The Cross and the Empty Tomb


Over 2000 years ago the greatest gift was given at calvary on the cross. As we are nearing the end of Holy week and approaching Easter Sunday, I am reminded of the cross that was used to sacrifice the Son of God,  the tomb that was filled, but later found empty and the amazing Savior I serve.  I become overwhelmed when I think about the gift that was given to all of humanity, the price that was paid for MY sins, and how this moment in history changed my life and my future forever.


Jesus, who proclaimed himself as the Son of God and the Messiah, was a sinless man.  He lived a perfect life reflected by love.  On what we now know as Good Friday, Jesus was betrayed and the crowds started to turn shouting for his crucifixion.   He was beaten, ridiculed, and made to carry His own cross through the crowds.  The one that was once know as the Son of God and King of the Jews was now viewed and treated like a criminal.  As He was nailed to the cross and as He hung there, an innocent man took the nails, the pain, and the punishment for you and me.


We are sinful people, no matter how hard we try, we will continue to sin.  And though that can't be changed, Jesus allowed our hurts, sins, insecurities, regrets, and shame to transfer over to Him and become His own.  Jesus took the cross, He took our debt, paid it in full and provided us with a freedom that is only obtained through His death.


Jesus was buried and laid in that grave, but when Sunday came, He could no longer be held down.  He rose and offer a receipt stating that the debt we owed had been paid in full.  Without the empty tomb, the death at the cross would have left us with a dead King.  His resurrection is a beautiful gift and proves that Jesus is alive, with us, and worthy of our praise.


The cross and the empty tomb mean everything to me.

I remember watching The Passion of Christ in the theaters, as tears streamed down my face, I was given a realistic view of what the curification look liked.  A painful death, mocked by those He loved, and yet He agreed to take the pain for you and me.  The cross leaves me with thoughts of grief and shame.  Shameful that someone took the punishment that I deserved.  Grief that the only person that knew how to love perfectly had to die for the rest of us who still continue to screw it up day after day.  That should have been you and me on the cross, rather someone innocent and perfect took the punishment in our place.



Also, as I reflect during this season, I am reminded that the cross and empty tomb brings freedom and relief for me.  As a a sinner, I do not have to be tied down by my sins.  His death and willingness to take my wrongdoings, have set me free.  I am no longer bound by my sins and the worry of how I'm going to pay for the debts that I have acquired and will never be able to pay for on my own.


The cross and the empty tomb also brings me a sense of joy, peace, hope, and safety.  I am joyful in knowing that death is not the last part of the crucifixion story, rather He went on to rise again.  And because He rose again, my own physical death will not be the end, rather I am given the gift of eternal life.  I have hope that someday every wrong will be made right.  That when times are tough, there is a safety in knowing that something good and pure that has stood the test stands true.  I have a peace that provides the reassurance that even though life is messy and full of chaos, there is a prize at the end.

I'm thankful for the cross, the empty tomb and the Savior that took the nails that should of been mine.



“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.” ~ John 3:16-17, The Message