40 DAY GOSPEL CHALLENGE | EMPTY BUT FULL

Empty But Full
 
6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. -Mark 16:6 (ESV)
 
Usually we equate empty with bad. Empty pocket-book…bad. Empty pantry…definitely bad. But in this case, empty was actually good. The empty grave was full of hope. It was the fulfillment of the promise for the very reason which Christ came to earth: to save His people from their sins, that by His wounds we would be healed (Isaiah 53:5). And that by His Resurrection death and the grave would be swallowed up forever (1 Corinthians 15:55-57; Revelation 1:17-18).

Jesus emptied Himself so that we could be filled (Philippians 2:7-8). My ESV Study Bible says it this way: “While He had every right to stay comfortably where He was, in a position of power, His love drove Him to a position of weakness for the sake of sinful mankind.”1 Jesus emptied Himself of His privilege in order to fill us with Holy Spirit power. The created has been invited into relationship with its divine Creator. Hallelujah! This is how we may now experience real life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).

The grave was empty in the sense that the body of Christ was not there, but it was full of the hope and the promise of eternal life. Thank you, Jesus!

Elisha Smith | MIDDLE SCHOOL PASTOR

1  (2011). ESV Study Bible. Crossway.