The Empty Tomb is a Promise

Have you ever heard the idiom empty promise. It is a promise that someone makes without any true intention to fulfill it. They generally make the promise to appease or at least silence conflict. A company after a major disaster may make a promise to increase safety protocols and prevent future disasters, but when it happens again we realize that it was just an empty promise. Empty promises make us lose trust and hurt the perception we may have of a better future.

This Sunday we celebrate a promise that God kept. Ironically, it was a promise that may have appeared empty at first. When Mary Magdalene and the other women go to the tomb on the first day of the week to anoint Jesus’ body they are shocked to discover that the tomb is empty. In that moment not only had they discovered that Jesus’ body was missing, but they may also have been overwhelmed with the possibility of an empty promise. Did all that they had come to believe turn out to be an empty promise? No! An angel appears to them to tell them that the Jesus the Nazarene they were looking for, has risen! He was not there. The angel reveals to them that the promise has been fulfilled and they are to now go out and tell others.

This Easter we too should be reminded that God does not make empty promises. As Christians we should have a resurrection perspective of the promises of God. The bodily Resurrection and the Church’s commission stand together as God’s continued fulfillment of a promise. A promise that death is not the end, God has redeemed us, and we are never to be alone! This is the story we are to share. Easter is a fulfilled promise made by Jesus that changes our perspective of life. That is why we celebrate!

Come celebrate with us this Easter at 7:00 AM (Sunrise Service), 8:30 AM, or 10:45 AM!

In God’s grip,

Pastor Chuck Church