April
2006
The Role of the Sepulcher in the Easter story
Mark 16:1-8
Philip Yancy in his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, wrote about George Buttrick, former chaplain at Harvard. Buttrick recalled that he often had students who came to his office, plopped down in a chair, and declared, “I don’t believe in God” Buttrick would offer a disarming reply, “Sit down and tell me what kind of God you don’t believe in. I probably don’t believe in that God either.” Then He would talk about Jesus.
That is the corrective to all our beliefs about God. Jesus! The name above all names. The Incarnate God! The lover of souls. The Savior of the world. Religion is detrimental to you health. Without a personal relationship with God through His only begotten Son, Jesus, religion is like the Sepulcher in the Easter story – a symbol of death and empty.
Mark’s gospel here does not use the word tomb. From 15:46 through 16:8 six times he uses the word sepulcher. The first two are prior to the resurrection. Mark uses 15:46 to affirm that Jesus was actually dead and buried and a stone was rolled in front of the sepulcher.
What is a Sepulcher? The dictionary describes it as a tomb, grave, or burial place. It is a deep cavity above ground – or at least the entrance is above ground. Like a cave. Today there is a church built on the sight where Jesus’ sepulcher is believed to be. Constantine, Holy Roman Emperor in the early fourth century decided that a shrine should be built on the sight of Jesus’ sepulcher. Through the years it has been damaged, partially destroyed, and repaired many times.
The Detroit Free Press ran a story this past Thursday about this church. Oddly enough, two families control the door to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This goes back to a peace agreement some 800 years ago. Today, one family still holds the key and another family opens the door. Six different religions look after or control the various sections of the Church: Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Egyptian Coptic, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Syrian Orthodox. And the ironic part of all this: the two families who hold the key to the church and open the door are Muslims.
The first question I would ask is, “Why build a church on a sepulcher?” The angel asked the women that same kind of question in Luke 24:5, “Why seek the living among the dead?” The second question I would ask is, “Isn’t that just like religions? We all want to build our shrines and cherish our relics. Religion is just like the sepulcher – dead. The good news today is this: “HE IS NOT HERE! HE IS RISEN!”
The last four uses of the word sepulcher in Mark’s gospel refer to the time after the resurrection. The sepulcher plays a role. The sepulcher has a message to preach.
1. To the sepulcher we come with – ANTICIPATION OF THE MOMENT Verses 1-2
It was early in the morning – the first day of the week. They were traveling…on their way…a vivid picture of newness and beginning. But they didn’t know it. They anticipated only anointed Jesus’ dead body with spices. Just like religions. Going through the motions. Customs. Traditions. Relics. Carrying the right kinds of spices. Making sure the Sabbath was over so they wouldn’t break any Sabbath laws. Careful to keep the rules. They came to the sepulcher. The sun is just rising. Could they…might they…would it be possible that one of them might anticipate something extraordinary happening that morning?
How about you? It’s Easter Sunday. Are you just keeping your tradition? Are you cherishing your holy relics today? A Bible, a cross, a hymnal, a padded pew? Or did you come anticipating God doing something extraordinary in your life?
2. At the sepulcher we stand with – DESPERATION OF THE TASK Verses 3-4
Mark tells us that these women were faced with an overwhelming task. Who will roll away the stone? That was on their minds. A problem. A big problem. Bigger than them. What problems have you brought with you to church this morning? Family problems? Money problems? Recent bad news you have received? Sin problems? Addictions? Problems bigger than you are. What will I do about this?
Matthew’s Gospel tells us how God handles problems like this. Matthew 28:2, “And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.” He sat on it. Symbolic not only of the power to move the stone, but the complete victory God made over death and the grave. You too, through Jesus Christ – not through religion – but through Jesus Christ – have this same power available to you. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
I have witnessed this kind of power in my own life when Jesus came into my life and saved me. Mark says the stone “was very great” – but it was not great enough to hold Jesus inside.
In England a house was build in a forest clearing with a six foot thick concrete foundation. But it time, a little oak sapling grew, spread its roots, and burst through the concrete floor. Now that’s power. From a tiny seed. Jesus has also burst through and crushed death by the mighty power of the resurrection. Do you think a big rock can cause God such a big problem? “Nothing is difficult for thee,” the Bible says of God. We stand today at the empty sepulcher. The stone has been rolled away. No problem we face in life is too desperate for us if we know the power of His resurrection.
3. Into the sepulcher we enter with – UNCERTAINTY OF THE SCENE Verses 5-6
When the women saw all this happening, they decided to go in the sepulcher to check it out. They saw an angel there. Mark says they were afraid. Luke describes two angels. He says the women were perplexed…confused. John says that Mary waited until Peter and John had checked it out, then she peeked inside. There were two angels. She told them that she was crying because she was afraid that someone had stolen or moved his body and she didn’t know where to find it.
Have you ever looked for something and you couldn’t find it? You knew you had put it there. It was there the last time you saw it. But it’s gone. Where did it go? You stand there confused, your mouth hanging open. “I know it was there.” You began to imagine what could have happened. Am I at the wrong place? Did somebody move it? Is someone playing a trick on me? Am I losing my mind?
When you look into the empty tomb today, what do you say? Are you afraid? Are you confused? Do you believe he has been stolen? Or do you believe He is risen? You will live your life based on what you believe about the empty tomb. If you believe Jesus is alive, you will follow Him. If you think He is just hidden or missing, you will doubt God’s power. If you try to figure it out yourself, you will be religious. No one has ever found the body of Jesus dead. He is not here!
There is power in emptiness. A school professor once assigned his students to turn in a five page paper on courage. Give the best example of courage you know. Several students told some fascinating stories. But one young man got an A+. He turned in five empty pages. There is power in emptiness. The angel said, “Look. Look for yourself. He isn’t here. Look where they laid him. It’s empty.”
4. From the Sepulcher we run with – URGENCY OF THE NEWS Verses 7-8
The angel told the women to go and tell Peter and the other disciples. Matthew 28:7 tells us that they instructed them to “go quickly!” There is urgency to this message. So the women did exactly as they were instructed. They went out quickly and fled. They trembled. They were amazed. They were afraid. They were so excited they could not stop and talk to anyone else along the way. Luke says they left the sepulcher and told all the things which they had seen.
Don’t you wish Christian people still got that excited about the resurrection of Jesus? Don’t you wish our altars could be flooded before we got through the first verse of the invitation? Don’t you wish people would run out of church and be so excited about the Gospel message that they couldn’t bear to stop and waste a minute? Religion is dead and will bored most people to death. But Christ is alive and that excites us and amazes us.
CONCLUSION:
So what does the sepulcher mean to you? It’s just a hewn out piece of rock or a cave. You might want to build a church over it and start a new religious movement like Constantine did. Maybe we can make a lot of money if we sold little necklaces with an empty sepulcher on it – like people do with crosses and crucifix. But religion can save you.
You might explain it away. Jesus was stolen or hidden or misplaced. He wasn’t really dead, you might say. If that were true, go home and forget all about Easter. Either Jesus is Alive and he is who he says he is or it’s all a lie. Either He died on the cross to save sinners and rose again to conquer death or he just started another religion. Either you know Him as your personal Lord and Savior or you don’t. What do you believe?
Dr. Seamands tells of a man from another religion in Africa who converted to Christianity. Someone asked him why he would convert from his religion to another. He answered 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 of those two men would you ask which way to go – the one dead or the one alive?”
John records that Mary turned around a saw Jesus. He called her name, “Mary!” She answered, “Master!” That is our only response. He calls us by name. We answer Him. Master. Lord. Savior. The sepulcher is not a religious relic. It is not something to be owned and fought over by all kinds of religions. It points to the risen Jesus. It is empty today because Jesus is living. Do you know Him? Have you ever called Him your Lord and Savior? What role does the empty sepulcher play in your life?