Part 5 road to the cross: The Empty Tomb

Darkness in the middle of the day. A temple curtain ripped from top to bottom. A Roman soldier staring at a dying man and whispering the words nobody expected: truly, this was the Son of God. We slow down and retrace the road from the Last Supper to Calvary, because the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is not just history or a holiday tradition. It’s the center of the gospel and the finished work that makes forgiveness, salvation, and real hope possible.

We talk through what happened at the cross and why it matters: Jesus choosing mercy while suffering, praying “Father, forgive them,” and then declaring “It Is Finished” as the debt is paid in full. We also unpack the signs Scripture records in Luke 23 and John 19, including the three hours of darkness and the torn veil that opens the way into God’s presence. That moment changes how we pray and how we live, because access to God is no longer locked behind a barrier.

Then we step into Mark 16 and the resurrection story, where the women arrive carrying spices and worries, only to find the stone already rolled away and the tomb empty. The angel’s message “He Is Risen” becomes a daily anchor: fear doesn’t get the final word, death doesn’t get the final word, and your story is not trapped on Friday. If you need encouragement, healing, or a fresh start for your Christian faith, come take this journey with us from the cross to the empty tomb.

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Transcript

Opening And Ways To Connect

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Woke up this morning with mama. So woke up this morning with mama.

SPEAKER_03 0:16

You're listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osburn. Hey, go visit our website at HOR421Show.bussprout.com. I'd like to give thanks to all the listeners and supporters of the show. Always keep us in your prayers as we spread the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And if you'd like to contact Sister Deb, you can email her at OsburnDebra K at gmail.com. If you'd like to support the show, you can support it through PayPal slash HOR421. Or you can go through our website at HOR421 Show.busprout.com. Holiness Clean Group. Outreach Ministry. A K with Church of God every two weeks at 6 p.m. on Fridays. In this group, we get support physical and spiritually. Sometimes we just need to know that there's others out there that go through the same thing that we go through. Stronger in the fourth dimension. Fourth dimension is a treatment center, substance, use treatment, and recovery. Tired of alcohol and drugs controlling your life? Step into the fourth dimension of healing, clarity, and purpose. Break free from addiction. Passionate evidence-based design. Support long-lasting recovery. Website www.fourthdimension treatment.com. Now I give you your host, Sister Death.

The Brutality And Necessity Of The Cross

Darkness Falls Over The Land

The Temple Veil Tears Open

It Is Finished And Jesus Dies

A Centurion’s Confession Of Faith

The Cross Levels Every Person

Sunday Morning And The Rolled Stone

He Is Risen And Fear Breaks

The Resurrection As Pure Miracle

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Can you hear me? Praise the Lord. Hello, hello. Um, I would like to say before I start that I still have the hoarseness and slight cough. And so if you hear me fidgeting and and eating cough drops and drinking a drink, please excuse me, bear with me because I can't seem to shake this stuff. Uh anyway, I just want to let you know if you hear any extra little noises, it's it's me. Uh so praise the Lord. How is everybody on this this beautiful um Last Supper day? Shave we put ourselves in in the past and think about this day, 2,000 and something years ago, Jesus Christ sat down with his disciples. And he had supper with them, and he told them things that was getting ready to happen, and he uh he washed their feet, and uh, of course, you know we know what happened after that. Uh it has been such a pleasure to walk through this journey with you guys. And so today I want to uh remind everybody listening about exactly what happened that day that Jesus Christ died on the cross. So if you will, go with me today back outside of the gates of the city of Jerusalem to that little hill. That little hill called Calvary. Okay? And we're gonna walk together through the most powerful story ever told, which is the story of Jesus dying on the cross and of the empty tomb. And this is not just a story, people from a long time ago. It's not something that we remember once a year on just Easter. No, friends, this is the very foundation of our hope as believers. And we're gonna take a journey for to a little hill called Calvary. We're gonna go to a borrowed tomb, and then we're gonna go that next morning that changed everything. You see, the cross might have looked like it was the end of the world, but it was actually the beginning of salvation for all of mankind. Right? So a brutal death. Uh so when we what what we're gonna hear today, actually, we're gonna talk about an event that purchased and provided our salvation for every single person that wants to receive it. A brutal, awful death was experienced there. The death of Christ on the cross. And we know according to what we've read and went through and seen in his word, it was a course of death of total torture. And I can't begin to imagine all the pain that Jesus was forced to go through and endure for us. Friends, the Son of God was beaten. He was spit on. They hit him on the head, they plucked his beard off of his face. And I know I've said this in the last couple of shows, but it it's it's the same thing. They mocked him, they placed a crown of thorns on his head, they stripped him, and they nailed him to a cross. And to hear the details of his death on the cross is really disturbing. Uh, but we have to know that it was necessary to be heard before there is salvation. You know. Uh, but we, friends, the only way that we're gonna get to God is through and by the finished work on the cross. And we have to have faith in that work done and finished by Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. You know. Uh so they crucified him. The greatest c crime ever committed, they hung an innocent man. So man had murdered their maker. And he wasn't the first to die on a cross. I I read somewhere that by Jesus' time the Romans had crucified 30,000 something men in Palestine alone. So Christ probably wasn't the last, you know. He was, however, people, the only one who would die on a cross for a lost and dying world. You know. And he could have stopped it. You know, he he could have said, you know what, forget this, forget it, I'm done. He could have said, Hey, you people are never going to learn because he could have said, I'm done. But he didn't. Jesus' first words from the cross was, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Luke 23, 24. I mean, wow, people, he was praying for the very ones who was causing his suffering. The very people that the week before had praised him and held his name up and and and did these palm trees and put their cloaks down, the very people that had praised him were now putting him on the cross. And what was he doing? He was praying for these people. You know. So the Bible also tells us, and I want to go into this, and I have a whole different uh uh message on some of this, but the Bible tells us uh of some a few unusual things that happened while Jesus was on the cross. Right? Um so the first thing that it talked about, and I'm gonna talk about just a few of them, the first thing that happened unusual on the cross is Luke 23 and 44 says that from the sixth hour there was darkness all over the land until the ninth hour. Wow. Three hours of darkness, 180 minutes of darkness in the middle of the day over the land. Now were they afraid? I I probably so I would have been. Did they realize what they had done? I'm sure they did. Because suddenly without warning, this was no eclipse, suddenly without warning, this this darkness was there. And friends, this was no eclipse. This was God. This was darkness sent from heaven. And I'm sure God got everybody's attention that afternoon, right there. Now we're not told the extent of it, but just that there was darkness for three hours. And you know, it had said in the Bible that Jesus was the light of the world, and the world crucified him. So it was kind of like God saying, you know what? You want to kill the light of the world. Well, just let me show you what I can do. Because you see, in in the Old Testament times, darkness was usually a sign of uh judgment. And just like it came, it left. As easy and quickly as it came, it left. Three hours of darkness all over the land. Was it all over the earth? I don't know. It did say all over the land. It was gone. And so another amazing uh event that happened that day, that Jesus was on the cross, was the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Now, the temple of a barrier that separated the inner sanctuary, the holy of holies, from the holy place. Uh now this it was said to be 30 feet high, 30 feet wide, and six inches thick. I don't know that. It may tell us that somewhere in Exodus. Um, and that so if that was the case, that wasn't just some ordinary bed sheet people, that was a protective barrier. And it was said that no one could enter the Holy of Holies' room except the high priest, and then only on one day a year, which is the Day of Atonement. And the Day of Atonement is a sacred ceremony that the Lord had had commanded the Israelites to perform once a year to make atone for their sins. And so this priest would get his get his garb on, he would get stuff on, and uh all kinds of little things, and oil and blood, and I'm sure all kinds of things, and he would go into this room. And this room was said to hold the Ark of the Covenant, which of course, according to the book of Exodus, contained the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. Um, I think there was a thing on on in it called the mercy seat. I think it was, I read somewhere that it was said that God's spirit rested on that seat, and so this pastoral priest would go in and he would atone for people's sins. All right. And now that this curtain was torn from top to bottom tells us that God done what only God could do. Who could tear the curtain? It had to be God. No human hands could do this. And why? Because, friends, it signified that the way to God had been open for all people through Jesus Christ, his son. Hebrews 10, 19 and 20 says the way is now open for us to enter into the presence of God. There was no more barriers between God and man. What was behind the veil had been set free, not to punish us, not to hurt nobody, not to destroy anybody, but to bring all of us life. Now we could go before God ourselves. We didn't have to go before anybody else. We didn't have to say, we didn't have to go to somebody and tell this priest, and you know, of course I'm not kicking nothing, don't get me wrong. Please don't get me wrong. But that day, God left the temple, friends, and he made us his temple. And Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice. So the veil was no longer needed. God opened the door. And now we had our own free. Well, you can go in your closet, in your car, under your tree, behind your house, uh in your basement, in your garage. You can go wherever you needed to go and sit down and talk to God face to face with yourself now. We didn't have to have anybody to atone for us. You know? He broke the barrier that separated us from him. You know. And so Luke 23 and 44, it says, When Jesus cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit. And having said this, he gave up the ghost. Now, John 19 and 30 says, He says, It is finished. And those were the last words of Jesus from the cross. And this this moment, uh, this verse reflects the exact moment Jesus died. And it said he cried with a loud voice. I mean, wow, that shows the intensity, the significance of that moment. That just Jesus, despite being in immense pain and suffering, raises his voice and prays to his father. And that shows his unwavering strength in his final moments. From the blood loss and and carrying his cross, what little way he had to carry it, and being hurt and cut, and you know, what a powerful showing of Jesus' trust and faith in his father. He prays to his father. And he surrends his spirit to the care of his father. And the earth shook that day because heaven knew what was happening. But people, you better believe hell knew what was happening too. You know. Jesus' final words in Luke indicate that he willingly and freely gave up his life to die on the cross. You see, he was a man on a mission. From his birth to the cross, he carried it out to the very end. And the very last thing he was to do was to commit his himself to his father. And that's what he'd done. And so the very last the very last thing, uh unusual thing I wanted to talk about happened on uh at the cross, was Luke 23 and 47. And there was a certain centurion that was standing at the cross, and he saw what was done. He was standing at the foot of Jesus' cross, and he saw what was done, you know. And he made a he made a a proclaim, a proclamation. He said, Certainly this was a righteous man. Now, Johns tells it a little different, I think. Matthew and Mark, they they all tell it a little different, but this centurion, this trained man, trained never to fear, an officer probably, uh, you know, one of the most probably a trusted soldier, real tough and hardened. You know, probably nothing never scared him. This was his a simple assignment for him, you know, take these people out and was told to take these people out and crucify them. You know, did he know who it was? Probably not. Did he care? Probably not. You know, people have been crucified before and after, and this was probably just another one for his job. You'd heard one of them was a king. But my thing on this centurion is the questions I would have to have this man is, you know, did the centurion, did he know the centurion whose servant Jesus had healed just when Peter, you know, got mighty and cut an ear off? He probably did. Did the centurion know that Pilate had three times declared Jesus innocent? He probably did, I'm sure. Did he hear Jesus say, Father, forgive them? For they know not what they do. I'm sure he did. He was standing right there. And did the centurion hear Jesus promise heaven to one of the thieves? He was there. He heard every bit of it. Because Mark 15 and 39 tells us that the centurion stood facing Jesus and saw him die and saw how he died. He had witnessed the darkness, he heard the earthquake, he heard Jesus cry out, it's finished. And he also saw that like unlike other usual criminals who've been who've been getting ready to die, they die in agony and cussing and screaming and cussing everybody around, but not Jesus, he died quietly as he yielded his spirit back to his father. And we know the centurion was facing Jesus, and the spirit of the cross was working that day, people. And all of the things must have made a big impression on this man. Because this mark, the gospel of Mark tells us his amazing statement of faith. Mark says, truly, this was the Son of God. You see, this centurion saw through uh the blood in the gore and the smell of death that no doubt was lingering over Golgotha that day. A Roman soldier figured out exactly what the priest and the politicians missed that day. He got it right. The soldier, this soldier who was just a few hours before, had no problems whatsoever with putting our Lord and Savior on the cross, he got it right. He opened his eyes and he saw the Son of God. Here he was a convinced pagan crying out that this was the Son of God. Amen. I mean, this wasn't just quivering words from a frightened recruit, a frightened little soldier. No, this was a seasoned veteran who had been watching men die horrible deaths and even had even been putting them to their deaths for years. This centurion had seen and heard and felt all the events of the crucifixion and death of Christ that day. He knew this was no ordinary crucifixion. And what did he say? He knew this was the Son of God. Wow. What a realization. Especially to think, wow, we've put the Son of God to death. You know? And friends, he didn't come to that conclusion because of some angelic messenger or a prophet. No. The spirit of the cross was working that day. This conclusion came solely from the power of God on display at Calvary that dark day. This was no ordinary man, and he knew this. And he gave a public confession of Jesus. Did he become a believer? I would say so. I believe God, through his Holy Spirit that day, revealed the identity of Jesus to this centurion, and we're gonna say, and I'm gonna believe that he was saved. He was won over to the faith that day. He came in as a pagan. And just like the thief, he was saved as Jesus hung on the cross and gave his last breath. So, friends, what does that tell us? All of us who are saved are saved because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. And what else does that say? That tells us that the cross began its work immediately. Immediately, the cross started working. And my friends, it is still going strong and has continued for 2,000 years. Wow. And it's not gonna stop. Now, what happened to the centurion that day? I don't know. We don't know. The Bible doesn't tell us. Does his story in there? I don't know. But I'm gonna tell you what I would like to say. I would like to say that he went on to serve God and he went on to spread the word of Christ from that day on. We can only guess. I would like to say that he came home that day after a long, hard day at work, and I would like to say that he set his family down and told his family, you know what? I would like to say that he told his family, I met a man today at Calvary. And his name was Jesus. And he was the Son of God. And he changed my life. I would like to say that that's what that man did. See, friends, it's the powerful cross and the love displayed there that moves hearts. That even a hardened career soldier, his heart was moved from death to life that day. You know, I read something here a while back. There's an old story about the ground is always level at the foot of the cross. It was leveled in in the first century, and it's still level today. The foot of the cross is where paupers and pagans, knowns and unknowns, and yes, centurions, find level ground to kneel and embrace Christ, who died on the cross for them and for all of us. And what we really need to understand is that he suffered for what he did for our sins. Because he was the King of glory, and he left it all to come to earth and die for us. He often went hungry. The Bible says he often had no place to lay his head. He suffered. He was mocked, he was beat, and whipped, and crucified. And he did it all for our sins. He didn't just think about it, he did it. He didn't just plan it and he didn't just talk about it. He did it. And friends, that should make you and me and every single body on this earth today living and breathing. That should make us praise him constantly. Every single day for the beating and the and the the pain that he took for us that day. That should make us praise him constantly. We should always have a praise on our lips. He had to die. There was no other way. There was no other way. If we were to be forgiven of our sins, Jesus had to die. He had to suffer. And he did. And he suffered immensely before his death. During his death on the cross. 1 Peter 2 and 24 says, He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross. He bore our sins. What is sin? Sin is nasty. It's awful. It's darkness. It's, I can't even think of crazy words for sin. And what happened? He bore that on in his body on the cross. No one in all of history has ever suffered like Jesus Christ did on the cross. And my friends here today, I want to tell you, I want you to keep this in mind. We must never take our sins lightly. Because when we sin, and I know we do because we're not perfect, when we sin, we're doing the very thing that Jesus Christ suffered and died for. And you know what the word of God said? He did it that he might bring us to God. He could have stopped it, like I said, any time. He could have said, you know what, you people will never learn. Just forget it. I'm done. But he didn't. John 19 and 30 says, it is finished. And those three words changed everything. And Jesus wasn't just saying, I'm finished. He was saying the work is finished. The debt is paid. The price of redemption is complete. The sacrifice has been made. Nothing else needed to be said. Nothing else needed to be added. Because Jesus Christ done it all for you and for me. He didn't lose his life. He gave it. This means the cross was chosen by him. And he chose the cross because he loves us, loves us. And he chose the cross because he wanted a way for you and me to come home to God. That's what he done for us. Now, you know, what looked like the end on Friday was only the beginning of what God was about to do on Sunday morning. Because early that morning, something wonderful was already happening. And see, that's when Easter pops in, right? We we Easter means many things to us as Christians. It clearly means he's risen. That Jesus defeated death in the grave. Easter means that eternal life is real. That death doesn't end our life with God. Easter is about an empty tomb. And so much more. Easter is about our risen Lord. You know. Now you can find this story in Mark 16, 1 through 8, and it's also in Matthew 28, 1 through 6. Mark 16, 1 through 8 says that when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, married the mother of James and Salome, had brought sweet spices that they might come and anoint him. They wanted to finish the burial, right? And it was early in the morning on the first day of the week. They came to the tomb when the sun had risen. Now Mark 16 and 3 tells us that they were concerned about who was going to roll this big old stone away for these people. They weren't expecting an empty tomb. They know he had said he was coming back. Right? But see, when they got there, the stone was rolled away. The stone was rolled away. See, God had already done the work before they got there. And sometimes, friends, that's exactly what God happens. He's already there working on your miracle before you can even see it. You may be walking towards something today or any other time, expecting maybe a disappointment or maybe something to not go your way. But see, the thing about it is, let me tell you, friends, right now, God is already rolling that big old stone away. He's already there. That's how he was this day. He was there. You know? Now all four gospels record the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When all four gospels record something, you pretty much know it's important. And each one tells of a little different story than the other, but it's still all the same. It's about our risen Savior. And so, friends, the darkest day of history is past. Jesus Christ has been crucified on the cross, and the sinless Son of God took our place on the cross. And the lifeless body of Jesus was laid in the tomb. A borrowed tomb at that, right? Right? And now it's Sunday. It's the brightest day in human history, it is beginning. It's a day that will bring eternal life and light to everyone. Jesus Christ will arose from the grave, conquering sin, Satan, and death. So in the book of Mark, the women wanted to prepare Jesus' body with spices and anointments. And they wondered who was going to roll this big old stone away. When they got there, the stone was already rolled away. And when they entered the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right, right side, clothed in a long white garment. And you see, the stone was not rolled away so that Jesus could get out. But it was so that they could get in and see that the body of Jesus was gone. Now, some of the other gospels say there were two angels, but Mark only mentions one, and that's what I'm going through. So the important part of this story is in verse 6 is the message. The most powerful words ever spoken, I think, in human history. The angel said, Don't be alarmed. He said, You seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him. That's the first Easter message. It wasn't by a pastor in a pulpit. It was by an angel in the empty tomb. And the message was for those ladies. They to know that they really didn't see Jesus on the cross. They did see his blood flow from his body. They did see him die. They weren't deceived. The angel wanted them to know that his cry of it is finished didn't mean that he was finished. He died, but he didn't stay dead. He is risen. Amen. The angel wants them to know that when the empty tomb is not a place of sadness or defeat, that the empty tomb is a place of glory, of power, a place of hope. And the message given to those women that day that they needed to hear that Sunday morning was that Jesus is alive. And friends, that's the same message that we need to hear every day. The empty tomb is still preaching today. That tomb still tells the world that Jesus is alive and that he is able to save all the people who come to him by faith. Right? So early in that morning, that Sabbath morning had passed, these ladies came to the tomb. These men were all freaked out, scared, crying, and hiding, of course. But these brave ladies went to the grave of Jesus. But see, they wanted to bring the spices and anoint Jesus and preparing for burial because back then the Jews didn't embalm. They would wrap the body in grave clothes and put spices and anointment on it. But see, the prep couldn't be finished that day because Jesus died at 3 p.m. on Friday. And I think if I'm not mistaken, I read somewhere that the Sabbath would start on Sunday, sundown at Friday. So the ladies bought, the ladies couldn't go and they couldn't prep his body. They placed him in a borrowed tomb. A borrowed tomb. You see, my friends, Jesus had borrowed a donkey to ride in on when he came into Jerusalem, right? On Pomp Sunday. He brought an upper room when he had and had the last supper with his disciples, and then he borrowed a tomb to be buried in. But you see, that's no big deal. Because he only needed it for the weekend. Friday and Saturday. Because praise the Lord. Praise the God. Sunday's coming. Right? Amen. So these women wanted to go finish doing what they couldn't do on Friday. They wanted to prepare the Lord's body. And as like I said, they went along and they were worried about who was going to roll the stone away. But see, they didn't, they could have stopped and said, oh, well, you know what? That stone's too big. It weighs a lot. We can't do it. But that's not what they did. They kept going. Don't you just love their faith? They just charged right on, probably thinking, well, okay, this is going to work itself out. But when they got to the tomb of Jesus Christ, and they found a few little surprises when they got there. The stone was rolled away. There's an angel in the tomb, and the angel had a message for them. And he told the ladies, Don't be afraid. You see, friends, Easter means the end of all of our fears. Because of Easter, we don't need to fear life or death or sickness or anything. Jesus Christ dispels all of our fears because of his death, his burial, and his resurrection. And the resurrection is not just a component of the gospel, it's not just a feature of the gospel, it is the main event. It is, in fact, the greatest event in the life of our Lord Jesus. It's the greatest event in the life of human history, really. Friends, without the resurrection, the cross would mean nothing. The works of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus would mean nothing without the resurrection. Without the resurrection, we would have no salvation. You know. But you know, there's one thing missing about the resurrection, I think. This is just my opinions, okay? But there's one thing missing. The resurrection itself. We have accounts of angels in the tombs and Jesus walking into on the roads and stuff. We have accounts of everything that happened that day. But there's no account of it. There's nothing actually describing the phenomenon. Nothing, no one saw it, no, no one could explain it, how it happened is purely supernatural. Like creation. It was purely just God spoke and it happened. And just like God spoke and his son came forth. Now the fact that it did happen is is is fully told, of course, by all the writers. But there was no account of it. Nobody said, well, we saw Jesus raise up. There was nobody hiding in the tomb to say, well, we saw Jesus rise up and walk out of the tomb. Nobody said that. Nobody told that little story. And I was like, wow, man, I would have loved to have had a little bit of a little bit of a story on that, you know. But see, there's no greater success story than the resurrection. And that's when tragedy, my friends, was transformed into victory. Eternal victory. And the most important aspect of the gospel is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and that he arose from the grave. And ask yourself, have you got resurrection faith today? Do you believe? Have you read what Jesus said about his death, burial, and resurrection? And if you haven't never read that, what the Bible says about it, I urge you to read it today. Read all four Gospels about it today. And if you have read it and believed, then thank God for your resurrection faith. Because a lot of people out there don't believe there was even such a thing.

unknown 34:45

You know.

Living Hope And The Empty Tomb

Prayer And Closing Blessing

SPEAKER_00 34:48

And my friends, today, when we see the place where they laid him is empty, we see that the Father didn't forsake Jesus. We see the death is conquered. We see that we have a living friend in Jesus. And as we celebrate Easter, let us pause beside the empty tomb, people, and consider that just as our sin brought into the cross, the finished work of taking care of our sins brought him out of the grave. Jesus rose from the dead for our salvation. A salvation, friends, that we could not achieve on our own. Amen. And you know, I haven't heard that around here, but I was um when I when I lived in eastern western Kentucky on Easter, everybody would walk, if you walk by people in the in Walmart, in the streets, people would say, He is, yes, Christ is risen. And then somebody else would say back, he is risen indeed. And I I didn't get that. I didn't get the understanding of that. But on Easter down there, every all the years that I was in western Kentucky and even in uh southwestern Indiana, when you walk, when you pass somebody on the street, whether you knew them or not, or you pass somebody in Walmart, whether you knew them or not, they would say, He is risen. And your your reply back was he is risen indeed. And I didn't understand that. But I do now. I do now. And friends, that empty tomb stands as a constant reminder that Jesus is alive and he's among us. Sin is no sin no longer has the final word. Fear no longer has the final word, death no longer has the final word. And friends, that tomb outside of Jerusalem is still empty today. No one has ever been able to place Jesus Christ back in it. You know why? Because he's alive. He's still saving, he's still healing, and he's still restoring lives today. Because you see, after the resurrection, he didn't just disappear. He didn't just disappear, he didn't just leave. He appeared to his followers, he appeared to Mary, to the disciples, and he appeared to many others. He wanted them to know something very important that this is not a dream. This is not, this is real. This is real. I'm here. You're not dreaming, you're seeing me. And because he lives, our future's secure, all of our sinful past is forgiven. And we have hope today. We have, we will never walk alone. When Jesus walked out of the tomb, he proved once and for all that death could was not the end of the story. Right? And for every single one of us who believe, all the believers, the grave is not a goodbye people. It is only a doorway into the eternal life with Jesus Christ. You see, the cross showed his love, the tomb showed his power. The resurrection showed his victory. And that tomb is empty. That tomb is empty. Jesus is alive. And because he lives, we can live too. The story doesn't end there. You know, he is alive and he's working. And when you find yourself feeling in need of hope, put yourself beside Mary in that tomb. And see that it is empty. That the stone was rolled away. That they tried to kill him. They tried to lock him in there, but no man, no stone, or nothing could keep him in there. And we need to take that same advice today. The angel told the women, come and look and see where they laid him. And we need to take that same advice today, people. See where they laid him. Look at the empty tomb. When you're feeling down, overwhelmed, defeated, weak, look at where they laid him. The tomb is empty. There is hope. There is hope and an everlasting hope. And this is the message that comes from the empty tomb. You know, that is the message. The tomb is empty. And I got let me tell you this. You you may go to the tomb of Mohammed, right? He was a great prophet. And when you go visit his tomb, what they're going to tell you is, here lies the bones of the great prophet Mohammed. You can go visit the tomb of Napoleon, right? And you know what they're going to tell you? Well, here lies the bones of the greatest emperor of France. But my friends, hear me today. When you go to the tomb of Jesus Christ, they will tell you. And you can walk in and see for yourself. Here lies the bones of no one. There's no bones. He's not here. He's risen. Just like he said he did. What? Just like he said he would. So friends, the tomb is empty today. And because he lives, we can live too. The story doesn't stop there. And I hope this has blessed you as much as it's blessed me to bring it to you today. And I am going to end this with a prayer. And I hope and pray that this has blessed you. And I hope and pray that you open up your hearts and your minds. And you travel and you listen to this. And you travel down that road to the cross and to the empty tomb. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the cross. We thank you for the empty tomb. And Lord, I pray that every person listening now, please give strength to the discouraged. Comfort the hurting and give peace to the worried heart. Remind everyone that the story didn't just end at the cross. Remind them that the tomb is empty and that Jesus is alive and still working in their lives. And Lord, today, if there's someone listening who has needs forgiveness, who needs forgiveness at all, let them feel your mercy reaching to them. And Lord, we thank you each and every day for the forgiveness made possible through the shed of his blood. And Lord, we ask you today to help us to live our lives to honor that sacrifice. Because we thank you for the greatest sacrifice of your Son on the cross. Help us, Lord, to live our lives. To honor him, to honor that sacrifice. We thank you for every drop of his blood that was shed for our forgiveness. We ask you to remind us daily of the grace we received through the cross. Lord, let these people open up their hearts and their minds and listen to what's being said. I ask these in all things in Jesus' holy name today. Thank you for joining me today on Bible Talk. And I pray this has blessed you. And I pray that you get strengthening of your faith when you think about the power of the cross. I thank you for going with me on this journey to the cross. God bless everybody. And thank you.

SPEAKER_02 43:16

Hallelujah.