_THE EMPTY TOMB_
LUKE xxiv. 1-12.
That empty tomb means the conquest of death. The Captive proved mightier
than the captor. He emerged from the prison as the Lord of the prison, and
death reeled at His going. In the risen Saviour death is dethroned; he
takes his place at the footstool to do the bidding of his sovereign Lord
and King. And that empty tomb means the conquest of sin. Sin had done its
worst, and had failed. All the forces of hell had been rallied against the
Lord, and above them all He rose triumphant and glorified. A little while
ago I discovered a spring. I tried to choke it. I heaped sand and gravel
upon it; I piled stones above it! And through them all it emerged,
noiselessly and irresistibly, a radiant resurrection!
And so the empty tomb becomes the symbol of a thoroughfare between life in
time and life in the unshadowed Presence of our God. Death is now like a
short tunnel which is near my home; I can look through it and see the
other side! In the risen Lord death becomes transparent. "O death, where
is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"