The Garden Tomb: Hope Shines Through

By Jimmy Foster

HE IS RISEN!

It was the news that shook the world.

To the brokenhearted, the news broke in waves of sheer joy.

To those facing the darkness of death, it provided the promise of life.

No longer did mankind need to feel hopeless.

From an empty tomb, our hope came shining through!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098097523

Book preview

Chapter 1

Low in the Grave He Lay

Death is a monster.

He rules over a dark domain. More feared than anything our imagination can conjure up, his visit is inevitable. He has held court over all humanity since the beginning of time, and the result is always the same. No one escapes.

This rock-hewn tomb is his territory. No sound can be heard. All is still and silent. No light can penetrate this darkness. The stone has sealed off any possible illumination, and its occupant reposes in silent bleakness.

Along with the light, hope seems to have been banished. Logical reasoning tells us that once a person enters this realm, there is no escape. Everything in human experience tells us this. The monster’s grip is final. He guards the grave with a jealousy befitting of absolute power.

But this grave is different. Hidden away from human view lies the one called Jesus. His entire life had been unique. His words have lifted the outcast and inspired the deepest devotion from those who followed him. He has had the power to heal the sick. Even death itself has yielded to his command.

Yet, he now had succumbed to its tentacles. He lies there unmoving.

Still.

Lifeless.

Unseen.

No eye sees what is about to happen. It has been ordained that no eye will gaze upon the unfolding marvel. Perhaps it is too holy for mortal man to gaze upon. Maybe it is too wonderful for our faculties to comprehend.

How could we ever describe or put into words the moment life enters back into the corpse of the Lord Jesus? How was it manifested? It simply is not recorded.

The first thing we can observe is when the earth begins to shake, and the massive stone begins to roll away from the opening. A different hand, not human, moves the stone to the side.

Light floods into every crevice of the tomb. All eyes can now look upon the work of the Father. The body of Christ is simply gone. The empty graveclothes, with no body to hold it up, have collapsed in upon itself. They remain where they lay, unmoved, bearing silent witness.

With the entrance of light, the darkness that has ruled the tomb is vanquished. Death has given up its stranglehold and fled in the face of the onset of life.

Even brighter than the light that floods the tomb is the brilliance that comes pouring out of the tomb. Hope cascades out of that opening. Sorrow and hopelessness cannot stand against its deluge. It surges out, engulfing all who stand before it.

The sting of death is gone!

The grave has lost its grip!

In its place, hope shines forth for all to see.

It is Saturday, April 11, 2020.

The day before Easter.

This year Easter is going to be different than any year in my entire life. We are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. The villain in this story is COVID-19. This highly contagious virus has managed to shut down not just our country but the entire world. Economies have ground to a screeching halt. Employees are either working at home or are laid off altogether.

Most states are under a mandatory shelter in place order. Everything but essential services are closed. Social distancing is the order of the day.

This has affected the churches also. To help stem the spread of the virus, most churches are closed and have resorted to holding online services (thank God for the technology).

This year, nothing will be the same. Some would say there is a pall hanging over everything.

But I know Easter is coming.

Easter has always been a special time to me. It brings the promise of spring, signaling the budding of new life as spring replaces the dreariness of winter. It always lifts my spirit as the warmth forecasts the beginning of all sorts of outdoor activity.

There are a lot of memories associated with Easter. I can remember waking up on Easter morning to find an Easter basket waiting for all of us children. There would be Easter egg hunts and all sorts of activities associated with it.

Let’s not forget the church services. Each year we would all get a brand-new suit and dress up for Easter. We were all eager to see everyone in their new suits and dresses. We would walk in all spiffied up and ready for the Easter parade. Do you remember that song?

In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it,

You’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade.

Easter took on a special meaning for me in 1964. It was on an Easter Sunday night that Jesus Christ came into my heart and saved me. Each year I would celebrate his resurrection AND my new life.

This year all of those activities are shut down.

But I know Easter is coming. To most eyes there would appear to be no reason to celebrate.

What should be a very depressing time has turned out very different for me. I can’t explain it, but there is a joy surging through my very being this Saturday. Maybe it’s because my mind has zeroed in on the actual reason we celebrate.

Jesus Christ lives!

He rose from the grave!

Oh, what joy there is in that thought! That truth squeezes my heart good and proper and brings tears to my eyes.

No pandemic can shut down the joy that the child of God experiences. I still go on rejoicing over the new life we find in a risen Lord. As I have heard many say, The church pews may be empty, but so is the tomb.

The reason I can rejoice is that even as no power in heaven and earth could keep him in the grave, no pandemic can erase my joy.

Just as sure as his resurrection, I know Easter is coming.

Could you imagine, however, how gloomy it must have felt on the Saturday between the crucifixion and the first day of the week? How distraught the disciples must have been! Their master had died, and they were in despair. The disciples had not seen the risen savior yet.

It was dark.

The future seemed bleak.

There seemed to be no reason to rejoice.

It is that in-between time I want to think about right now. That time when the body of Jesus lay in the grave.

Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my savior.

Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord. (Robert Lowery)

Deep in the cave he lay still. No breath, no movement would stir his body. No warmth or sound would be emitted from his remains.

Jesus Christ was dead. There is just no denying it or getting around the fact. He had faced the final skirmish and lay lifeless.

The Certainty of His Death

People love to see conspiracies. If something doesn’t make sense or if a person doesn’t want to accept something, they are then compelled to develop a theory to explain away what their mind cannot comprehend.

The first attempt to do this was born out of a deliberate attempt to deceive. The religious leaders, realizing that something unexplainable had happened, attempted to bribe the guards at the tomb. Their story of a cabal of disciples clandestinely creeping in to steal the body of Jesus while the guards slept never gained much traction (except to the diehard conspiracy theorists). It just was not a plausible explanation.

In recent years, a popular theory has been that Jesus didn’t actually die on the cross. He merely swooned and was later revived by the disciples. This is really not a new theory and has been around for quite a while. The theory recognizes two unassailable facts:

It first recognizes that the tomb was empty.

It then recognizes that the living, breathing Jesus of Nazareth was seen by a great number of witnesses. Hence, there was the need to develop this story.

Enter Joseph of Arimathea. It is really not difficult to prove the fact that Jesus actually died. This is the part that Joseph fills in the narrative. Joseph’s actions give confirmation to the fact that Jesus was dead.

When Joseph went in to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, Pilate was amazed that he was dead so quickly. He called in the centurion who had overseen the crucifixion. The centurion affirmed the fact that Jesus had died.

The Roman soldiers were death dealers. They were experts in the matter of death. They knew it. They recognized it. The centurion himself had risen to his rank through his experiences in battle. The idea that he could somehow have been deceived is ludicrous.

The Roman centurion validated his death.

The entire weight of the Roman empire stood behind the proclamation of death. There was little doubt that the man named Jesus had died.

There is a second purpose that Joseph fulfills. The Romans did not take great care in burying malefactors who were crucified. They often were left hanging for days after they died. When they did dispose of the bodies, likely as not they would be covered over in some kind of mass shallow grave. Had Jesus been treated thus, it would have been near impossible to locate his burial.

By claiming the body of Jesus and placing him in Joseph’s own tomb, he set Jesus apart. This served to set up the resurrection, leaving an empty tomb to stand as testimony to the fact.

Some other critics have seized upon the fact that death came so quickly. Crucifixion normally took much longer, therefore they do not believe that he died.

One merely has to look at his scourging to find the explanation. He had been so disfigured by the lashing that he barely resembled anything human. That is the sad fact.

He had been scourged nearly to the point of death. He was already well on his way to dying when they nailed him to the cross. It’s not hard to understand that death would have come more quickly.

So we can see clearly that on that Saturday, Jesus lay in death, reposed in a quiet grave.

Waiting.

Set Your Watch

One of the ironies of the resurrection story is the fact that the scribes and priests who opposed Jesus seemed to have a greater understanding of Jesus’s teaching concerning his death and resurrection than his own disciples did.

Jesus’s followers just couldn’t seem to wrap their brains around the fact that the Lord clearly stated what would happen to him. They just could not conceive of the idea that Jesus would die. Perhaps they dismissed it as just a parable of some sort. For whatever reason, they just could not fathom it.

Quite the opposite, those members of the Sanhedrin who had him arrested understood perfectly what Jesus was trying to imply. Even though they tried to use his statement about the temple against him, they knew what he was saying. They knew his claim to deity, and they knew he promised to rise from the dead.

They went, therefore, to Pilate and said, This deceiver claimed that he would rise from the dead. To prevent his disciples from stealing the body and claiming a miracle, give us a guard to watch the tomb.

They made that tomb as secure as possible. They set their watch to keep him in that grave yet could not prevent the inevitable. It would not change what was about to happen.

People today attempt the same thing. They set their defenses against God to not avail. No matter what their arguments, he is still Lord. And on that day, death would be defeated.

What stood in the way of his rising?

First, consider the physical impediments. There was the stone standing in the way. The stone was large and extremely heavy. It was round and fit to roll down a trough built specifically for it. It could not easily be moved. It would take the combined effort of several people to even budge it.

Added to that was the seal itself. The seal probably consisted of a bar that lay across the face of the stone. The ends were then affixed into the rock face on either side of the stone. This served as a latch, rendering the stone unmovable. On the face of the bar was the seal of Rome itself. Literally it represented the ultimate in human authority. The authority of the Roman empire and of Caesar himself stood, preventing the removal of the body.

To back up that authority, there was a contingent of Roman soldiers guarding Joseph’s tomb. The greatest of all earthly powers were set to prevent anything from entering or exiting that burial cavern.

Everything physically possible had been done to keep the body of Jesus in the ground. Every devise at their disposal had been deployed to prevent his rising. Physically, they had done their best.

Yet, human effort could not stand against God’s will.

There was more than human endeavor, however, that attempted to impede the resurrection. Logic itself said he could not rise from the dead. Human reasoning clearly came to the conclusion that it was absolutely impossible.

Perhaps the most impregnable obstruction was death itself. Mankind has always struggled against death. Physicians go to great lengths to heal and prolong life. Doctors have developed all sorts of medicines and treatments that can delay the approach of death.

In the end, however, death always seems to win. Sooner or later, everyone dies. It is a fact of life. Jesus himself had given up the ghost, or dismissed his spirit and succumbed to death.

Death’s grip is powerful.

Yet on the first day of the week, the impossible happened. The incredible fact is that life flooded the tomb, and death had to bow to its deluge.

There is one consideration that has long occupied my mind. The specific instant that life entered the body of Jesus was hidden from human eyes. No one saw that moment. It was hidden away deep within the tomb.

Why Was the Moment of Resurrection Hidden from Human View?

Had I been writing the story, making it up as I go, it would have gone much differently.

All twelve disciples would have arrived and were talking with the Roman detail. Suddenly an angel would appear, grab hold of the seal, and rip it out. With a mighty shove, the stone would go rolling down the hill. The angel would have invited the witnesses, Come and see what is about to happen.

Both Roman guard and disciple would have crowded around the tomb entrance. As they gazed inside, they became aware of a tremor in the earth. Their fear and trepidation increased to alarming heights.

Suddenly, the interior of the tomb would be enveloped with a sudden blaze of light. At just that instant, the body of Jesus begins to stir. To their utter amazement, he sits up arrayed not in grave clothes but in a resilient robe shining like the sun.

All of those gathered fell back in amazement as Jesus steps out of the grave. The garden is instantly surrounded by a chorus of angels who sings (as they did at his birth), Glory to God in the Highest! He is risen!

All those who see it, Roman and Jew alike, immediately became believers and lead a revival that causes the entire world to repent and turn back to God.

That is the way man might have written it.

But it is not an invented story, and it did not happen that way.

God chose to keep it hidden from our sight. No eye saw the instant it happened. It was withheld from our view.

Men did, however, see the result. They saw the risen savior walking in their midst. They touched the nail prints. He sat down and ate with them. He met them in Galilee. They saw him ascend from the Mount of Olives.

They witnessed the results of God’s moving but not the actual event itself. They had all the proof they needed in order to believe that God had worked a great miracle.

Why did God choose to do it that way? Why was the most wondrous miracle in history done in secret?

I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t have inside knowledge on why God does things in the way he does. After all, his ways are much higher than our ways.

After contemplating on it for quite a while and prayerfully studying the Scriptures, I believe I might be able to offer a possible suggestion.

To do so, I must go back to a story found in the Bible concerning Moses.

Moses had ascended the holy mount to receive God’s commandments. While he tarried, the Israelites fell prey to sin by fashioning an idol in the form of a golden calf. It is a familiar story. We have heard it in Sunday school all of our lives.

It is what occurs next that offers some insight into the question at hand.

Moses removes the Tabernacle and places it outside of the camp. He enters into it to talk to God as a friend. The children of Israel observe the pillar of cloud that guides them and hovers over the entrance, and they fall on their faces in worship.

While the cloud hovers, God speaks with Moses. He has indicated that he would send his angel before them but that he would remove his presence from their midst because of their hard-heartedness. Moses then begins to intercede with God for the people.

He asks three things of God: First, show me the way that I should lead the people. In response to what God has indicated, he then makes another request. He requests that God would personally go with them. God then promises Moses that he would be in their midst.

He then makes a third, more personal request.

And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. (Exodus 33:18)

It is while answering this that the Lord reveals something about himself.

And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. (Exodus 33:20)

The Hebrew word for glory is kabod and indicates weight or heaviness. In the Old Testament it always signifies God’s presence. It was that pillar of cloud that led Israel by day. When they finally entered the land and built the temple in Jerusalem, it was that presence that so filled the holy of holies that the priests cold not remain to minister in that place.

The people had just caught a glimpse of God’s glory but never his full manifestation. God’s response to Moses seems to indicate that the human body could not survive in the full presence of Almighty God. That is why we will need a new glorified body when we stand in his presence.

When God moves in our midst today, we are merely catching just a small glimpse of his majesty and glory. Oh, what a day that will be when we stand in his presence with a new body and behold the beauty of his holiness!

Returning to our original question, let me offer a suggestion as to why the instant of resurrection was hid from our view. Could it be that the full glory of God filled that dark tomb, bringing glorious life back to the dormant body of Christ? It seems reasonable that a miracle that stands equal with creation itself would require the sum of all God’s glory.

That being so, for man to have viewed the instant life returned to Jesus would have been too overwhelming for frail humans.

What remains is that the most awe-inspiring miracle was hidden from the sight of the disciples. They did not see it when it happened, but they did see the results. They saw the risen Lord walking in their midst.

What was at first hidden from their view was now displayed openly.

That presents a wonderful picture to us.

A Picture of