The Defeat of Death

And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Matthew 28:5–6

On the third day after His death the Bible says, “And behold, there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men” (Matthew 28:2–4).

Though some Bible students have tried to estimate how much this stone weighed, we need not speculate because Jesus could have come out of that tomb whether the stone was there or not. The Bible mentions it so that generations to come can know something of the tremendous miracle of resurrection that took place.

As Mary looked into the tomb she saw “two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain” (John 20:11, 12). Then one of the angels who was sitting outside the tomb proclaimed the greatest message the world has ever heard: “He is not here: for he is risen.” Those few words changed the history of the universe. Darkness and despair died; hope and anticipation were born in the hearts of men.

Our Father and our God, I praise Your righteous name, and I stand in awe of Your majesty. For I know it was You who rolled the stone away from the tomb of the Savior. I know it was You who presented the empty tomb to the world as proof of Your lordship. I believe in You, Lord. And I believe in Your Son. Amen.

Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).