The empty tomb. Jerusalem, Israel
Who shows a picture of a tomb at Christmas? Well, I do, because in the deepest sense that's what Christmas is about. But most people prefer to think about the baby in a manger. Seems cozy and comforting, doesn't it?
Unless you grew up poor on a farm, you probably have no idea what a cold and incredibly filthy place that stable was, and how unsuitable as a birthing place for anyone, let alone a king.
But his birth, necessary and important as it was, was not the goal.
His life, which he lived perfectly and without sin, was not the goal, although that goal was ever before him.
His death, cruel and unjust, was a necessary step. For on that horrible cross he bore in his own body every sin you and I have ever committed or ever will commit. But even the cross was not the goal.
The tomb itself, where his body laid for three days, was not the goal.
The goal, from all eternity, was the empty tomb. God raised Jesus from the dead. This was the ultimate proof that Christ's sacrifice had been accepted by the Father and our debt was paid in full. This is the gospel, as expressed clearly in I Corinthians 15, verses 1-5: "That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures."
When Jesus went to that cross, he carried with him in his own body your sins and mine. He paid in full the debt of our sin and now offers you and me eternal life as a free gift.
What does he ask of us? He asks only that you and I accept the fact that we are sinners in need of a savior, and that we receive Jesus by faith as the savior we need.
My prayer is that if you have never received Jesus as your savior, you will do so on this Christmas Day.
Photography and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.
I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.
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