By Daniel Garner
"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 is risen, just as He said." - Matthew 28: 5
"With great power the disciples continued to testify to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus" - Acts: 4 33
"God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world 'I love you'" - Billy Graham
Rome.
The very name itself conjures a mixture of feelings of awe, fear, and dread as well as undying respect. The eagle standard and banner of the Senate and People of Rome spanned continents and seas and from its founding within seven small hills in southern Italy to the Fall of Constantinople lasted for more than 2,200 years.
Within it's borders, it's law is one of the many things that set it apart from other nations and empires. It's law is both feared and admired, depending on what side of it it's populace found itself landing on. The Imperial Seal, a sign of not only the Emperor but of the Senate and the People itself, was a wax seal that was adhered to important documents and fixtures.
Including tombs.
If this seal was broken, the full might of the empire whose military was feared not only around the Mediterranean but well into Asia would come down upon the person that broke it with the force of a mighty hammer.
In the third decade of the first century, this Seal was placed upon a nondescript tomb purchased by a nondescript individual in a Roman province known more in Rome for its religious refusal of the Imperial pantheon of multiple gods and penchant for insurrection than anything else.
Three days after the tomb was filled, not even by the individual who purchased it but from a religious nomad, this Seal was broken.
Disciplined and battle-hardened Legionaries awoke in their barracks to the shrill sound of copper horns and armored Centurions beckoning their Soldiers on to search for whoever, or whatever, broke the Great Seal of Rome.
But no one could be found.
The second that Christ arose and strode out of that tomb the world changed. When Christ died on the Cross, the great and thick curtain that divided the Sanctum Sanctorum from the rest of the Temple was torn in two. In doing that, God literally ripped apart the divide that existed between His Holy Grace and the world. Christ's resurrection was proving that Grace.
The motivation for this Grace was the love that God has for each and every one of us, no matter how flawed. Love isn't just an emotion. It's a promise. And the Cross and Resurrection is Christ's love proving that promise. We scream at Christ so often yelling with hearts in our throats that we'd be lost without Him and He responds as equally gently as we are frenetic "then you will NEVER be alone".
Whatever drives your life drives your soul. The love for Jesus is what drove both Mary and Mary Magdalene to the tomb. Once there, they saw not only the broken Seal but that the great stone of the tomb was rolled away! Upon entering, they saw an Angel of the Lord. Matthew 28: 5 says: "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 is risen, just as He said.". No matter what happens in life, do not be afraid. Fear is an equal opportunity distractor. And though there are a lot of times we just can't help it, God wants you to know that it's okay. No matter what. Christ raised Himself from the dead so do not be afraid.
Jesus, in rising from death, changed the world so that one day you yourself could be changed. Could be risen and born again into a new life with Him. In the Resurrection, Christ is saying that in His left hand "I am holding the stars and all of the planets and am guiding the very turn of the universe" but with His right hand He reaches out and says "But you have my undivided attention".
The broken Seal. Remember that even the full might of Rome couldn't find how it was broken. Why the tomb was empty. 300 years later the night before a battle near a bridge spanning the Italian Tiber River Emperor Constantine would look up into the sky and have a vision of the Chi Rho. It's a symbol that resembles two crossed staves making the Greek letter chi ("x") with rho ("p") placed between them. He didn't understand, but that night Christ came to him in his dreams explaining that "in this sign you will conquer". The following day, he ordered all of his troops to paint the symbol of the Chi Rho on their shields. The Chi Rho, a symbol of the risen Christ, ushered in the Christianization of the Roman civilization.
Rome, who couldn't find their Christ in the tomb, found Him in the Heavens.
God saw that we couldn't save ourselves by ourselves so He sent Himself. This Easter, if nothing else, remember that Christ preferred to die a criminals death for you to be saved, no matter how flawed you think you are. Because we're all flawed. But Christ loves us regardless.
And ask yourself, who broke the Seal?