He Is Risen — The Empty Tomb and the Resurrection of Jesus (Luke 24:1–6)

The empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus stand at the center of the Christian faith. Luke 24:1-6 brings us to the greatest event in human history: Jesus Christ, who was crucified for sinners, did not remain in the grave. He rose again. After all the teaching, miracles, compassion, confrontations, betrayal, suffering, and burial, Luke’s Gospel reaches its glorious climax here. Jesus was not merely born to be an example, perform miracles, or teach moral truths. He came to die for sinners and rise again so that all who repent and believe might have eternal life. https://youtu.be/NYWLSN52JfU Table of contentsThe darkness of Christ’s death gives way to the light of the resurrectionAfter the resurrection, Jesus is revealed as the LordDo not seek life among the deadHe is not here, but has risenConclusion If Christ had remained in the tomb, Christianity would be empty. Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). But because Jesus rose, everything changes. Sin has been paid for. Death has been conquered. Salvation has been accomplished. Eternal life is offered to all who trust in Him. Luke’s careful account shows us not only that the tomb was empty, but what that empty tomb means. The darkness of Christ’s death gives way to the light of the resurrection Before Luke tells us about the resurrection morning, he wants us to remember what took place at the crucifixion. In Luke 23:44-45, darkness covered the land from the sixth hour until the ninth hour. This was no ordinary event. It was a supernatural sign accompanying Christ's death. Luke says, “the sun’s light failed,” language that seems meant to draw attention not only to physical darkness but also to spiritual symbolism. Jesus had said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). As He gave His life, the light failed. The Light of the World was being extinguished in death. That makes the opening of Luke 24 all the more powerful. The women come to the tomb “on the first day of the week, at early dawn” (Luke 24:1). The timing is deeply significant. The resurrection is announced at daybreak. The darkness of Good Friday gives way to the light of Sunday morning. When Christ died, darkness covered the land. When Christ rose, a new day began. These women came with spices they had prepared before the Sabbath. Their actions reveal love, devotion, and faithfulness. They had followed Jesus from Galilee. They had remained near Him at the crucifixion. They had seen where His body was laid. While many others scattered, they stayed. Now they return at the earliest possible moment after the Sabbath, not expecting resurrection, but expecting to honor a dead body. That detail matters. They did not come anticipating a celebration. They came anticipating sorrow. They did not expect life. They expected death. Yet when they arrived, the stone had already been rolled away. This did not mean Jesus needed help getting out. The stone was rolled away so the women, and later the apostles, could see the evidence that He had already risen. God opened the tomb, not to free Jesus, but to reveal that death could not hold Him. After the resurrection, Jesus is revealed as the Lord Luke 24:3 says something remarkable: “but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” This wording is striking. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus most commonly refers to Himself as the Son of Man. That title emphasizes His humanity, His humiliation, His service, His suffering, and His mission to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). It fits Christ's earthly ministry as the One who came to serve and suffer. But here in Luke 24, at the empty tomb, Luke uses the title “the Lord Jesus.” That is significant because, after the resurrection, the New Testament increasingly emphasizes Jesus as Lord. In Acts and the epistles, believers preach the Lord Jesus, trust in the Lord Jesus, are baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and testify of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The resurrection serves as the bridge between Christ’s humiliation and His exaltation. This does not mean Jesus was not Lord before the resurrection. He always was. But now His resurrection openly reveals and confirms His identity in power. The crucified Son of Man is the risen Lord Jesus. The One rejected by men is exalted over all. The One who came in humility is now proclaimed in majesty. That is why the resurrection cannot be reduced to an inspiring ending or a moving miracle. It is the public declaration that Jesus Christ is Lord. The empty tomb is not merely evidence that a body is gone. It is evidence that the crucified Messiah has conquered death and reigns in victory. Do not seek life among the dead When the women found the tomb empty, they were confused. Luke says they were perplexed. Then two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. These were angels appearing in human form, and their question is one of the most profound in all of Scripture: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5). At one level, this question gently rebukes the women. They should have remembered what Jesus had taught them. He had already told His followers that He would be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day. They had come looking for a dead Savior when they should have remembered they served a risen Lord. But that question reaches far beyond the women at the tomb. It speaks to every generation. It exposes the tragedy of seeking life where life cannot be found. Many people seek life in a dead religion. They trust rituals, ceremonies, traditions, or external forms of godliness. Yet Scripture warns of those “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5). Religion without Christ cannot save. It may make a person appear spiritual, but it cannot make a dead sinner alive. Others seek life in dead works. They think they can do enough, improve enough, or serve enough to make themselves right with God. But salvation is “not a result of works” (Ephesians 2:9), and “by works of the law no human being will be justified” (Romans 3:20). Dead people cannot raise themselves. Sinners do not need mere self-improvement; they need resurrection life through faith in Christ. Still others seek life in dead idols. They give their hearts to things that cannot speak, save, or satisfy. Psalm 115 describes idols as having mouths but not speaking, eyes but not seeing, and ears but not hearing. Jeremiah 2:13 describes the tragedy perfectly: people forsake the fountain of living waters and dig broken cisterns that can hold no water. That is what idolatry always does. It turns from the living God to empty substitutes. Some even seek life in a dead faith. James 2:17 says, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” It is possible to profess faith without possessing saving faith. A person can know biblical language, attend church, and say the right things while remaining spiritually dead. Only living faith in the risen Christ saves. And of course, many seek life in money, pleasure, success, morality, or relationships. Yet none of these can give peace with God. None of them can remove guilt. None of them can conquer death. Jesus asked, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9:25). The world cannot give life to a soul dead in sin. Life is found only in Christ. Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Jesus Himself declared, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). The empty tomb proclaims not only that Jesus is alive, but that He alone is the source of life for all who come to Him in faith. He is not here, but has risen The angels then announce the message of Easter in its simplest and most triumphant form: “He is not here, but has risen” (Luke 24:6). They do not merely say the tomb is empty. They interpret the empty tomb for us. Christ is risen. That is the heart of the Christian message. The resurrection is not an emotional symbol of hope. It is not merely the disciples carrying on Jesus’ memory. It is not a poetic way of saying His influence lives on. It is the historical, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This is why Christians do not focus on venerating the grave of Jesus the way followers of other religions honor the burial places of their founders. Jesus’ tomb is not the center of Christian devotion because Jesus is not in the tomb. Whatever uncertainty may exist regarding the exact burial location today, the message remains unchanged: the grave could not hold Him. The Lord Jesus is risen. Christianity stands or falls on this truth. If Christ is not raised, our faith is futile. But if Christ is raised, then every promise of the gospel is true. The resurrection means the Father accepted the Son’s sacrifice. It means sin has been paid for. It means death has been defeated. It means all who belong to Christ will also live. Conclusion Luke 24:1-6 leaves us with one glorious truth: the tomb is empty because Jesus Christ is alive. The darkness of the cross has given way to the light of the resurrection. The suffering Son of Man is revealed as the risen Lord Jesus. And the angels’ question still searches our hearts: Why do you seek the living among the dead? So, where are you seeking life? Are you looking for it in religion, works, success, pleasure, money, relationships, or morality? None of those things can save. None of them can give eternal life. None of them can conquer death. Only the risen Christ can. The good news of Easter is that Jesus, who was crucified for sinners, is not in the tomb. He is risen. He has defeated sin, conquered death, and offers eternal life to everyone who repents and believes. Do not merely admire the resurrection.