Considering the Evidence of the Empty Tomb

He is Risen…He is Risen, Indeed!

Church, before we open the text this morning, let me just acknowledge something that likely played out in a number of homes across our city today.

For many of you, getting ready for church this morning was not a peaceful, reflective, deeply spiritual experience. It was a coordinated effort.

You had a picture in your mind of what Easter morning was supposed to look like. Everyone dressed up. Everyone smiling. Everyone sitting together like a joyful, unified family.

And then reality showed up:

• Someone could not find their shoes.
• Someone spilled something at exactly the wrong moment.
• Someone didn’t want to come.
• And someone—without naming names—had an attitude the entire drive here.

And yet, in spite of all that, you said, “Let’s take a picture.”

And what followed was not one picture, but a sequence of attempts—thirty, forty, maybe more—until you finally captured something close to what you had imagined.

And even in the one you kept, someone is blinking.

Now here’s what’s interesting about that moment.

You had a picture in your mind of what things were supposed to be. But what you experienced didn’t quite match that picture. And that gap between expectation and reality created confusion… frustration… and a quiet sense that something wasn’t lining up.

That is exactly what is happening in John chapter 20.

Because the people who came to the tomb that morning had a very clear expectation of how the story was supposed to end.

And when they encountered something completely different—something they did not have a category for—they struggled to make sense of what they were seeing.

And what John does in this chapter is remarkable:

• He doesn’t just tell us that the tomb was empty.
• He shows us how different people responded to it.

Because the reality is this:
The empty tomb does not automatically produce belief.
It produces a response.

• Some dismiss it.
• Some examine it.
• Some are afraid of it.
• Some doubt it.

And a few… believe it.

So, before we go any further into the story, we need to stop and ask the question that sits over this entire passage—and honestly, over every one of our lives this morning:

What do you do with an empty tomb?

That question is not theoretical. It is not abstract.

Because how you answer that question determines how you understand Jesus… how you understand your life… and ultimately, how you understand eternity.

Now before we walk through the text, let me acknowledge something else.

There are real challenges people have to the resurrection.

And if we’re going to be honest on Easter Sunday—and we should be—we need to surface those.

REAL CHALLENGES PEOPLE HAVE TO THE RESURRECTION
A. “Dead people don’t rise.” (Naturalism objection)
Challenge:

• “Resurrection violates science.”

Response: But let’s spend a minute thinking about that.

Science describes regular patterns—not what is impossible

So, when we say this, we are making a distinction between:
1. What science actually does

Science observes:

• Patterns
• Repeated behaviors in nature
• Cause-and-effect relationships

Example:

• Objects fall due to gravity
• Dead bodies stay dead
• Fire burns
• Water freezes at certain temperatures

Science says: “This is what normally happens.”

2. What science cannot do
Science cannot prove something is impossible.
Why?
Because science:

• Studies repeatable events. Thus, it cannot test one-time unique events

Simple Example
If you drop a ball 1,000 times and it falls every time…

Science can say:  “Objects fall under normal conditions.”

But science cannot say: “It is absolutely impossible for anything to ever defy gravity under any circumstance.”

REGARDING THE RESURRECTION, The objection people make is:
“Science says dead people don’t rise.”

But that’s not quite right.

Science actually says:
“Dead people do not naturally come back to life.”

That’s a description of normal patterns, not a declaration of impossibility.

The resurrection claim is not:
“Dead people randomly come back to life all the time.”

The claim is:
 “God acted in history in a unique way.”

So, the real question becomes:
Not:
“Is resurrection normal?”
But:
“Is there a God who can act beyond normal patterns?”

So, the resurrection is not really a science problem.
It is a God question.

Another Challenge People Have to the Resurrection:
B. “The body was stolen.”

Problem with this view:

• Why leave grave clothes?
• Why would disciples die for a lie?
• Why couldn’t authorities produce the body?

Even early opponents used this claim (Matt. 28)

And then there is this Challenge People Have to the Resurrection:
C. “The disciples hallucinated.”

Problems:

• Group hallucinations are extremely rare
• 500+ witnesses (1 Cor. 15)
• Hallucinations don’t explain:
  • Empty tomb
  • Physical interactions (touching, eating)

Another Challenge People Have to the Resurrection:
D. “It’s just a legend that developed over time.”

Problems:

• Creed in 1 Cor. 15 dates within a few years
• Eyewitnesses still alive when accounts written
• Women as first witnesses (not culturally advantageous)

And probably the most common Challenge People Have to the Resurrection:
E. “I’ll believe if I see.” (Thomas objection)

Key insight: As we get into the text, I want you to see this…

• Jesus welcomes honest doubt
• But He calls for response to evidence

BUT HERE IS…
F. The Real Objection (Underneath All Others)
Most people’s real issue is not intellectual.
It’s volitional. Because, if the resurrection is true…

• Jesus is Lord
• My life is not my own
• I must repent

The resurrection is not just unbelievable…It is inconvenient.
 
“WHAT DO YOU DO WITH AN EMPTY TOMB?”
1. You can dismiss it (Mary Magdalene)

John 20:1-2
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”

John begins in verse 1 by telling us that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away.

That detail matters. It is still dark—not just physically, but in terms of understanding. There is no expectation of resurrection in her mind.

Now, who is this Mary Magadelene?

• She is one who has deep devotion to Jesus, living and dead.
• Her devotion was based on her gratitude for His delivering her from bondage to Satan through demon possession.
• She had been an observer at the cross and now was the first person at the grave.

Other Gospel accounts tell us that she was with another Mary and Joanna.

Notice what happens. Look again at verse 1&2.

John 20:1-2
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”

Here we see:

• A few facts 
• It was still dark
• Stone was taken away from the tomb
• She runs to Simon Peter and John and then we see…
• A Big Assumption
• “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb…”

That is her immediate interpretation of the evidence. The tomb is empty, therefore someone must have moved the body. There must be a logical explanation.

What is striking is not that she sees the empty tomb, but how quickly she explains it.

She has the right evidence, but is it the right conclusion?

Now, notice how this mindset persists in Mary. I will fast forward a bit…She goes to Peter and John…they run to the tomb. We will come back to them…

But after Peter and John are no longer on the scene, Mary is standing there weeping.

John 20:11-15
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”

As Mary is standing outside the tomb weeping, she looks inside and sees two angels, yet even in that moment she continues to say, “They have taken away my Lord.”
 

• She doesn’t stop and ask a question.
• She doesn’t remark that there are actually two angelic beings in there that I am looking at.
• She continues down her reasoning.

Then she sees Jesus…but doesn’t see Jesus. She assumes He is the gardener.

This is not a failure of eyesight. It is a failure of expectation.

Mary does not have a category for resurrection, so she interprets everything she sees through the assumption that death still has the final word.

This is where the language of disbelief becomes important. Remember, disbelief does not simply mean uncertainty or confusion. It carries the idea of a refusal to trust, a settled posture that resists belief.

Mary is not hostile, but she is still interpreting reality through a framework that cannot yet accept what God has done.

Application: And that same dynamic is present today.

Many people do not reject the resurrection because they have carefully examined all the evidence and found it lacking. They reject it because they have already decided what is possible and what is not. If dead people do not rise, then the empty tomb must have another explanation.

What John 20 shows us is that it is entirely possible to be very close to the truth, to see the evidence with your own eyes, and still dismiss what God is doing because it does not fit within your expectations.
 
We are asking the question, “What do you do with an empty tomb?” Remember, all the claims of the Christian faith ride on this one moment in history.
 
“WHAT DO YOU DO WITH AN EMPTY TOMB?”
1. You can dismiss it (Mary Magdalene)
2. You can examine it (John)

John 20:3-10
So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.

In verses 3 through 4, Peter and John run to the tomb. John arrives first and looks in. Peter follows and goes directly inside.

What they encounter is described with careful detail. The linen cloths are lying there, and the face cloth that had been on Jesus’ head is folded up separately.

This is not a scene of disorder. It is not the aftermath of a hurried theft. It is a scene marked by calm and intention.

Laundry Room vs. Folded Clothes
The scene here is the difference between when you immediately take your clothes out of the dryer and throw them on the counter or in a basket, to when you take them to the living room and fold them so you can go and put them away.

John 20:7
and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.

And then John tells us in verse 8, “He saw and believed.”

That is a remarkable statement, especially when you read verse 9 immediately after: “for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.”

Notice this: John believes before he fully understands.

That is important. His faith is not the result of complete comprehension, but it is also not blind.

• It is rooted in what he has seen.
• He examines the evidence,
• and something about what he sees compels him toward belief.

This is one of the key features of the Christian faith. It does not ask you to abandon reason. It invites you to engage it.

• The empty tomb, by itself, does not prove the resurrection, but it demands an explanation.
• The question becomes: which explanation best accounts for the evidence?

For many:

• When you add to the empty tomb the eyewitness testimony,
• the transformation of the disciples,
• and the emergence of the early church in the face of opposition,

the resurrection is not a leap into the dark. It is a step toward the light.

And yet, even here, disbelief can remain.

Because at some point, the issue is no longer whether there is enough evidence. The issue becomes whether one is willing to follow the evidence where it leads.

Some dismiss the resurrection. Some examine it carefully.

But John shows us that even those who begin to believe can still be shaped by something else—fear.
 
“WHAT DO YOU DO WITH AN EMPTY TOMB?”
1. You can dismiss it (Mary)
2. You can examine it (John)
3. You can fear it (Disciples)

Let’s get caught up in the story. Look at John 20:16-18.

Mary has just seen Jesus, and she assumes he is the gardener. Now look at what Jesus does.

John 20:16-18
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘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 that he had said these things to her.
 
So, for a point of clarity, I want you to notice two things:

• John has embraced belief that Jesus was no longer dead. He believed. But it was still coming together.
• Mary Magdalene had a personal encounter with Jesus, she hugged him, and then he told her to go and tell the disciples this fact.

Having these data points, notice what the disciples are doing. Look at verses 19-23.

John 20:19-21
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

They have heard the reports. They know the tomb is empty.

But they are still hiding.

So, check this out: Jesus then appears to them. And what is amazing is that his first words are not correction.

He had told them many times that he would be killed and rise again.

Remember, this even led to conflict with Peter.

Mark 8:31-32
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Friends, Jesus has been telling these guys that all that has unfolded was going to take place. But instead of rebuking them for not believing, he comes to them and he comforts them.

He says, “Peace be with you.”

That word “peace” is not casual. It is not a simple greeting. It is the declaration that what separated them from God has been dealt with. The cross has accomplished its work, and the resurrection confirms it.

Jesus then shows them His hands and His side. The marks of the crucifixion are still present, not as signs of defeat, but as evidence of victory.

And the text says, “Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.”

The word GLAD here means REJOICED. They Rejoiced when they saw the Lord!

So, here’s the movement:
Fear → Seeing → Rejoicing

But Jesus does not stop there. Look at verse 21.

John 20:21
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

The resurrection does not just calm fears. It creates purpose.

But what John 20 also shows us is this:
You can believe in the resurrection…and still live like it’s not true.

Which means the issue is not just belief. It is whether that belief has taken hold of your life.

It is possible to believe that Jesus is alive and still live as though fear has the final word.

There are many who would say they believe in the resurrection, but their lives are still shaped:

• by anxiety,
• by self-protection,
• by a reluctance to step into what God has called them to do.

John 20 confronts that disconnect. If death has been defeated, then the ultimate threat has been removed. And if the ultimate threat has been removed, then fear no longer has the authority to define how we live.

That brings us to the most explicit struggle in the passage, and perhaps the most relatable one.

“WHAT DO YOU DO WITH AN EMPTY TOMB?”
1. You can dismiss it (Mary Magdalene)
2. You can examine it (John)
3. You can fear it (Disciples)
4. You can doubt it (Thomas)

John 20:24-27
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

Thomas was not present when Jesus first appeared to the disciples. When they tell him what they have seen. And the language used here where it says, “And the other disciples told him…” is in the imperfect tense, which means they told him and kept telling him. Which is why he makes such a strong statement, “Unless I see … I will never believe.”

This is not a tentative hesitation. It is a firm position.

And this is where Jesus’ words in verse 27 become so significant: “Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

Disbelieve -- Greek Word: ἀπιστέω (apisteō);
It means:

• To refuse to believe 
• To be unwilling to trust 
• To remain unconvinced despite evidence

This carries with it the sense of a refusal to trust. Jesus is not simply inviting Thomas to gather more data. He is calling him to move out of a posture of resistance.

When Jesus appears again, He does not rebuke Thomas harshly. Instead, He meets him directly. He invites him to see, to touch, to examine.

And in that moment, the question changes.

It is no longer, “Is there enough evidence?”

It becomes, “What will you do with the evidence you have been given?”

Thomas responds with one of the clearest declarations in all of Scripture: “My Lord and my God.”

This is not merely intellectual agreement. It is personal surrender.

And this is where disbelief reaches its critical point. At some stage, disbelief is no longer a matter of insufficient evidence. It becomes a decision not to trust what is now clear.

John then takes that moment and extends it beyond Thomas to every future reader.

“WHAT DO YOU DO WITH AN EMPTY TOMB?”
1. You can dismiss it (Mary Magdalene)
2. You can examine it (John)
3. You can fear it (Disciples)
4. You can doubt it (Thomas)
5. You can believe it (You)

John 20:28-31
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
In verse 29, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
That is not a statement about blind faith. It is a statement about trusting reliable testimony.
And then John gives us the purpose of the entire Gospel in verses 30 and 31: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Everything in this chapter is moving toward that outcome.

Not simply belief as an idea, but belief that results in life.

So, the question remains, and it is unavoidable:

What do you do with an empty tomb?

• You can dismiss it because it does not fit your expectations.
• You can examine it and remain undecided.
• You can acknowledge it and still live in fear.
• You can wrestle with it and hold on to doubt.

But at some point, disbelief is no longer a question waiting for an answer. It becomes a decision that has been made.

• And if the tomb is empty, then Jesus is alive.
• And if Jesus is alive, then He is not merely a figure in history. He is Lord.
• And if He is Lord, then the appropriate response is not casual interest or partial agreement. It is trust. It is surrender. It is belief.

He is risen.
He is risen indeed.



This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, April 5, 2026, at our CityRise West U Baptist campus. Check out the full message below!