Bible Talk with Sister Deb 5 of 5 Road to the Cross Series The Empty Tomb: Finding Hope in Resurrection

Sister Deb Osborne explores the profound meaning behind the empty tomb in her fifth installment of the Journey to the Cross series. We discover how the resurrection transforms our understanding of death, bringing eternal hope through Christ's victory.

• Easter signifies Jesus defeating death and the grave, beginning our eternal life with God
• Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, and Salome brought spices to anoint Jesus' body
• The stone wasn't rolled away for Jesus to escape but for disciples to see He was gone
• The angel delivered the first Easter message: "He is risen. He is not here"
• The resurrection is not just a component of the gospel but the main event
• No Gospel writers describe the actual moment of resurrection—it was purely supernatural
• The empty tomb stands as the greatest evidence that Jesus is alive
• Unlike other religious figures, Jesus' tomb contains no remains—only the promise of life
• Jesus embraced the cross to glorify the Father and save sinners from eternal punishment
• The resurrection gives us confidence that Jesus will return as promised

We invite you to support Bible Talk through PayPal or visit our website at hor421show.buzzsprout.com. Email Sister Deb at osbornedebraK@gmail.com.

Chapters

• 0:22 Welcome to Bible Talk
• 1:16 Our Journey to the Empty Tomb
• 5:06 The Women at the Tomb
• 9:08 The Angel's Message
• 12:35 The Resurrection's Significance
• 17:56 Easter's Promise and Hope
• 23:07 Closing Prayer

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:22

Welcome. You're listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osborne. You can listen to Bible Talk on WIC 88.1 Christian Radio Station every Sunday at 5 pm. You can also listen to Bible Talk and much more on the 421 Podcast streaming on Apple and Spotify or whatever platform you're choosing. If you'd like to support the show, you can support it at paypalcom or you go through our website at hor421showbuzzsproutcom. And if you'd like to email Sister Deb, you can email her at osbondebork at gmailcom. That's O-S-B-O-R-N-E-D-E-B-R-A-K at gmail. That's one word. That's one word. Now we give you your host, sister Deb.

Speaker 2: 1:16

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Good morning everybody. How is everybody on this happy Good Friday? So, as you know, this is number five in the series of our journey to the cross and I have to say it's been very humbling for me. It's been a very humbling experience to dig in the word and to try to come up with the words to say here and to be able to tell everybody. You know, kind of like the different versions in the scripture. So today we are talking about the empty tomb and I know Sunday's coming, but today I'm going to go on and go over this and everybody bear with me and go over this and everybody bear with me.

Speaker 2: 2:11

So we know Easter means many different things to us as Christians. Easter clearly, of course, means that he's risen, that Jesus had defeated death and the grave. Easter means that eternal life is real and that death doesn't end our life with God, it actually just begins it. You know Easter is about an empty tomb. It's about so much more. It's about our risen Lord and Savior with us. Now my reading I've took from Mark 16. Now we know, you know there's different versions, but Mark 16, 1 through 8 is basically what I've been going through on this. And the Bible says in Mark 16, 1 through 8, and I'm not going to go over every single word of it, but it says Now, when the Sabbath was passed, mary Magdalene, mary, the mother of James and Salome, had brought sweet spices that they might come and anoint him. You know, were they expecting an empty tomb? I don't know. They knew he said he was coming back. We could only guess what they were thinking. We know it was early in the morning on the first day of the week. They came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And the thing about it is, if you read on and I'm not going to read every single bit of this, but if you read on they were concerned about the big stone being rolled away from the tomb, from Christ's tomb, being rolled away from the tomb, from Christ's tomb.

Speaker 2: 3:45

Now, when you read about the resurrection, all four Gospels record it. But when all four Gospels record an event, you know it has to be important and each one tells it a little bit different than the other. But, people, it's all the same. It's still all the same. It's about our risen Savior. It's about our risen Savior. It's about the empty tomb. It's about what he done on the cross. It's all the same.

Speaker 2: 4:15

They may use a little bit few different words, so what we're talking is the darkest day in history has passed. Jesus has been crucified on the cross, the sinless son of God took our place and the lifeless body of Jesus was laid in a tomb a borrowed tomb at that. Now it's Sunday, and the brightest day in human history is beginning. It's a day that will bring eternal life and light to everyone. Sunday, jesus will rise from the grave, conquering sin, satan and death.

Speaker 2: 4:51

And so these women, they wanted to prepare Jesus' body with spices and ointments. And so they were on their way there and they were wondering. You know how the stone was going to be rolled away. You know how was it going to be rolled away? But when they got there, the stone was rolled away already. And when they entered the tomb, mark 16 and 5 says they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment. And you see people. The significance is that stone wasn't rolled away so that Jesus could get out. It was rolled away so that they could see, they could get in to see that the body of Christ was gone. He arose, like he said he was going to.

Speaker 2: 5:36

And the important part of this story in verse 6 is the message. And the message that the young man gave was be not afraid, you seek Jesus of Nazareth. He was crucified, but he's risen. He's not here. And he said see the place where they laid him. See to me, that's the very first Easter message and it wasn't made preached by a pastor in a pulpit. It was made by an angel in an empty tomb. And this message was for those ladies, for those ladies to know that they really did see Jesus on the cross. They did see his blood flow from his body. They did see him die. They weren't deceived. It happened, but the angels wanted these ladies to know that. You know what his cry of? It is finished. It didn't mean that he was finished. He died, but he didn't stay dead because he's risen. Amen, he's risen.

Speaker 2: 6:40

And the angel wanted these people to know, these ladies to know that the empty tomb, just like he wants all of us to know today, this empty tomb was not a place of sadness or defeat. The empty tomb was a place of glory, of power, of hope. You know, jesus is alive, just like the angel said. And that was the message that those women needed to hear that Sunday morning, that early Sunday morning. And people, that's the same message that we need to hear today, and not just today. Every day the empty tomb is still preaching. Today. That tomb still tells the world that Jesus is alive and that he's able to save us all. He's able to give us all the paradise. All we have to do is come to him in faith, and that's what that empty tomb means.

Speaker 2: 7:32

So again, early in the morning on the Sabbath day had passed and these ladies came to the tomb. I think I read somewhere that the men were all freaked out and scared and crying and hiding nothing against the men were all freaked out and scared and crying and hiding nothing against the men. But these brave ladies, these brave ladies, went to the grave of Jesus. Why they went to anoint his body. See Mark 16 and 1 tells us that they brought spices to anoint him, to prepare him for burial, because if you read about Jewish customs back then, they didn't embalm. You know. They wrapped the body in grave clothes and they put spices and ornaments on it, but apparently this day it couldn't be finished. You know Jesus.

Speaker 2: 8:11

According to the Word of God, he died at 3 o'clock that Friday and the Sabbath day would start at sundown. Their Sabbath started on sundown at Friday, so the body couldn't be. The body had to be placed in a tomb you know a borrowed tomb and the ladies were going to come back the next day to finish up that Sunday. But you see, friends, jesus had borrowed a donkey. Look at it. I think this is so awesome. He brought a donkey to ride in to Jerusalem on and they were doing all the praising and the Hosanna and youanna and glory to God and all the stuff they were hollering. Then he borrowed an upper room where he had the last supper with his disciples, telling them what was going on and they were going to have to go on without him. He was explained to them. He washed their feet and had the dinner, and then he borrowed a tomb. He washed their feet and had the dinner and then he borrowed a tomb to be buried in. But you see, that was really no big deal because he only needed it for the weekend. He only needed it for Friday and Saturday Because people praise God. Sunday was coming, he was coming back.

Speaker 2: 9:22

So these women wanted to go and finish what they couldn't do on Friday. They wanted to go prepare the Lord's body, you know, to show their love for Him. But when they got to the tomb, the Bible said they talked among themselves about who was going to roll the stone away. Like I said earlier, you know, they didn't say, well, you know, wait, we're only women and the stone's big and who's going to move it? They probably thought something like that I don't know, wait, we're only women and the stone's big and who's going to move it? They probably thought something like that, I don't know, but you see, I think about it. Is they kept going, and don't you just love their faith? They knew that big old stone, they wouldn't be able to move it, but they kept going. They just charged right on and they were probably thinking well, you know, it'll work itself out.

Speaker 2: 9:59

But according to Mark 16, 4 through 6, when they got to the tomb of Jesus, they found a few surprises, you know. The stone was rolled away. They saw an angel sitting in the tomb and the biggest one and the best one was the angel had a message for these ladies. And if you read back in Matthew 28 and 2, the Bible tells us that an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled the stone away and then he sat upon it. So there's different versions. You just have to read it all together. But Mark 16 and 5 says they saw an angel sitting on the right side, clothed in a long garment, and he told the ladies don't be afraid, easter means the end of our fears, all of our fears you know, because of Easter.

Speaker 2: 10:48

Because of Easter, we don't need to fear life or death or sickness or anything. See, jesus Christ dispels all of those fears because of his death, his burial and his resurrection. And his resurrection was not just a component of the gospel, it wasn't just a feature of the gospel, it was the main event. You know. It is, in fact, the greatest event in the life of Jesus. It's the greatest event in human history Because the resurrection is a source of eternal life for all of us that believe and friends. Without the resurrection, the cross would mean nothing. The words, the teachings of Jesus would mean nothing without the resurrection, without the resurrection, there would be no salvation. Without the empty tomb there would be no salvation.

Speaker 2: 11:45

Now, if you want to read the resurrection story, all four gospel writers tell it. All four tell of his crucifixion and all four follow up with his resurrection. Now, matthew, Mark, luke and John bring to the story. They all bring different, unique elements and features. And all these different features and elements of this story. The result is a powerful, magnificent blending of all these inspired accounts to give us the full revelation of the things that happened. It was a historical event and they never left anything out? I don't think. But when we put all four of these gospel writers together, we get everything that the Spirit of God inspired. We get everything that he wanted us to know, or I thought.

Speaker 2: 12:39

But see, I believe in my opinion, and this is just just me I believe there's one thing kind of missing there the resurrection itself. Exactly what happened when Jesus? Nobody was there to see him come out of the grave? Nobody. There's no account of it. There's nothing in scripture telling us the exact moment that he walked out of the tomb. Uh, there, the. The phenomenon is not described, no one saw it, no one could explain it. Uh, it was a purely supernatural act, just like creation. But the fact that it did happen is fully told by all four gospel writers.

Speaker 2: 13:22

And when you read all of those stories, see, there's no greater success story than the resurrection. And when you read all of them stories together, all four gospels together, it paints such an awesome story of the resurrection. You get things that maybe you don't read. In Mark Matthew gave us something else and Luke gave us a different story, but they all converge and they all become the most magnificent story, the greatest success story ever, when tragedy was transformed into eternal victory. The most important aspect is that Christ died for our sins and he was buried and then he arose from the grave.

Speaker 2: 14:08

Now, do you have resurrection faith? Do you believe? Have you read what Jesus said about his own death and burial and resurrection? And if you haven't read what the Bible says, I so urge you to read all four Gospels today. Don't just stop at one of them. Read all four of them. Read the whole resurrection story. Read the whole resurrection story. Read the whole story that leads to the empty tomb.

Speaker 2: 14:35

And if you have read it and believed, well, thank God for your resurrection faith, because it's hard to believe sometimes when you don't see things. It's hard to believe it when you just read it. But it's there, it's true and it happened. And today, as we celebrate another Easter, we have to affirm the hope that we have in our risen Lord. When we see the place where they laid him that's now empty, we see that the Father didn't forsake Jesus and we see that death is conquered and we see that we have a living friend in Jesus Christ and we have a way to go to heaven and live in paradise with Him.

Speaker 2: 15:20

And as we celebrate Easter, coming up Sunday, we need to pause beside the empty tomb.

Speaker 2: 15:28

We need to consider that, just as our sin brought him to the cross, the finished work of taking care of our sins brought him out of the grave and Jesus rose from the dead for our salvation People, a salvation that we could never achieve on our own.

Speaker 2: 15:54

Yes, christ is risen, risen. He is risen indeed, and, friends, the empty tomb stands as a constant reminder that Jesus is alive and among us. You know he's alive and he's working. He's's working every day in your life, in my life, and when you find yourself feeling in need of hope, put yourself beside Mary, inside of the tomb, and see that it's empty, that that stone was rolled away, that they tried to kill him, they tried to lock him in there, but there was no man, no stone or nothing was going to keep him in there, because he was coming back, like he said he would. The angel told the women in Mark 16, 6, hey, look, look, see where they laid him. And we need to take that same advice today. See where they laid him. The tomb is empty, it's an empty tomb. And when you're feeling down and overwhelmed and defeated and weak, see where they laid him the tomb is empty and he's there.

Speaker 2: 16:58

Just reach out, reach out to him, talk to him. And this is the message that comes from the empty tomb. Today, the tomb is empty and he wants us to just reach out to him and talk to him. And that's one of the greatest evidences of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the simple fact that the tomb is empty. All of our hopes of forgiveness, of eternal life, of a future with God in heaven forever is based on that empty tomb. He's our only hope. People, not science, not religion. People can't preach you into heaven. They can't preach you into hope. He is our only hope, jesus Christ in the empty tomb. And he said in John 14, 6,. He said I'm the way, the truth and the life, and no man comes to the Father except through me. Yeah, the tomb is empty.

Speaker 2: 18:01

You can go and you can visit other tombs. You can go to the tomb of Muhammad, you know, and there's going to be either a tour guide or a sign that's going to tell you here lies the bones of the great prophet. You can go visit the tomb of Napoleon and there's going to be a sign that's probably going to say here lies the bones of the emperor of France. But when you go visit that tomb of Jesus Christ and they're going to tell you, or you're going to see a sign, or somebody's going to tell you, you know what. You can walk in and out and come and see for yourself. Here lies the bones of no one, because he is risen. Praise the Lord. Just like he said he would. He's risen, just like he said he would. He's coming back and that you can count on back and that you can count on and see.

Speaker 2: 18:54

Today, people, we stand on the side of the cross where we see its work as complete. He completed his work. He gave his life on the cross so that we could all live and he came back. Now we can't downplay the fact of everything that happened on the events leading up to the cross, you know, before the first spike was even driven into his hands and feet. You know, before the first crown of thorns was even put on his head. We can't downplay that fact. It all happened. It all happened.

Speaker 2: 19:24

But Jesus embraced the cross, one so that his Father might be glorified. But he embraced the cross so that sinners like you and like me, so that we're saved from the torments of hell. That's why he embraced the cross. Somebody had to die for our sins and if Jesus hadn't have took our cross, if he hadn't have took that cross, we would have had to pay for it ourselves. But he took all of our sins. He's the sinless son of God. He took all of our sins on himself and he died on the cross for us.

Speaker 2: 19:59

But, people, the story doesn't end there. The story doesn't end there because Sunday's coming and there will be an empty tomb, just like he said there was going to be. I can't say enough about the empty tomb. I can't get the words out there. There's not enough words to say. I can't even find the words to talk about it. Sometimes I know it's very emotional to talk about it. Sometimes I know it's very emotional and it should be when we see what all he went through and the torment and the trouble that he went through. But a brighter day is coming for all of us someday. All we've got to do is stand in there and keep our sights on him and keep our hands in his People. Sunday's coming and's coming back, just like he said he would someday.

Speaker 2: 20:57

It makes me so emotional and I'm sorry. Bear with me please. That's about all I've got on this. I hope this has blessed you as much as it's blessed me to bring it to you. I hope you learned something and heard something in your heart about the empty tomb and what it means. Everybody, please have a very good, blessed holiday. Have a blessed Easter. I thank you so much for listening and I'm going to end with a prayer. I thank you so much for listening and I'm going to end with a prayer.

Speaker 2: 21:30

Our Father God. We thank you, lord, for these words that has been said here today. We thank you for each and every blessing that you bestowed upon us. We thank you, lord, for giving your son the die on the cross and taking our place. Your sinless son gave his life to die for us. Most of all, we thank you for that empty tomb and what it means. It means life, it means happiness, it means love, it means a home with you in heaven. That's what that empty tomb means and I hope and pray and, lord, please let these words go to the people that it needs to go to. Let these people open up their hearts and their minds and their heads and their ears and let them hear what the Spirit is saying to them. Let them hear your words, let them understand the empty tomb and what it means.

Speaker 2: 22:25

Lord, we praise you, god, we honor you, we love you, we worship you. There's just not enough words to say how much we worship you. We ask you to go with us and lead us and guide us all through this season, this holiday season, and I just ask you to bless each and everybody out there listening. Bless each and everybody according to your will, walk with them and lead them and guide them. We praise you, we honor you and we thank you, jesus, for everything. We ask, these and all things. In Jesus' holy name, we pray Amen and amen. Thank you, and we thank you, jesus, for everything we ask, these and all things. In jesus holy name, we pray amen and amen.

Speaker 1: 22:57

Thank you, and everybody have a blessed day I'd like to thank everybody for listening to bible talk with sister deb and I'd like to wish everybody a happy easter. Remember what it's all about Christ and Him risen. You've been listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osborne. You can listen to Bible Talk on WIC 88.1, christian Radio Station every Sunday at 5 pm. If you'd like to listen to Bible Talk and much more, you can catch it on the 421 Show podcast streaming on Apple, spotify, whatever platform you're choosing, and if you'd like to contact sister deb, you can email her at osborne deborah k at gmailcom. It's o-s-b-o-r-n-e-d-e-b-r-a-k. One word at gmailcom. And if you'd like to support the show, you can support it through paypal slash hor421, or you go through our website at hor421showbuzzsproutcom. Recorded at the 421 studio. For contact information for all of your studio needs, you can email at H-O-R-421ministries at gmailcom or you can. Phone number is 239-849-1502. So so you.