THE EMPTY TOMB

Passage: John 20:1~9  

Key verse: 2


1. The stone removed (1-2)

Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early Sunday morning. She wanted to put spices on Jesus' dead body. She wondered how she would move the heavy stone that sealed the tomb's entrance. When she saw that the stone had been removed, she immediately concluded that the body had been stolen. She ran to tell Peter and John. She did not know it, but the empty tomb was the good news that would change the world. Her surprised reaction is a testimony.

2. He saw and believed (3-9)

Peter and John raced to the tomb. John won, but Peter was the one who boldly entered the tomb. The body was gone. The strips of linen with which it had been wrapped lay there, just as if the body had evaporated. The burial cloth looked as if the wearer had removed it from his head and folded it. John saw the empty tomb and believed that Jesus had risen. He didn't understand, but he believed.


Prayer: Lord, thank you for the testimony of the empty tomb. Jesus rose bodily from the dead with a new resurrection body, and so, someday, shall I.

One Word: The empty tomb--the Risen Jesus