The birth of Christ has meaning only when we reflect on the empty tomb. Christ came so that all of us, Gentiles and Jews alike, could experience salvation through Him. If the tomb wasn’t empty, the birth of a baby in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago and his subsequent adult ministry wouldn’t even appear in various early writings, or would do so as a mere footnote of a crazy man who thought he was God. But that’s not how Jesus is presented. Some of these writings speak of Jesus’ ministry, including the parables and miracles, and His predictions that came true. While many extrabiblical accounts have been lost to millennia, others have survived and clearly reference and quote such accounts of Jesus’ life. The fact that He was born, taught, crucified, and rose from the grave is the culmination of God’s greatest love story for us, and the empty tomb is a place of immense joy just as much as the newborn’s stable.
And this is my struggle.
The Easter season has always been difficult for me: scratchy dresses, pouchy winter tummy fat, vice-like patent-leather shoes, and baskets full of an obscene amount of chocolate and candies, juxtaposed with my ‘friend Jesus’ tried, tortured, and executed. Yes, the empty tomb was the cause of corporal celebration with jerky organ music and choirs belting out the ‘risen’ hymns–I have a particular fondness for Christ the Lord is Risen Today— but with the darkness of Good Friday, which seemed an awful lot like Horrible Friday to me, I struggled with the glory of Easter because there was so much pain and suffering involved. I wanted the joy of a newly born baby, warmly wrapped in his mother Mary’s arms, with the choirs of angels, bowing shepherds, cattle lowing, and all that jazz. Stuff that makes everything cozy and gooey like eating sugary Christmas goodies by a crackling fire.
On my journey to overcoming my aversion to the Easter season, I’ve discovered that my beloved envisaged manger possesses unearthly joy solely because the tomb is empty. Without an empty tomb, the ones worshipping the birth of a Savior don’t make eternal sense. Like any great hero in a classic story, the hero must overcome many obstacles to be transformed, thus giving meaning to the narrative. Without a post-tomb Jesus eating some broiled fish, appearing in flesh and bone, and confabbing with His disciples and the other men and women who were following Him, the suffering on the cross was a mere execution and not a fulfillment of prophecy with promises delivered.
The empty tomb holds as much joy, if not more, than the manger. The manger promises us a Savior King, offering us life eternal, and the empty tomb proves that we can receive life eternal through our faith. They are bookends to the love story from God to us.