The Final Stone Rolled Away

1. “It Is Finished.”

Friday, on the cross, Jesus cried out, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19:30). “It is finished.” What is it? What is finished? It is God's plan to bring humankind back into a restored relation­ship with the Father once again. It is the life mission of Jesus, to allow himself to be sacrificed as the Lamb. It is the end of a very horrible week in human history, when mob rule, jealousy, hatred, politics, culture, and religion transcended and overruled love, loyalty, and obedience. It is the work of salvation. It was finished on Good Friday. Of course, it is totally and finally complete when we hear it, see it, grasp it, and believe it; when we receive and surrender to Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Then we are saved by grace through faith. 

2. The Final Stone

After Jesus died, a Pharisee by the name of Joseph, a wealthy man, received permission from Pilate to take Jesus' body down from the cross on Friday night. The Jew­ish Sabbath was about to begin; if it were not done on Friday, it would have to wait until Saturday night.

Matthew tells us —  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. (Mt 27:59-60) Most likely this stone was not just a big boulder. It was a large round disk carved out of stone, set into a groove at the entrance to the grave, and then rolled into place to close the entrance. It would have required a few strong, able-bodied men to roll this stone into place. The resounding sound of its closing echoed the finality of Jesus' death: It is finished, indeed!

And this is where our journey to the cross, our journey of stones takes us. It takes us to the foot of the cross and to the tomb where the final stone was rolled into place and closed Jesus’ grave. This is why Lent is so important. Jesus’ death, the cross, and the tomb can easily become detached, abstract historical events, matters of head knowledge only. So every year Lent brings us to a standstill, a time to remember and reflect on what Jesus did on the cross; to meditate on what was finished and why He finished it. 

All the stones, all the sins, that we have laid at the foot of the cross during this Lenten season have finally taken their toll. All the greed, all the hatred, all the lies, all the immorality, all the selfishness, all the violence, all the unfaithfulness — they have not only covered the base of the cross, but they have littered our lives. And that's not even the sum total of our stones. We each have secret sins, known only to us and God. God invites us to lay them at the cross as well. He takes them unto himself. The entire load, the enormous weight of all our stones, our sins, were pressing down on his body as he hung on the cross. Our stones. Our sins; past, present, and future sins. On Him, on His cross. And now, it is finished.

The final stone was the one that was rolled to the entrance of Jesus' grave. A final barrier, you could say, between us and the One who loved us so. When the final stone was rolled into place, it gave tangible expression to our sins. The sum of them is so enor­mous, they block us from God. They keep us from living in a relationship with God, from having fellowship with God. And hard as we may try, we cannot remove the stone ourselves. Not the stones at the base of that cross … not the stone that seals Jesus' grave. Talk about feeling helpless. And that is exactly what we are. We are a helpless, hopeless people, part­ners in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It was because of us and for us that He suffered, bled, and died. It was finished, indeed.

3. The Final Stone Rolled Away -- He's Alive!

But praise and thanks be to God. That final stone did not remain in place. It was rolled away. On that Sunday morning — There was a violent earthquake, for 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, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. (Mt 28:2,5-6)

The final stone was rolled away. God did that for us. He did for us what we could not do ourselves. With his incomparable great power, with his mighty strength, God raised Christ from the dead. He is risen. He is alive. And because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace through faith we have been saved. It is the gift of God. God raised us up with Christ (Eph 2:5-8). He lives and because he lives we live. He gave us this new life that is eternal. 

Throughout the season of Lent, we have been on this journey to the cross, on a journey of stones. Each Sunday, we would carry a small stone into wor­ship with us, and that stone would become symbolic of our sins that are a barrier between us and God. After worship each Sunday, we would lay our stones of sin at the foot of that cross. One stone stood for someone's pride, while another stone stood for someone's dishonesty. One stone symbolized a couple's troubled marriage, while other stones stood for the sins of gossip, preju­dice, adultery, greed, or hatred. By the end of Lent, the base of the cross was filled with stones. Our stones. Our disobedience. Our sins.  We cannot remove those sins by ourselves; someone has to do it for us. And Someone has—Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. If you look at the base of the cross this morning, what do you see? All the stones are gone. All the sins are removed. And that is the ultimate message of Lent, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday — that what we could not do by ourselves, God did for us, no questions asked. All we have to do is believe and receive this amazing grace, receive this wonderful gift of forgiveness and the new life in Christ. 

This morning, perhaps some of you are in worship for the first time in years or perhaps some of you are in worship for the first time ever. Or perhaps some of you have been coming to worship regularly but your faith and your relationship with God have grown cold and stagnant. It seems dead. You have sins in your life, whatever they may be. And maybe those sins are the reason you have stayed away from church. Maybe those sins are the reason your faith has grown cold. They have become like a stone between you and God. You are overwhelmed with shame and guilt and it keeps you away from church and from God. Perhaps you are here because you are looking for forgiveness, for a second chance, an opportunity to start over. You are here looking for grace. 

In truth, you are no differ­ent from the rest of us. We are all sinners. We are all recovering, forgiven sinners learning together how to live this new life and how to grow into Christlikeness. Today it is my privilege to tell you that the stone has been rolled away for you too. You may think that your sins are too great to be forgiven, but you are wrong. You may think that God cannot accept you just the way you are, but you are wrong. The stone is rolled away! Your sins have been forgiven. The Savior has chosen to love you. Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, gave his life completely so that you and I might live. Jesus rose from the grave and all of his promises became reality. He forgives our sins. He is now with us wherever we go, all the time. He lives in us and He gives us eternal life. That is truth and that truth, He is risen, will change your life, today, tomorrow, and forever. 

4. Remember — He Is Alive!

Today we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. We have heard the voices of our friends boldly proclaiming, “He is risen … risen indeed.” It's easy to believe in the resurrection today but what about tomorrow? What about Tues­day, or next Saturday, or later on in May, or later in the year? What about when people let us down, when loved ones die, when the world persecutes us, or when the sins of our lives overwhelm us once again? Will the Cross and the resurrection then be just a distant memory? No, we will persevere in faith and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. We will remember and consider Him and what He had done so that we will not grow weary and lose heart (Heb 12:2-3). 

There is a story about a young woman called Anna in East Germany. In November of 1989, when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down she was already asleep when her friend pounded on the door. "Anna, the Wall is down. We have freedom!" she said. "You must come and see!" They ran down to the gate that had divided the east and west for thirty years, and it was true. The Berlin Wall had been toppled. For three hours they celebrated on the border. They ran back and forth between east and west. They sang and danced with the soldiers. Then they went back to their homes.

The next morning, Anna awoke and thought she had dreamed all that. It all seemed too good to be true. Quickly, she got up, dressed, and ran back down to the border, saw, and remembered that it was all true. But this time, before she went back home, she picked up a shattered piece of the Berlin Wall and took it home with her, now a tangible reminder that she was free.

This morning, I invite you to come and see. The final stone has been rolled away. The grave is empty. Jesus lives. As you leave today, you too, will be given a reminder. This last stone will conclude our journey of stones. At the door, you will be handed a prayer pebble. On it is written, “Alive!” This is to remind you that He is alive, and because He is alive you are alive. May this stone remind you that you are free. May it remind you that you are released from the shame and guilt of your sins. You are free from God’s punishment. You are free to be alive and to live forever for His glory. Jesus Christ our Lord makes you free, and you shall be free indeed. Because He lives, we live, now and forever. Thanks be to God. Happy Easter to all of you.