The Tomb is Empty

Little Philip, born with Down’s syndrome, attended a third-grade Sunday School class with several eight-year-old boys and girls. Typical of that age, the children did not readily accept Philip with his differences, according to an article in Leadership magazine. But because of a creative teacher, they began to care about Philip and accept him as part of the group, though not fully. The Sunday after Easter the teacher brought Leggs pantyhose containers, the kind that look like large eggs. Each receiving one, the children were told to go outside on that lovely spring day, find some symbol for new life, and put it in the egg-like container. Back in the classroom, they would share their new-life symbols, opening the containers one by one in surprise fashion. After running about the church property in wild confusion, the students returned to the classroom and placed the containers on the table. Surrounded by the children, the teacher began to open them one by one. After each one, whether flower, butterfly, or leaf, the class would ooh and ahh. Then one was opened, revealing nothing inside. The children exclaimed, “That’s stupid. That’s not fair. Somebody didn’t do their assignment.”
Philip spoke up, “That’s mine.”
“Philip, you don’t ever do things right!” the student retorted. “There’s nothing there!”
“I did so do it,” Philip insisted. “I did do it. It’s empty. The tomb was empty!”
Silence followed. From then on Philip became a full member of the class. He died not long afterward from an infection most normal children would have shrugged off. At the funeral this class of eight-year-olds marched up to the altar not with flowers, but with their Sunday school teacher, each to lay on it an empty pantyhose egg.

~Source unknown

Philip had it right. Everyone else was caught up in finding the best item to put in their egg. They were quick to cast judgment on what they did not understand.

After Jesus was crucified, the disciples themselves had moments of disbelief. They had put all their faith in the Christ that was going to set up His earthly kingdom. Now He was dead? How could this be?

Jesus showed Himself alive to His disciples and many others after the Resurrection. Acts 1:3 states that, "He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs."

Many people have set out to disprove that Jesus was the Son of God, was crucified for our sins, and rose again. Because of the well-documented historical facts about Christ's life here on earth, many critics have made their own personal commitment to believe.

Dr. Seamands tells of a Muslim who became a Christian in Africa. “Some of his friends asked him, ‘Why have you become a Christian?’
He answered, ‘Well, it’s like this. Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions, and you didn’t know which way to go, and there at the fork in the road were two men, one dead and one alive—which one would you ask which way to go?’“
Warren Webster, April, 1980, HIS, p. 13

I know the one I would ask. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

As a former pastor used to say, "The tomb is empty and the throne is occupied!"

He is ALIVE!

That is what Easter is all about.

Hallelujah!


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