Mary Finds the Tomb Empty
This past Sunday was Easter. The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.
In John 20:1-10, Mary Magdalene goes to Jesus’ tomb and finds the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. She assumes someone has stolen the body and ran to tell the disciples. Peter and John go back to the tomb with her. They find the cloth that the body had been wrapped in lying there.
After all they had experienced, they still didn’t understand that Jesus must rise from the dead.
The disciples left, but Mary stayed. She was crying outside the tomb when she saw Jesus. He told her to go tell the others. She went and told them that she had seen the Lord. (John 20:11-18)
After His resurrection, He was seen several different times. On the road to Emaus, in the room with the disciples, then again so Thomas could see and believe, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and to multiple others.
The resurrected Jesus has a physical body. He eats with the disciples. Thomas touches the scars. People recognize Him. Jesus had a perfect body, scars and all.
After all that we know, do we understand who Jesus is?
The evidence is there if we chose to believe.
Our earthly bodies are less than perfect. In addition to our physical flaws, we have a big God-shaped hole, smack dab in the middle. The first step to a perfect, heavenly body is to fill this hole by accepting the gift Jesus gave us when He died on the cross.
Jesus will fill that God-shaped hole, making us whole.
The greatest joy will be our own empty tomb if we have a perfect body for eternity in Heaven. This is a choice. I hope you make the right one.