The tomb holds great significance in the life of Jesus.
He died like a little child falling asleep into his heavenly Father’s arms with the prayer every little child was taught by a Jewish mother to pray as he was retiring to sleep at night (Psalm 31:5, Luke 23:46).
He then got a borrowed tomb (Matthew 27:60). Yet it was fulfilment of prophecy that he will get a rich man’s burial (Isaiah 53:9, Matthew 27:57)). The Son of Man had no place to lay his head during his ministry (Luke 9:58). But at his death he got a resting place.
The tomb is not a much liked place. It is a place where much crying happens and tears shed. There is the pain of separation. There is a huge sense of loss. There are questions about the future for those the loved one left behind. We need to remember that even Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb (John 11:35). He was very much human; wasn’t he?
Yet Jesus made the tomb a stairway of hope. He took its sting away through his resurrection (1 Cor. 15:55). The tomb reminds us of the fact that death is real. But Jesus showed us that the tomb is not final. Not for him; not for you or for me!
The tomb can be never be a lonely experience for a believer as Jesus has passed through that dark valley already. He will not let you walk that way alone (Psalm 23:4). He will be present to welcome you home.
Perhaps what Jesus said on another occasion should throw a new light on what we have been thinking about. God is not “the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive (Luke 20:38).
Therefore let the majestic words, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die (John 11:25, 26),” turn ever tear-stained farewell into a blazing trailway of hope in the night sky!
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