Let each of us, no matter where we stand in the spectrum of liberal to conservative, look at that cross again. Note that it is empty! It and the empty tomb are the grandest symbols of our faith. The tombs of many great-but-fallen heroes of the past are preserved as shrines at which the world may pay homage, but not so with Christ. “He is not here, for he has risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:6).
Pause and ponder that heavenly pronouncement. Let it sink into both your mind and heart. Christ is alive! Man alive; think what that means!
For one thing, it signals that sin is conquered, just as he said. “For the Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Christ invaded this small planet, you see, not only to be the discloser of the Creator, but the deliverer of creation. No wonder we sinners dress up in celebration.
But more! The empty cross means that immortality is real, just as he said. “In my father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2). On an old Roman grave is a carving of a skull and crossbones with this inscription in Latin: “I was. I am not. I care not.” A Christian’s grave marker is something else, a blooming spring lily with this promise: “I am the resurrection and the life . . . . Everyone who believes in me will never die” (John 11:27).
Christ has used the cross as a battering ram to open the door of the sepulcher to let in the light of eternal day. Never night again! The grave has become a gateway; death is a door; the tombstone is a milestone in a continuing journey. That explains why we sing:
O cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
Just as he said!
John F. Anderson Jr. is pastor emeritus, First church, Dallas.
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