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Cross & Calvary · Easter

The Empty Cross

Listen first. Then read the words, explore the Scripture pathway, and follow the song beyond itself to Jesus.

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Lyrics

[Verse 1] In this world full of trouble and despair Have you ever found no one cared Have you ever sought help in a crowded place And not even one—lifted their face. When trouble comes—seems no one sticks around— When you need help the most—everyone leaves town Even going to church facing peril and doom When you walk in—it feels like there’s just an empty room. [Verse 2] That’s the way it seems to be— Looking for help —and there’s only me. How can this big ole world be such an empty place Where’s all the help —where’s all the grace? Oh but I know from where my help comes from I know where to turn—no matter what I’ve done And where I can turn again and again Are as empty as anything has ever been. [Chorus] Ohhhh—I can turn to an empty cross I can turn where Jesus paid my cost And I can go—to the most empty room— Oh at Calvary—there’s an empty tomb And no matter when I go— All that matters is who I know Oh the cross and tomb at Calvary Are as empty as they can be But in the darkest and fear filled night Ohhh—how from Calvary—shines the brightest light! [Verse 3] Some fear being all alone Some can’t find forgiveness for what they’ve done There are those who simply don’t believe And there are those—who feel unworthy to receive. And then there are those who reach their very end After a life of misery and suffering from sin And at their last moment and breath They’re all alone in a room with death [Chorus] Ohhhh—you can turn to an empty cross You can turn where Jesus paid your cost And you can go—to the most empty room— Oh at Calvary—there’s an empty tomb And no matter when you go— All that matters is who you know Oh the cross and tomb at Calvary Are as empty as they can be But in the darkest and fear filled night Ohhh—how from Calvary—shines the brightest light! [Bridge] Ohhhhh—all the way from Calvary—there still stands an empty cross! Covering the sins of all—at the highest cost! And all the way from that empty place There’s an empty tomb—still filled with grace And no matter where you are or where you’ve been From an empty cross and tomb—there’s still forgiveness of sin! [Final Chorus/Tag] Ohhhh—turn to an empty cross Turn where Jesus paid the cost Oh you can go—to that most empty room— To Calvary—and an empty tomb And no matter when you go— All that matters is who you know Oh the cross and tomb at Calvary Are as empty as they can be But in the darkest and fear filled night Ohhh—how from Calvary—shines the brightest light!
Ministry Devotional

The Empty Cross

Read together: Psalm 121:1–2; Mark 14:50; 2 Timothy 4:16–17; Hebrews 13:5; Colossians 2:13–14; 1 Peter 2:24; Luke 24:1–6; Luke 23:39–43; John 6:37

Most of us know what it feels like to walk into a room full of people and still be alone. The phone does not ring. The friends who said “call anytime” are suddenly busy. Even at church, it can feel as if no one sees you. In a world this crowded, emptiness can be the loudest thing in the room.

Read Psalm 121:1–2. The psalmist asks the honest question: “From where does my help come?” And he answers it: “My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Our help does not finally come from the crowd, however much we need one another. It comes from the One who made the hills we are looking at.

Jesus knows this kind of loneliness from the inside. Read Mark 14:50. On the night He was arrested, “everyone deserted Him and fled.” Years later Paul wrote from prison that at his first defense no one stood with him—and then added that the Lord stood by him and strengthened him (2 Timothy 4:16–17). Read Hebrews 13:5. God has said, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” When everyone else leaves town, He does not.

Here is the wonder of the gospel: the places we turn are empty, and that is exactly the good news. Read Colossians 2:13–14 and 1 Peter 2:24. Jesus bore our sins in His body on the tree. God canceled the debt that stood against us and nailed it to the cross. The cross is empty because the work is finished; there is nothing left for us to pay. Read Luke 24:1–6. The women came looking for a body and heard, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!” The tomb is empty because Jesus is alive.

That is why no one is beyond reach. Some are afraid of being alone, some cannot forgive themselves, some do not believe, and some feel unworthy. Read Luke 23:39–43. A dying thief, at the very end of a wasted life, turned to Jesus with his last breath and heard, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Read John 6:37. Jesus promises that “the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.” What matters most is not what you have done, but whether you know Him.

A moment to respond: Think of the empty room in your life right now—the place where you have felt most alone. Read Psalm 121 aloud and tell the Lord honestly what you need. If you have never turned to Jesus, turn to Him today: confess your sin and trust what He did on the cross and in His resurrection. And look around this week for one person sitting alone, and be the one who lifts their face.

Let's pray: Lord Jesus, thank You that when everyone else left, You stayed. Thank You for the empty cross, where You paid a debt I could never pay, and for the empty tomb, where You defeated death. When I feel alone, remind me where my help comes from. For anyone who feels unworthy or too far gone, shine Your light from Calvary into their darkest night and draw them to You today. Amen.

Our desire at UnrelentingJesus is that whoever feels most alone would turn to the empty cross and the empty tomb, and find there a living Savior who never leaves.

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