Why We Cannot Bypass the Cross for the Empty Tomb

A sob always escapes when I read through the final day of our Lord’s walk on earth. I often rush to the passages about Jesus’s resurrection, eager to get to the end of the suffering and the beginning of the triumphant. 

I rush because I don’t want to experience the emotional pain. I can handle physically hard, but don’t ask me to do emotionally hard.

I don’t want to imagine Jesus suffering so horribly.

I don’t want to see the blood or feel the blows.

I want to bypass the Passion and move right to the Resurrection. Forego the messy and get to the beautiful and glorious. 

I want to be comfortable in my salvation. I want to do the easy. Attend church, post Scripture verses, pray, share my faith. But I want to do it all from the empty tomb, not from the cross. 

I want to walk in and witness from the neat and clean, not from the stickiness of Christ’s blood. 

Empty Tomb but No Cross?

But what does the empty tomb mean without Jesus’s death on the cross? 

What does forgiveness mean without the stain of Jesus’s blood? 

What does the promise of salvation mean without the sacrifice that made it possible?

At Easter, I want to bypass the Passion and move right to the Resurrection. I want to walk in and witness from the neat and clean, not from the stickiness of Christ's blood. But what does the empty tomb mean without Jesus' death on the cross? Share on X

Oh, Resurrection morning is indeed glorious! Jesus risen, no more pain, no more persecution. Our future, an eternity with Him in heaven, secured, once and for all. 

But we mustn’t forget the cost of getting there. Our salvation was costly. 

Yet it was a price willingly paid for us. Not in a pretty exchange, but in a hauntingly beautiful one where Jesus gave of His blood, His dignity, His comfort, and, worst of all, His relationship with His Father to secure a future for each of us. 

Eyewitnesses

How can I give witness to such a great sacrifice if I’m not willing to face the uncomfortable?

So I guess the question I feel led to ask myself in this Easter season is am I willing to meet Jesus at the cross, not just near the empty tomb? 

Mary Magdalene was.

Mary Magdalene, along with a few others, ministered to Jesus in Galilee (Matthew 27:55), followed Him on His torturous journey to Golgotha (Luke 23:27), stood by the cross as He breathed His last (John 19:25), and sat facing His tomb as it was sealed shut. 

She was not content to keep her distance. She could not stay away. She did not retreat to her comfortable home when things became ugly.

As an eyewitness to Jesus’s earthly life and death, Mary met Him where He was.

She was willing to be with Him in the torturous as well as the glorious. She was willing to sit in the blood of His death and bask in His glorious resurrection and ascension.

She was determined to be witnesses to it all, the painful and the lovely. 

What Kind of Witness Am I?

That makes me think about what kind of witness I am. Am I willing to meet Jesus at the cross? 

Am I willing to step into the messy as Mary Magdalene did to get an up-close and personal view of Jesus, no matter where it leads? Am I willing to walk with Him on the difficult journeys as well as the easy ones? 

You see, it’s a package deal. There would be no reason to go to the empty tomb if there had been no cross. 

There would be no reason to go to the empty tomb if there had been no cross. Share on X

Mary Magdalene went where Jesus was, even to the cross and even when she was filled with uncertainty. And in so doing, she was able to share the depth of the Gospel. 

¹⁵ “Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Supposing He was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you’ve removed Him, tell me where you’ve put Him, and I will take Him away.”

¹⁶ Jesus said, “Mary.”

Turning around, she said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!”—which means “Teacher.”

¹⁷ “Don’t cling to Me,” Jesus told her, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and tell them that I am ascending to My Father and your Father—to My God and your God.”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what He had said to her. (John 20:15-18)

“I have seen the Lord!”

In the joyous events and, yes, in my suffering, I have seen the Lord. 

You and I are the Mary Magdalenes of this generation. We are His witnesses. 

Let us no longer make excuses.

Let us follow after Jesus wherever He leads. 

Whether we find ourselves standing near the cross or sitting at the tomb, let us proclaim, “I have seen the Lord!”

Let us follow after Jesus proclaiming, I have seen the Lord!, whether near the cross or at the tomb. Share on X

Reflections: Who are you going to proclaim the Lord to? How will you do that? Why do you think it is important to not just sit at the empty tomb, but to also draw near the cross? Or perhaps you don’t think that’s important, why not?

I’m thrilled to link up with Suzie Eller for #livefree Thursday and this week’s prompt, “no more excuses.” I love these special linkups. They provide an abundance of great inspiration and encouragement all in one place. Click on the images below to check them out.

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