Jesus Left Them in the Tomb!

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

As I write this, it is Resurrection Day. The day we celebrate the singular defining event in all history.

During worship this morning, a man in our church prepared and delivered a Spoken Word composition. It's a powerful medium for articulating truth.

During his presentation, he said something that struck me.

When Jesus left the grave, He left your sin on the floor. When He turned around to see where His body had lain, He smiled and said, “Sin, that’s where you’re going to stay!”

That’s a powerful image and a great way to say it! And what a wonderful truth!

What struck me when he said that was this… Jesus really did leave something behind in the grave… physically… do you remember what it was? Jesus left behind his clothing.

Both were Left Behind.

Could there not be some theological significance to these parallel observations? He left our sin there… He left he grave clothes there. Could these two declarations of what Jesus left behind in that tomb really be one and the same?

Death fell upon mankind when Adam and Eve sinned. Jesus conquered death when he came out of that tomb alive. He left our sins in that tomb.

Clothing came into the world as a direct result of mankind's sin. After his death He was wrapped in grave clothes. He left those clothes in that tomb.

Jesus was naked when He came out of that grave. There were no robes and tunics left behind for a dead person in the grave… just in case. The only clothes Jesus had in the tomb were the grave clothes, and God made a special point of telling us that they remained in the tomb (John 20:1-7).

But I had never considered that there might be theological meaning to part of the story.

The origin of sin and clothing are the very same event. They were both dealt with by the same event. Jesus left man’s sin AND man’s clothes in the tomb.

Denying Half of the Truth

Many a preacher will correctly proclaim that Jesus’ death and resurrection made a way for us to be restored to the relationship with God for which we were created. That was the relationship lived by Adam and Eve before they sinned.

But most of those same preachers will just as vehemently declare that, “Oh no, that doesn't mean you can be naked and unashamed. We still have to wear clothes!”

   … As if somehow the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we're insufficient to cancel all of the penalty and curse of our sin.   

Jesus Buried Our Sin… and Our Grave Clothes

We who know redemption and the relational restoration should be the most confident in our freedom to be naked and unashamed. Especially in this day and age, could there be a more powerful declaration of our liberation from the curse of sin?

How sad and tragic it is that we who have been entrusted with the message of the Gospel would sabotage the Gospel message by holding on to (and religiously defending!) the devil's idea that our bodies are shameful… and that that is something we can never escape... not even through the power of the Resurrection.

I hope you had (and always have!) a wonderful Resurrection Day!

- Matthew Neal -

See also:
Longing for Eden
Who Hates Nudity… God or Satan?
Christmas and Naturism
Unclothed Servants
Redemption, a Work Accomplished by Christ’s Body