Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: John 19:35 – 20:9     April 20, 2025

Message: “If Tombstones could Talk!”

by Pastor George Gnade

Introduction:

1. On Palm Sunday, Pharisees in the crowd told Jesus to stop the people from singing praises to Him and calling Him their king.

a. In Luke 19:40, Jesus responded, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out!”

b. Can stones talk? 

2. Last year, Carol and I bought a tombstone and had it engraved.  We may not die for another 15-20 years, but the tombstone already shares who we are and what we believe. 

a. Today we are discussing the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. If a tombstone could speak, the huge stone rolled in front of Jesus’ tomb would have a lot to tell us.

b. In John 19:41, it says: “At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden; and in the garden was a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.”

3. That means this tomb stone saw and heard everything that happened to Jesus from the moment He was crucified to the day of His resurrection. Let us consider for a few moments, all we could learn from this stone.

A. Let us begin by considering at least one important reason why it was chosen.

1. The Bible tells us that the Jewish Passover was at hand. Jesus was arrested, tried, and condemned to die on a cruel cross the day before. In John 19:42, it was called the Day of Preparation. 

a. According to Jewish law, anyone who hung on a tree was considered cursed, but they were not supposed to remain on that tree over the Passover.

b. The Bible says Jesus was cursed because He represented us and died for us. But the Pharisees did not want Jesus to live long enough to still be on that cross the next day.

2. So they petitioned Pilot to kill Jesus and the thieves being crucified with Him, sooner if necessary, so they could get them off that cross and buried before the Passover.

a. So Pilot commanded his soldiers to break their legs. That way they could not push their bodies up to allow them to breathe. But when they came to Jesus, He had already died. 

b. But just to make sure, they thrust a sword into His side, aimed at His heart, and out flowed water and blood. 

This fulfilled the Scripture that said not one of His bones would be broken. In our day, we also know the flow of blood and water proved He had died of a broken heart.

3. Now that He was dead, where would He be buried? 

a. God laid it on the heart of Joseph of Arimathea to bury Him. He belonged to the Sanhedrin. He was rich. It turns out he owned that tomb that was located so close to the cross. And he was a secret follower of Christ, who had been looking forward to the coming of His kingdom.

b. Being part of the Sanhedrin, he knew the request the Pharisees had made to Pilate. The Bible says he bravely went to Herod, requested the body and had Jesus buried in his own tomb. Of course, if the tombstone could talk, it would have told us all about this.

B. Secondly, if the stone could talk, it would have known and told us some other important details.

1. It would have known Nicodemus was also a member of the Sanhedrin, and it would have known he was a close friend of Joseph. 

a. He was another believer who had been afraid to tell anyone. But together they removed Jesus from the cross and buried Him in this special grave. 

b. They did this not only because they had to act quickly, but because the tomb was so close (John 19:42).

2. Nicodemus was also rich and he also wanted to do something special. So he provided a very generous amount of spices to prepare the body. The stone would have testified to that.

3. It would also have told us that Jesus had a lot of ladies who followed Him who were braver than the disciples who had gone into hiding. They saw where Jesus was buried, and they also wanted to show their love. So they planned to go home for the Passover (Saturday) and to return the next day (Sunday) so they could also bring some spices to anoint the body of this one they loved so dearly. 

C. But the stone would also have seen what happened over the Sabbath.

1. Once again, the Pharisees went to Pilot and this time they asked if they could seal the stone covering the tomb, and at the same time, leave guards to make sure no one came and stole the body.

a. Why? Because they heard rumors that Jesus was supposed to rise on the third day. They wanted to make sure His disciples didn’t steal His body and then lie about where the body was. 

b. But on the first day of the week, early in the morning, there was an earthquake! And an angel descended from heaven and rolled back the stone.  The soldiers were so terrified, they fled. 

c. The stone would have known that they witnessed the resurrection. But now an angel of the Lord guarded the stone that had been rolled away, not to keep the disciples out, but to guarantee they could get in and see the proof of this marvelous miracle that occurred exactly as Jesus Himself had said.

2. The Bible tells us what the guards actually did. They were told by the Pharisees to lie about what they had seen. Having had Jesus crucified, they sure didn’t want the crowds to be told by the guards that they witnessed the resurrection themselves. So they lied to cover up the truth.

D. Finally, if this tomb stone could talk, it would have told everyone the story of how the ladies returned and were the first to see the empty tomb. 

1. Then came Peter and John who noticed that the “linen strips” were lying there without the body of Jesus and the cloth that was around His head was neatly folded and laid next to them!

a. Would thieves remove the grave clothes of a man who had bled profusely from all His wounds? Would they place them so neatly for all to see?

b. The body was gone! His body would never be found.

2. Well, not quite. When Mary Magdalene looked inside the empty tomb, suddenly Jesus came up behind her.

a. At first she thought He was the gardener. But when Jesus called her by name, she knew who He was. She saw the body of Jesus, but it was now a resurrected body!

b. John ends his book by telling about Thomas who said he would never believe in the resurrection unless he could put his fingers in His hands and his hand into Jesus’ side. When Jesus allowed him to do this, it is no wonder that Thomas cried out in John 20:28: “My Lord and my God!”

In conclusion: As to that grave stone, the fact that it was rolled away from the tomb is all we need to know. Amen!