. . . but when they entered (the tomb) they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus Luke 24:3 (NIV)

Jeremy was born with a twisted body and torpid mind. At twelve years of age he was still in the second grade, seemingly unable to learn. Because of his setback, and being five years older than the other children, he was a tremendous challenge for his teacher. On a daily basis she had to deal with his blank stares, seat squirming, drooling and grunting noises. Even though there were times when he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spotlight had penetrated the darkness of his brain, he was never going to be able to read and write.

One day, when the teacher was at her wits end and silently pleading with the Lord to help her be more patient with Jeremy, he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him, and exclaimed, “I love you, Miss Miller!” The class snickered and Doris, caught off guard, stammered, “Wh-why that’s very nice Jeremy.”

Spring arrived and Doris gave each student a large plastic egg. After speaking about the subject of new life she said, “Now I want you to take the egg home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?” “Yes, Miss Miller,” they responded enthusiastically – all except for Jeremy who was staring intently at her face. Wondering if he’d understood, Doris made a mental note to phone his parents but, due to pressing circumstances, completely forgot to make the call.

The next morning the children placed their eggs in a large wicker basket on the teacher’s desk. After the math lesson Doris began to open the eggs. The first egg contained a flower, the second a plastic butterfly, the third some fresh moss – all signs of new life. Then Doris opened Jeremy’s egg. It was empty. “If only I’d remembered to phone his parents,” she thought, and not wanting to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another. Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up. “Miss Miller, aren’t you going to talk about my egg like you talked about the other children’s eggs?” Slightly flustered, she replied, “But Jeremy, your egg is empty.” “Yes,” said Jeremy, “but Jesus’ tomb was also empty.” There was a pause before Doris asked, “Do you know why the tomb was empty?” “Oh yes,” said Jeremy, “Jesus was killed and put in the tomb and then His Father raised Him up!” At that point the recess bell rang. The children ran out into the school yard, and Doris, with her face in her hands, began to cry.

Three months later, Jeremy died. There were nineteen eggs on top of his casket, one from each of his classmates and one from his teacher – all of them empty.