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The Tomb of Religion vs. The Tomb of Jesus
Matthew 28:1-10 says, “1In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 2And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. 5And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. 8And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. 9And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. 10Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.”
Matthew 23:27 says, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.”
Could you imagine what it felt like for the disciples? Their ultimate leader, who they perceived as the Messiah, was now being mocked, bruised, beaten and crucified. Most of them either watched from a distance or was not even present at all, fearing for their very own lives. After He died, they probably thought that all hope was lost. However, on the third day, everything changed! When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the sepulcher, two angels were present to meet them to give them the message that He was not there, but rather that He had risen from the dead. With excited anticipation, they ran to the disciples to spread the message of His resurrection, but Christ had went before them and met them along the journey. When everyone looked inside the sepulcher of Christ, they witnessed the testimony that Jesus was who He said He was. He was more than a prophet or a great moral teacher, but He was, is and forever will be the only begotten Son of God!
The tomb of Jesus Christ is much different than the tomb of religion, which is what the Pharisees had. They appeared as beautifully decorated graves, yet they were full of dead men’s bones. While they had the religious facade down pat, and while they appeared to have all of the traditional rudiments perfected, they still missed the basic elements of what living for God was all about, which was loving God and love their neighbor as themselves. Since they only burdened people through a spirit of religion, they were spiritually dead. However, Jesus Christ came to break the spirit of religion and give us abundant life! It was the spirit of religion that led Jesus to His Crucifixion, but if it was not for His death, there would be no resurrection. The spirit of religion only kills and destroys, but through the power of Christ’s resurrection, we can overcome this Pharisee ideology and philosophy!
Now, we have a choice to make. We can either become the tomb of religion or the tomb of Christ. We can be beautifully decorated on the outside but be spiritualy dead on the inside, or we can undergo a spiritual transformation by crucifying our flesh and operating in the power of Christ’s resurrection. We do not have to be bound by religion. We can be free in Jesus! The choice is ours!