The cross has forever been the symbol of Christianity. The cross is associated with the death and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The symbol of the cross will always be a symbol of hope for Christians all over the world. The empty tomb on the other hand is more than just a symbol for Christians. It is the very reason for our faith. Without the empty tomb, there is no Christianity.
The empty tomb of Jesus Christ has forever divided mankind. Anytime you talk about the empty tomb you will always get these questions:
- Did Christ really rise from the dead?
- Did the disciples take his body?
- Did he even die?
- How is this scientifically possible?
- Are you sure they have the right tomb?
It is hard for us humans to even fathom someone coming back from the dead. It is normal for people to die and never return back to their loved ones. There have been generations of people dying from the beginning of time and yet not one person has come back from the dead. So when you have something as mind-blowing as someone coming back to life, after three days of being buried, it is a hard pill to swallow for most people.
So if it never happened before does that mean that Christ did not rise from the dead? On the contrary, this is exactly the reaction we should expect from people for a supernatural event. Any event as crazy as someone coming back from the dead will always be met with skepticism and debate. This does not mean that it did not happen and I am not here to debate all the evidence that points to Christ rising from the grave. That is something that is for you to research on your own and find out. I am here to tell you that this event is recorded in history and written down for you to know about. If this happened exactly like the evidence says it did then your entire eternity rests on the fact that the tomb is empty.
The disciples who actually spent the most time with Christ also had a hard time believing that Christ came back from the dead. It was only after Christ actually appeared to them and showed them the marks on his hands from the crucifixion that they believed in him. After this most of them went on to die preaching the news that Jesus came back to life. What made the disciples who were scared to do anything into powerful missionaries willing to give up their life all of a sudden? Only because they witnessed the miracle of Christ coming back to life. If the disciples had a tough time believing that Christ came back from the dead then what do you expect from those who have never heard about Christ?
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14 “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” This is so true without the empty tomb everything we as Christians preach and talk about is useless. It would have been useless back then for anyone to believe in Christ if He was still dead in the tomb and It would be useless even now.
The only way to truly believe that the tomb is empty is to first believe in Jesus Christ. Christ said: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”. Only a person who has defeated death can make this statement. No one can give you life by still being buried in a tomb. So either Christ was a liar or you just do not want to believe in him. It is up to you to find out.
There will always be debate over whether the tomb was empty or not. This is to be expected because it is not everyday people rise up from the dead and claim to give you life. But if you choose to believe in Christ you will know without a doubt that the tomb was always empty because your life will be changed forever after Christ touches you.