The Etruscans were the first known inhabitants of Italy. They were there before the Romans and had a highly developed civilization. They left no written record, history, poetry, or literature. All that we know of them we have learned from their tombs.
Archaeologists can learn a lot from the tombs of people and civilizations that no longer exist today, such as the Egyptians, Native Americans, and others. Tombs of ancient people are often filled with jewelry, pottery, weapons, and even their idols. They leave a trail of evidence and tell the story of people who can no longer speak.
As we came to worship this morning, I believe most of us passed a cemetery. What do graveyards say? What do we learn from those tombstones?
Regardless of the relics in the casket, the words on the tombstones, or the flowers decorating the grave. They scream that life on planet Earth will not last. Death is the one thing all humans have in common. Heb. 9:27 states, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.”
But there is one tomb that speaks even louder than any other tomb in the world. It has no relics, pottery, jewelry, or weapons. It is empty. Jesus’ tomb is void, bare, and vacant! Yet it speaks volumes. It shouts, “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said… (Mt. 28:6). Jesus’ empty tomb teaches us that for the faithful Christian, their death is not final. The grave is not the end, because He has defeated death and been raised from the grave (Acts 2:24).
Knowing the grave was not the end Jesus spoke these words in John 5:28-29, “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”
Unless Jesus comes back before we die, we will each be laid to rest in a tomb somewhere. Question: Will your tomb proclaim a hopeless end or an endless hope? Think about it!
In Christ’s Love, Mark T. Tonkery