness, that nothingness, would soon mean everything to them.
While the world offers all kinds of promises that prove empty, the emptiness of Jesus’ tomb delivers on its every promise, filling open souls with new and better life!
Let us then listen at the empty tomb to hear the echoes of the Risen Christ who vacated it to seek and save the lost and to set our troubled world right!
With his wife Kay, Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, endured the most devastating experience one ever could. Their son Matthew, at the age of 27, took his own life after battling depression and mental illness for years.
About a year after that horrific tragedy, Rick said: “I’ve often been asked, ‘How have you made it? How have you kept going in your pain?’ And I’ve often replied, ‘The answer is Easter.’”
Rick explained, “The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus happened over three days. Friday was the day of suffering and pain and agony. Saturday was the day of doubt and confusion and misery. But Easter Sunday was the day of hope and joy and victory. And here is a fact of life: you will face these three days over and over and over in your lifetime; and, when you do, you’ll find yourself asking – as I did – three fundamental questions. What do I do in my days of pain and agony? How do I get through my days of doubt and misery? How do I get to the days of joy and victory? The answer is Easter. The answer is always Easter.”
Easter’s empty tomb echoes forth the hope, joy and victory the risen Christ gives to anyone who trusts Him!
The empty tomb echoes with hope. Before Easter, things looked like they’d come to a dead end. Jesus’ had been buried; and so too the dreams of His having a lasting impact for good. His resurrection changed everything. The empty tomb echoes forth with the good news that nothing is impossible for God, and nothing too wonderful for God. Jesus is alive and back at it moving mountains with His mighty love. Within a few minutes of Peter and John’s running home, a previously devastated Mary Magdalene was hugging Jesus in joyful, grateful adoration; and that very evening, all the disciples but Thomas were relishing His electrifying company as they talked and ate together. From that encounter with Him and the other encounters that followed it, those scaredy-cat disciples were transformed into bold and brave heroes who, despite violent and deadly opposition against them, were “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). For they were making new followers of Jesus in every corner of the earth and creating a growing and powerful community that instituted unprecedented health care for the needy, food and shelter for the poor, and rights for women. Easter generates hope – both for society at large, and for each individual in it. For example, when I get frustrated with myself, as I easily do, and despair of overcoming my faulty default settings and my bad habits carried along on the momentum of many years, Easter reminds me that it ain’t over yet and that I can still become a better version of myself.
The empty tomb echoes hope. It also echoes joy.
Before Easter, Jesus’ people were depressed, dejected and disillusioned. But, from His resurrection, they became elated, elevated and energized. They discovered Him as a living force that satisfies their deepest longings, sets afire their zeal for righteousness, uplifts their spirits and expands their potential to be calm, content and cheerful even in tough circumstances. For example, when I get downcast and feel like a failure, Easter tells me that, because Christ lives, I have the best and most supportive companion I could ever want; that, because His faithful gracious presence is so precious, my defeats and losses and pains are bearable; and that, because He’s ever there for me to guide and empower me, I can be glad and grateful for how good He’s already made my life, even while relishing the thought that the best is always yet to come.
Of course, even after Easter, bad things can happen. We can wrong and hurt others, and others can wrong and hurt us; and sometimes the wrong is so bad it is realistic to shake our head with sadness and lament, “Things will never be the same.” But, with the involvement of the risen Christ, what can never be the same can become even better than it was before. The God who turned a corpse into a living Person can do more than just restore what once was: He’ll improve it over its original version.
And, of course, even after Easter, there are potently destructive forces at work in this benighted world. But none of them can in the long run undermine Jesus’ beautiful plans or thwart their fulfillment. In the end, Jesus wins, completely and forever.
The empty tomb echoes with hope and joy. It also echoes with victory – most especially over death, which Paul once called our “last enemy”.
Death entered this world by evil and sin. God hates death, and the grief and desolation it brings. Thanks be to Christ then that, because of Easter. death itself will die. Sure, unless the end of this present evil age comes soon, we will all die. But in the risen Christ we can live forever after we die. And in the world to come, we have a family reunion to look forward to, whose happiness is endless and more substantial than any we have known thus far. That’s why in 1 Corinthians 15 Paul mocks death, saying, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
Hope and joy and victory echo out of the empty tomb. May we believe in Easter, and exult in the upbeat anticipation, the gladness of heart and the sturdy confidence the risen Christ brings! Truly He is our best life, beginning now and running into eternity!
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