Jesus at the Empty Cave

During this series on “Mountains, Valleys and Caves,” we’ve looked at sites in the Bible where people experienced mountaintops of faith, victory, triumph, and vision. We have also looked at those valley times—like walking through the valley of the shadow of death. While caves are not as prevalent in the Bible as mountains and valleys, they are places where two things happen. First, it is the place where people hid when in trouble. Second, the soil in Israel is so rocky that it would be hard to bury people underground so they would put the body into a cave until it decomposed and then collect the bones and put them in an “ossuary,” a type of urn. Ancient ossuaries continue to be found in Israel. When Jesus was crucified, they laid him in a type of cave before the Sabbath. The women went to the tomb on Sunday morning. Something miraculous had to happen for fiercely Sabbath worshipping Jews to shift their day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. This change is another testimony to the truth of the Resurrection. The empty tomb did not convince the disciples: they believed because of the other sounds, sights, and touches they experienced. Ultimately, the disciples experienced the resurrected Christ. Jesus was not a “caveman” for long. He triumphed over death, our final enemy.