“The Rolling Stone—The Sound of Triumph!”
Matthew 28:1-15

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Easter Sunday—April 21, 2019

“This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!”

For our special services during Lent this year we focused on “The Sounds of Lent.”  The crowing rooster and clanking coins, as our Lord was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver; the flogging, mocking, and spitting, as he suffered for our sakes; the donkey’s hoofs, cheering crowds, and jeering crowds on Palm Sunday; the breaking of bread and pouring wine on Maundy Thursday; and the pounding hammer and death cry as he was crucified, dead, and buried. 

But, the saddest sound of all, the saddest sound in the history of the world, was the rolling stone on Good Friday.  “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.”

It was late in the afternoon when Jesus died on Good Friday.  At sunset the Passover Sabbath would begin, the most special Sabbath of the year.  Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both members of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin, took Jesus’ body and began burial preparations. But, the hour was late, they didn’t have time to properly anoint the body, so it was simply wrapped in linen and put in Joseph’s own new tomb, in a garden nearby.

In those days, people were normally buried in man-made caves, carved into the rocky hillsides. Being a wealthy man, Joseph’s tomb was large, with a shelf for laying out the body.   I have excavated many such tombs as an archaeologist in the Holy Land.  Usually the entrance was closed with stacked rubble, sometimes a single large, square stone was fitted into the opening.  But, in the hills surrounding Jerusalem, there are still several examples you can visit of ancient tombs for the wealthy, that have a very large, round stone, set into a groove so that it can be rolled  open and shut across the entrance.

At the tombs where I excavated, about 40 miles from the Sea of Galilee, our team discovered many valuable items that had been buried with people, what are called “grave goods.”  Lots of oil lamps and other pieces of pottery; jewelry, such as bracelets made of twisted glass, and bronze bracelets with little bells on them; and I discovered in a tomb I was supervising a very valuable gold ring, which is now on display at the national museum in Amman, Jordan.  That was the practical purpose of the stone over the entrance to the tomb.  Because people would be buried with such valuable grave goods, the stone closing off the entrance was meant to keep out grave robbers, and also wild animals.

But, that stone being rolled into place on Good Friday also had a sad, symbolic significance.  For, the sound of that stone being rolled into place was the ultimate sound of death and defeat. With Jesus crucified, dead, and buried, it seemed not just his tomb but heaven itself was hopelessly sealed shut for us all.

“The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. They rested on the Sabbath. . .  but on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb”

The women on the way to the tomb that first Easter morn had a somber task ahead. They witnessed on Good Friday how there wasn’t time  before the Sabbath rest began at sundown to properly anoint Jesus’ body for burial according to the customs of the day.  After resting for the Sabbath on Saturday, at sunrise on Easter Sunday they were on their way to the tomb to finish the job barely begun by Joseph and Nicodemus on Good Friday.  We are told in the Gospels that during Jesus’ lifetime “these women followed him and cared for his needs.”  Now they planned one last act of devoted service to their beloved Master, to lovingly anoint Jesus’ body with spices, and complete his proper burial.

“On their way to the tomb they asked each other, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?’  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled away.”  

The sound of the rolling stone on Good Friday was the saddest sound in the history of the world, the sound of death and defeat for us all.  But, on the first Easter Sunday morn, the rolling stone was the sound of triumph, the sound of heaven opened—for YOU!

“An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and going to the tomb rolled back the stone and sat on it. . .  The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid . . . you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here—He is risen!’”

Imagine the rollercoaster of emotions those women experienced that first Easter morn.  They start out the day filled with grief, preparing for the final, somber step of burying their beloved Jesus.  Then puzzlement at finding his tomb already open.  As they enter the tomb, and find no body but angels there, shock, surprise, amazement, but also confusion and fear.  Finally, they are lifted from the deepest depths of sadness to the highest heights of joy when the angel proclaims to them: “Do not be afraid . . . you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here—He is risen!”

JOY, because their beloved Jesus is no longer dead but alive again!  JOY, because his resurrection proves he IS who he claimed to be, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world.  JOY, because his resurrection means his death was no accident but part of God’s plan all along, as Jesus said, “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. . .  for the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  JOY, because his resurrection proclaims that the sins of the world are forgiven.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned.”

The sound of the rolling stone on Good Friday was the saddest sound in the history of the world, the sound of death and defeat for us all.  But, listen!  Hear the sound of the rolling stone this Easter morn!  The sound of your Savior’s triumph, over sin, death, and the devil!  The sound of your sins forgiven!  The sound of heaven opened—for YOU!