Mark 16:5-7 “As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

As these women arrive at Jesus’ tomb, this question suggests itself: Are they looking for Jesus in the right location?

I suppose the answer to the question of location is “Yes and no.” They had the right tomb. The angel makes that clear. “Jesus” was a popular name in his day. No doubt there were many men named Jesus buried around Jerusalem. But this was the tomb of the Jesus from Nazareth, the one who had been crucified. These ladies were not mistaken in thinking this was the last place they had seen his body laid.

But that place was empty now. “He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” A tomb may be a place to visit when there is a body in it. It is no place to stay or live for those who are alive. And Jesus was alive. Death had to let go of him on the third day. By his death he had removed the original reason for death: our human sin. When Jesus erased our sins, death lost its right to keep us anymore. Jesus himself was the first person released from its grip. But he is not the only one. One day every one of us will follow.

So did these women find Jesus in this location or not? In the sense that they found his literal, physical body, the answer is no. That body once dead now lived and left the tomb. They would find him just a few minutes later along the road back into the city, as Matthew’s gospel tells us. Maybe some of them saw him in Galilee when he met with the disciples there. But the tomb was and is empty. You can travel to Jerusalem yourself today, if you like, and see the same spot to which the angel pointed and told the women, “See the place where they laid him.” The only ones there now are pilgrims and tourists.

On the other hand, these women did find Jesus in the words of the angel. He preached the greatest Easter sermon ever, with the greatest visual aids, in that empty tomb. They may have been looking for a Jesus they could touch and feel. He would show up a little later. They found a Jesus they could trust and worship, one they could hold in their hearts and take with them wherever they went. In the angel’s words, they found not just a friend and teacher. They found their God and Savior from sin.

The cross and empty tomb are still the right place to look when you are looking for Jesus. These real places in Christian history, these actual events from the life of Christ, are still the places where Jesus meets us with the love that floods our hearts with the forgiveness of our sins; the place where the promise of life after death sparks a new life of faith right now and makes our hearts his homes on earth. When you are looking for Jesus, don’t look for him in tips about how to live a successful life. Don’t look for him in rules to live by. These may all be helpful, and interesting, and true, but Jesus doesn’t live there. Look for him in the good news that he died and rose to save you. That’s the location where he promises to be found.