Next Steps Begin at an Empty Tomb
Edited directly from the sermon transcript of Matthew Miller’s message at Highland Hills Church of Christ on April 5, 2026. Adapted for length and readability while preserving his voice and message.
Jesus is alive. Just sit with that. Find some time to consider it: there was a man who was dead in every sense of the word, and now he is alive. That powerful truth is why we are here.
There are moments in life when everything seems final. You know those moments. You may be living in one right now. It seems as though the last chapter has been written, the book is closed, and all that remains is to mourn what could have been.
That is where we find ourselves in Matthew 28. After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week begins to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to see the tomb. These women are not expecting a miracle. They have just come through Saturday, the day about which we know least in that final week of Jesus’s life. Its silence is deafening. Scripture leaves us in it.
The women come with grief, living in the ashes of despair. Their hopes have been dashed. They watched the one they followed, trusted, and believed in be crucified. Now they are coming to care for his body.
But they are about to discover that God does his greatest work right when we assume everything is over.
Matthew tells us that there is a great earthquake. An angel of the Lord descends, rolls back the stone, and sits on it. His appearance is like lightning and his clothing white as snow. The guards shake with fear and become like dead men.
The angel tells the women not to be afraid. He knows they are seeking Jesus, who was crucified. “He is not here; for he is risen, as he said.” They are invited to see the place where he lay, then to go quickly and tell his disciples. Jesus is going before them into Galilee, where they will see him.
The women leave with fear and great joy and run to bring the disciples word. As they go, Jesus meets them. They take hold of his feet and worship. He tells them again not to be afraid and sends them to his brothers and sisters with the message that they will see him in Galilee.
First, we see a disruption. The women are coming to care for a dead body, and suddenly everything changes. The angel descends. The stone is rolled away. The guards are terrified. These are men accustomed to danger, yet this encounter leaves them overwhelmed.
I like to joke that when a toddler is acting up, we can call that child a little angel in a fairly literal sense. When people encounter angels in Scripture, they are often terrified! The angel quiets the women’s fears because he has an important message: God is overturning their expectations.
The stone is rolled away so that the women can see in, so that we can see what God has done. This moment is unlike anything in history. God can overcome death itself.
When I think of power, I remember being close to a lightning strike. But to overcome death—there is nothing we encounter that is too hard for a God who does that.
Sometimes we look at our circumstances and decide what God can or cannot do. We may never say it that directly, but we treat a situation as too far gone, a relationship as too broken, a heart as too hard, or a life as too messed up.
How does our view change when we remember that the God who loves us came in the flesh and overcame death? The resurrection stands as God’s declaration that we do not get to decide what is impossible for him.
Alongside the disruption, there is a declaration: “He is not here; for he is risen, as he said.” This is the central testimony of Christianity.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul talks about the church’s hope and how they are to live, and he stakes it all on this claim. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose on the third day according to the Scriptures. Paul names people who saw him after the resurrection. It was more than a small handful of his closest followers.
Some in Corinth were disputing the resurrection. Paul tells them plainly that if Christ has not been raised, their faith is empty and they are still in their sins. Those who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope extends only to this life, we are to be pitied. But Christ has been raised from the dead.
What the women witness at the tomb declares who Jesus is. He taught powerful things and did amazing works. He confirmed them by coming back from the dead, just as he had said he would.
Our faith begins here, at the empty tomb. This real, bodily resurrection confirms the power of Jesus’s life, teaching, and work. It tells us there is something stronger than the destruction and defeat we encounter in the world. What Jesus taught is really the way it is.
The declaration is also an invitation. “Come, see the place.” Examine it. Look. Consider. The resurrection invites us to respond to what God has made known.
Matthew even preserves the explanation offered by the soldiers: they were told to say the disciples came and stole the body while they slept. But how do sleeping men know what happened? That is a flimsy testimony. We are invited to consider the empty tomb and the risen Jesus.
Then comes a commission. After inviting the women to see, the angel sends them out: go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen.
Come and see. Now that you have seen, go and tell.
The resurrection leads to action. If Jesus is alive, we have something to do, someone to tell, and steps to take. Even though it happened nearly two thousand years ago, it is still the most important thing we can tell a person. However you get your news, this is still the top story.
Imagine the women’s experience as they leave the tomb: excitement, fear, awe, joy, and disbelief all woven together in one moment. When we turn our hearts and minds toward what Jesus has done, we begin to understand that wonder. Alongside celebration comes transformation—a beautiful, sometimes painful change.
As the women go in obedience, Jesus meets them. They take hold of his feet and worship him. He meets them along the way.
What does this mean for us? The empty tomb is the beginning of our next step. The women expected to find a closed tomb and a dead body. Instead, they find an empty tomb and a living Lord who has disrupted everything.
For some of us, the invitation is “Come and see.” Picture yourself at the edge of the tomb, afraid to peek inside. You have questions, doubts, and uncertainties. Jesus invites you to look honestly and consider who he is.
For others, the next step is “Go and tell.” You believe, but you have been standing in awe at the empty tomb. Someone in your life needs to hear what you have seen. It is time to share it.
For some, the words are “Do not be afraid.” You know what God is calling you to do, but fear has kept you in place. The enemy loves to lock us in fear because then he can control us. You love and serve the God of resurrection. If God is for us, what can ultimately stand against us?
For others, the next step is worship in full surrender. Sometimes we want the benefits and blessings of Jesus while keeping him at a distance. Following him means submitting to his lordship. It means taking an honest look at our whole lives and asking where we have yet to allow him to be Lord.
With courage and humility, we can say, “Jesus, you are the living Lord, and I need you to live in every part of my life.” That includes the parts that are difficult to trust and the parts that are uncomfortable to surrender.
The women came to the tomb expecting to care for a body. They left carrying a message that transformed the world.
The question is what step we will take because the tomb is empty. God is inviting us to take that step.
