April 23, 2003
Reading: John 20:1-18

 

“And she saw two angels in white sitting … where the body of Jesus had lain” (12)

 

The account where Mary looked into the tomb of Jesus and did not see Him, is one of the most positive and hope generating stories to be found in the annals of history. If it were not for the resurrection of Jesus we would be of all men the most miserable (1 Cor 15:20 KJV). What hope would there be if our God was dead? What hope is there if, when we die, we remain dead? He is the “firstfruits” of them who die knowing Jesus as their Savior. Our hope, joy and expectation is in the resurrected Christ – Praise God that Jesus was not in the tomb when Mary looked in.

There were however, two angels sitting where the body of Jesus had laid – one where His head had been and the other at His feet. There is a wonderful significance in what Mary saw. When God gave the instructions for the construction of the ark of the covenant He included the following: “Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat” (Ex 25:19). The wings of the cherubim were to be stretched out over the ark forming a cover for the mercy seat which itself was the cover for the ark. The ark contained “the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant” (Heb 9:4). Each of these three articles represented the covenant God had made with His people. The ark was placed in the Holy of Holies, off limits to all but the High Priest, and He could enter that sacred place but once a year. The cherubim (angels) symbolically protected the ark and its contents and were sitting on the mercy seat. The covenant was a conditional one – the people were required to obey God’s law and to love Him with all of their heart. We know they failed miserably and therefore suffered the consequences.

At the “Last Supper,” just before Jesus was crucified, He passed a cup of wine to His disciples and said, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many” (Mark 14:24). The old covenant with its ark and contents, the golden mercy seat and the protecting angels, were now a thing of the past. They were made that way because Jesus had come and was about to become the fulfillment of everything they typified. He died on the cross and thereby nullified His relationship with His people - but what good would a dead Covenanter be?

The scene that greeted Mary on that resurrection day speaks volumes. The angels were there but, instead of the Ark of the Covenant, there was a slab of stone. Instead of the golden mercy seat, she saw grave clothes. No longer did the angels touch their wings where the Messiah had lain, but they sat one on each end. This was a new covenant – instead of the “shadow” (Heb 8:5), we have the reality or substance (Col 2:17). The covenant established by the crucified and risen Christ is a far better one than that typified by the Ark of the Covenant, “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Heb 8:6).

When Jesus died, the veil, which denied entrance to the presence of God, was torn from top to bottom, illustrating our freedom to approach God at any time. When Jesus rose from the dead, the angels sat apart, telling us that the old covenant with its conditions and restrictions was no longer viable. He who is the New Covenant, lives forever, making intercession for us. The empty tomb represents a better covenant, an everlasting agreement and an eternal relationship between God and His people.