Where should a king be buried? Not under a Leicester car park, that’s for sure. The recent discovery of the remains of King Richard III - killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 - sparked debate about a final resting place befitting his noble status. Westminster Abbey was suggested as one possibility.
But next year, Richard will be reinterred in Leicester Cathedral, near to where he was found. Designs for a kingly tomb are in hand.
When Christian missionary Dr Stanley Jones was challenged to reveal the whereabouts of the tomb of Jesus, he replied: ‘We have no tomb in our religion because we have no corpse.’
And there lies the fundamental difference between Christianity and other world religions. Christians do not worship or place wreaths of remembrance at the tomb of the founder of their religion. They believe in a living Lord, who has risen from the grave and conquered death. Through the knowledge of our sins being forgiven, we can receive the power to live as God intended and the promise of eternal life.
After the Crucifixion, the body of Jesus was taken to a nearby tomb and prepared for burial, according to Jewish custom.
Early on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene went there to grieve, but - to her surprise - the large stone sealing the entrance had been removed (see John 20:1). Thinking that Jesus’ body had been stolen, she ran to fetch the disciples. One of them entered the tomb and found nothing but folded burial clothes
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To Mary, it was a double loss. Jesus had died, and now there was no body to weep over. She asked someone she thought to be the gardener where the body might be - but as soon as he spoke her name, she knew that it was Jesus himself.
Before Jesus conquered death and rose to life, he had to work through a number of crossroads decisions. Thankfully, he made the right choices. Because he followed God’s plan for his life, he has opened the way for everyone who believes in him to have eternal life.
UK & Ireland War Cry March 2013
Photo credit: War Cry pictures
