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Empty — it’s not one of our favorite words. When someone asks, “How are you doing?” you probably don’t respond, “Empty, thanks for asking.”
Many popular songs over the years have focused on life’s emptiness: “Running on Empty,” “All the Lonely People,” “Empty Spaces” and “Empty Garden,” to name a few. Songs about emptiness often explore themes of loss, longing and emotional void.
Almost every image tied to empty feels negative — an empty gas tank, an empty bank account, broken relationships that lead to empty homes and hearts. Empty, exhausted, spent, broke, lonely — whatever term you choose, “empty” carries negative connotations. It is inconvenient, breeds hopelessness, and offers no alternatives.
No one wants to experience empty.
Yet empty is where Easter was born.
More than 2,000 years ago, two discouraged women went early one morning to visit the tomb where they had seen their teacher buried. Empty and brokenhearted, they came to pay their respects to the one who had transformed their lives.
Days earlier, they were full of hope as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowds cheered. Hope reigned. Days later, he endured a mock trial, was beaten beyond recognition and was nailed to a Roman cross. How could life be so full, then suddenly so empty?
When they arrived at the tomb, they were surprised to find it empty.
They were greeted by an angel who asked, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee, saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day?’” And they remembered his words (Luke 24:5-8).
For once, empty was Good News.
But why were they surprised? Jesus had told them on multiple occasions what would happen — what had to happen.
That raises a question” Why do we look for Jesus in places where he told us he wouldn’t be? Even the angel reinforced this: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? Remember how he spoke to you …”
Could one reason we often find ourselves empty be that we do not listen to what Jesus tells us? Scripture reinforces this.
“But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel did not obey me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own plans. If only my people would listen to me” (Psalm 81:11-13).
When Jesus spoke to the seven churches in Revelation, he ended each admonition with this charge: “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The truth is, we frequently find ourselves empty because we become thickheaded, hardhearted, and spiritually hard of hearing.
The empty tomb is proof of a promise kept. Empty means everything Christ taught is true, and every promise he made still stands.
But if we are going to experience the benefit, the promises and the power of that empty tomb, we must empty ourselves. Jesus reminds us that following him means denying ourselves daily (Luke 9:23). We must let go of our pride, our plans, and our need to control — making room for his Spirit to fill us with love and power to be the salt and light he calls us to be.
This Easter, thank God for empty.
“He is not here, for he has risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:6). B&R — John Kyle recently retired as the director of communications for the Louisiana Baptist Convention and resides in Franklin.
