WHO WILL MOVE THE STONE?

“As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus, went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth. He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left. Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb and watching.”

Matthew 27:60-61 NLT

It was early morning on the third day. Sabbath had ended, releasing those who passionately loved Jesus to pay their last respects and say their final goodbyes to Him. Only one obstacle remained… the stone.

“Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”

Mark 16:2ff

The women who hurried to the tomb in the cool of the morning had one thought in their minds… the stone. How would they move the stone? Three or four of them would not have the strength to shift that enormous weight even one centimetre. They would eventually have to abandon their mission and return home without closure, forever denied their final glimpse of their beloved Master.

Imagine their surprise, even shock when they arrived at the tomb! In the early dawn light, they were confronted by a gaping hole where the stone had been.

“But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.”

Mark 16:2-4 NLT

How could that happen? Soldiers were supposed to have been guarding the tomb.

“The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So, we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.” Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.”

Matthew 27:62-66 NLT

According to Matthew, an earthquake blew the stone clean out of the way, leaving the entrance unobstructed and open for anyone to enter.

“Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it.”

Matthew 28:1-2 NLT

But guards had been posted at the tomb to stop the disciples from trying to gain entrance. The other gospels merely state that the stone had been rolled away. Imagine the soldiers sleeping through the commotion while a group of disciples heaved and struggled to move the stone, a few inches at a time!

“As the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and told the leading priests what had happened. A meeting with the elders was called, and they decided to give the soldiers a large bribe. They told the soldiers, “You must say, ‘Jesus’ disciples came during the night while we were sleeping, and they stole his body.’ If the governor hears about it, we’ll stand up for you so you won’t get in trouble.” So, the guards accepted the bribe and said what they were told to say. Their story spread widely among the Jews, and they still tell it today.”

Matthew 28:11-15 NLT

No, it seems that only a supernatural power could move that stone without disturbing the guards or… they had long since fled when things began to happen that frightened the wits out of them!

So, despite the cover-up story, which seems far-fetched and devoid of truth, the stone which blocked the entrance to the cave where Jesus’ body was entombed, was miraculously missing. All the women’s concerns were for nothing. Their greatest obstacle was gone. They had free access to the body of Jesus, so they thought.

They scrambled through the entrance, clutching their bags of precious ointments and spices, only to stop short in utter disbelief. Not only was the stone gone but so was the body they had come to anoint.

“But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus.”

Luke 24:1-3 NLT

John centres on Mary, Mary Magdalene, who passionately loved Jesus… not in any romantic way….but with a love born of faith in a Redeemer. Jesus had delivered her from the cruel bondage to demonic tyranny. How could she not believe and trust Him implicitly for her whole being and her whole life?

“Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

John 20:1-2 NLT

These accounts, focusing on different people caught up in these devastating events, all centre in two “impossibles”, the immovable stone… in the way, and the body of Jesus… missing, but… without lifting a finger, both obstacles were miraculously gone.

The stone blocking their access to Jesus had melted like wax in the sun. The dead Jesus, from whom they had come to take their final leave, was alive, no longer entombed in a rocky cave free to be with them forever.

The great initiators of false religion were alive, but now they are dead, and their tombs are here for anyone to see. Jesus, who was dead for three days, is alive and His empty tomb is the silent witness that He rose from the dead and is alive forever. He invited the Apostle John in his vision on the Isle of Patmos,

‘… I died but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.’

Revelation 1:18 NLT

So, what’s the “stone” in your life that you think is immovable? Is your “Jesus” still dead in the tomb, unable to do a thing to help you? It’s time to confront the truth, not the facts.  How do we know that Jesus is not there? The stone…. remember? Is the tomb empty or is His body still there?

Where is Jesus now?

“When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.”

Mark 16:19 NLT

“Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.”

So, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, the place of authority and power. He reigns over all things… that means over you and me as well. All our situations, circumstances, and … everything,… are under His control. No stray “coincidences” escape Him. He knows about our “stones”. He is here, there, everywhere, through His Spirit. Not dead! Alive… forevermore.

Is your “stone” still blocking the way to Jesus? It’s not there, just a phantom of your unbelief.  Call on His name. He’s there.