The most striking symbol of Easter is a rock. In fact, there are three. Let’s take a look...
The rock tomb
All four Gospels tell us that on the first “Good Friday”, Jesus’ body was lovingly placed in a new tomb cut out of the rock. Two men, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, then rolled a large stone in front of the entrance and left (see John ch.19). On the Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, the rock was firmly in place having been sealed and guarded by Roman soldiers. However, by Sunday morning the rock had been rolled aside by an angel, the soldiers had fled, and an empty tomb greeted the two women disciples who had come to continue embalming Jesus’ body.
The rock of evidence
Over the years, many skeptics have tried to explain away the resurrection and the empty tomb. They realized that the Christian faith stands or falls on the resurrection. The apostle Paul agrees —“If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:14). After all, a dead Savior is really no Savior at all.
However, as the evidence is examined carefully the case for the resurrection becomes compelling. On Friday and Saturday, you have a dead body, a well-guarded and sealed rock tomb, and a bunch of mourning, confused and demoralized disciples. But by Sunday evening, you have an empty tomb, badly-shaken soldiers, and a team of Christ-followers boldly claiming that Jesus is alive and willing to die for that claim! What happened? Somehow there must be an explanation.
Various theories have been advanced. One says that the disciples came by night, overwhelmed the Roman guard, stole the body, and began preaching the lie that Jesus had risen. Another one asserts that Jesus really didn’t die on the cross but was only badly wounded. The soldiers thought he was dead, let the disciples bury the body which revived in the coolness of the tomb. The revived Jesus then pushed the large stone away, scared the Roman guard, and appeared alive to His followers.
When the evidence is scrutinized objectively, these theories simply do not hold up. Frank Morison set out to disprove the resurrection and ended up as a believer who wrote the book “Who Moved The Stone?” More recently, lawyer-journalist Lee Strobel tried to do the same and reached the same conclusion described in his book “The Case For Christ.” The evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is rock solid.
The rock of ages
In the Psalms, God is often referred to as a “Rock” (see Psalms 18, 31 and 62). The prophet Daniel interpreted a dream in which a “rock” smashes a statue which represents the major empires of history. Interestingly, he sees that the rock was cut out “but not by human hands” and that it “became a huge mountain” which “filled the whole earth” and “endured forever” (see Daniel 2:31-45). And in the New Testament, the apostle Paul refers to Jesus as a “spiritual rock” (see 1 Corinthians 10:4).
So, you could say there are three “rocks” of Easter. But the most important one is the risen and living Savior, Jesus Christ. Putting your sincere trust in Him as the One who can save you from sin and give you eternal life is a solid rock foundation to build your life, your marriage, your family, and your future upon.
I hope you can say with me (and millions of others) this Easter — “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead” (1 Cor. 15:20)!
Rob Weatherby is a retired pastor.
