The sermon presents Christ’s borrowed tomb as evidence of His humiliation and substitutionary bearing of the sins of others. His empty tomb declares that the atonement is finished and that believers are fully pardoned and justified. Because Christ rose bodily, His followers can face death with confidence in their own future resurrection. Spurgeon therefore calls hearers to revisit Christ’s grave through meditation, grieving over sin while rejoicing in the risen Lord.
Theological center: Christ’s bodily resurrection proves that His substitutionary atonement is complete, His people are justified, and death will ultimately be defeated for them.
Applications: Come to Christ’s tomb · Rejoice in the resurrection · Meditate on Christ’s grave · Consider Christ’s substitution
Primary texts: Matthew 28:6 · John 20:1 · Isaiah 53:3
“Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Matthew 28:6 EVERY circumstance connected with the life of Christ is deeply interesting to the Christian mind. Wherever we behold our Savior, He is well worthy of our notice “His cross, His manger, and His crown, Are big with glories yet unknown.” All His weary pilgrimage, from Bethlehem’s manger to Calvary’s cross, is in my eyes, paved with glory. Each spot upon which He trod is to our souls consecrated at once, simply because there the foot of earth’s Savior and our own Redeemer once was placed. When He comes to Calvary, the interest thickens, then our best thoughts are centered on Him in the agonies of crucifixion, nor does our deep affection permit us to leave Him even when, the struggle being over, He yields up the ghost. His body, when it is…