22 “Jesus therefore again groaning in Himself, comes to the tomb.” May His groaning have you also for its object, if you would re-enter into life! Every man who lies in that dire moral condition has it said to him, “He comes to the tomb.” “It was a cave, and a stone had been laid upon it.” Dead under that stone, guilty under the law. For you know that the law, which was given to the Jews, was inscribed on stone. And all the guilty are under the law: the right-living are in harmony with the law. The law is not laid on a righteous man. What mean then the words, “Take ye away the stone”? Preach grace. For the Apostle Paul calls himself a minister of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit; “for the letter,” he says, “kills, but the spirit gives life.” The letter that kills is like the stone that crushes. “Take ye away,” He says, “the stone.” Take away the weight of the law; preach grace. “For if there had been a law given, which could have given life, verily righteousness should be by the law. But the Scripture has concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” Therefore “take ye away the stone.”
Source: Tractates on the Gospel of John (New Advent)