By Pastor Steve Nickodemus

He Is Not Here!

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“He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.  Come and see the place where He lay.”
Matthew 28:6 New International Version

When you go to Israel, you will find that there is a debate about where Jesus was crucified and buried.  There are two sites where pilgrims go to remember how our Lord Jesus died upon a cross to save us from our sins and two sites where pilgrims go to remember how He was buried.  But there are three facts that we as believers know for sure:

First, that Jesus died upon a cross.  This is carefully documented in all four Gospels, that Jesus of Nazareth was sent by His Father to die a terrible death upon a cross so that we might not bear the penalty for our sins, but that He would pay the wages of sin that we owe.  The arrest, the mock trials, the beatings, the mocking, the scourging, the crown of thorns, the nails, and the painful hours upon the cross are all there for all to see.

Second, that Jesus was buried in a tomb.  Again, the Gospels emphatically state that Jesus’ body was buried in Joseph’s tomb, that a stone was rolled in front of the tomb, and the entrance was sealed and a guard posted.  Both of these facts emphasize that Jesus truly died and truly was buried.

But the third fact is the most important of all.  All four Gospels proclaim with great certainty and joy that Jesus did not stay dead in the tomb, but that on the third day He rose from the dead to bring eternal salvation to all who would believe in Him.  Jesus is truly alive and lives and reigns for all eternity!  Or as the angel said to the women at the tomb, “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.”  And the angel challenged them to “come and see the place where He lay.”

Although we may not know exactly where these world changing events took place, this we do know and proclaim, “Jesus has died, Jesus was buried, Jesus is risen!” And so we too will live forever.  Amen.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church Colorado Springs, Colorado