I'm going to attempt to bring
a message to you today entitled, The Burial of the Body of the
Lord Jesus Christ. of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm
going to use, I don't know if I've ever done this before, Matthew
27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19. I'm going to try to use these
four different writings that are all given of God, given to
Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. The burial and death of the Lord
Jesus Christ, or the death and burial of the body of the Lord
Jesus Christ. The death of our Lord Jesus Christ
as a sinner's substitute was for purpose, God's purpose. God's purpose to put away sin
and to establish an everlasting righteousness for us. This is
the most important event that ever took place in human history. The death, the coming, the doing
and dying, and the resurrection glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
All other events of human history pale in comparison to this momentous,
glorious event of the Lord's atonement for our sin. In the
fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made
under the law to redeem them that were under the law. His
death for our sins is absolutely vital. vital and the chief point
of this glorious, the glorious truth of the gospel, his coming,
his dying, his resurrection, his ascension. It's all one.
It's all one. One glorious truth. We say with
the apostle, we determined to know nothing among you, but Jesus
Christ and him crucified. Now hold your place there in
Matthew 27, and let's turn over here to 1 Corinthians chapter
15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, look at verse 1 through 4, 1
Corinthians 15. Moreover, brethren, verse 1,
I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which
you also have received, wherein you stand By which also you're
saved if you hold fast, keep in memory to that which I preached,
unless you have believed in vain, not with true faith. Verse 3,
for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received. You can't tell what you don't
know. I deliver unto you because I received it of the Lord. How
that, now that's important, that word, how. How that Christ died
for our sins according to the scriptures. and that he was buried,
how that he was buried, and how that he arose again the third
day according to the scriptures, that he was seen of Cephas, then
of the twelve, after that he was seen above five hundred brethren
at once, of whom the greater part remain under this present,
but some have fallen asleep." So the Lord Jesus Christ really
did come. God manifested in the flesh.
He really did work out salvation for us. His obedience, faithful
unto death, even the death of the cross. They put His lifeless,
dead body in a tomb of which he stayed three days. On that
third morning, we're going to see in the following week, Matthew
28, he didn't stay dead. The body didn't stay dead. God
raised him from the dead. Christ died for our sin according
to the scripture. All our hope of forgiveness from
our sins hinges upon what he accomplished for us on Calvary
Street. All our hope of a justifying
righteousness before God all hinges upon what the Lord Jesus
Christ accomplished for us. All our hope of eternal salvation
all centers and glories, glories and centers upon this fact of
his person, who he is, what he did, who He is and where He is
now. The effectual, redeeming work
of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the old timers always said, His
blood and His righteousness alone. When we were yet without strength,
the Lord Jesus Christ died for the ungodly. That's me. How do you know if Christ died
for you or not? Are you ungodly? Most folks aren't. Most folks
don't think themselves to be sinners. If we say we have no
sin, we deceive ourselves and truth's not in us. Now, supposition. If his death, the death of the
Lord Jesus Christ, is not real and actual and effectual, if
he, as some skeptics and atheists, suggest or suppose that he simply
just lapped into a coma, or unconsciousness and was revived three days later,
if that's so, we're of all men most miserable. And that's what
the atheists say. Even those in Matthew 27 where,
you remember they said in verse 63, saying, we remember that
this deceiver said while he was yet alive after three days, I'll
rise again. Command, therefore, that the
sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest the disciples
come by night and steal him away. And saying to the people, he's
risen from the dead, and the last day will be worse than the
first. They didn't believe he would
be raised from the dead, did they? Now, if his death and glorious
resurrection is a hoax. If it's not real, then we are
yet in our sins. And we yet face eternal judgment
and condemnation because it would prove him to be an imposter.
It would prove him to be a phony. It would prove him to be a pretender,
not a real bona fide genuine savior of sinners and a real
true redeemer of his people. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. And we say with the Apostle Paul,
we are the worst kind, the chief of sinners. However, my friend,
I believe the record of Holy Scripture that his death was
real. He was really made sin for us. That's what the law of
God demands. The wages of sin is death. But
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
He really accomplished salvation for us by the putting away of
his sin. When he said, as we read in John
19 verse 30, it is finished. All salvation was accomplished
for his people. Call his name what he is, Savior
Jesus. He shall save his people from
their sin. He was really put in the grave. They laid the stone on it and
the soldiers sealed it up and set a guard that no one could
steal his body. He was really raised again from
the dead on the third day. He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. Now remember at least these four
things about Jesus Christ and him crucified. We see God's absolute
sovereignty over all things. He said, no man takes my life
from me, I lay it down. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and you have,
by wicked hand, have killed the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus it must
be, the Lord said when they came to arrest him. Peter, put up
your sword, for thus it must be, for how shall the scripture
be fulfilled unless I lay down my life? So he dies under the
sovereignty of God, the purpose and will of God in accomplishing
our salvation. The second thing we must remember
about the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, he dies as a sinner substitute. the just one dying for the unjust,
that he might bring us unto God. We can't come any other way.
And then we see the third word is satisfaction. The Lord Jesus
Christ made complete satisfaction for our sin against God. We have
sinned against God. We cannot satisfy God's holy
law. We cannot put away our sin. We
cannot establish righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ did that
for us. Satisfaction. Now here's the
important thing about the Lord Jesus Christ and Him dying for
us. The blood on the altar is always
before the Lord under the law. So the death of the Lord Jesus
Christ was God's satisfaction. It was God's sacrificial lamb
that made satisfaction to the law of God. Believers are satisfied
with His death, right? It was enough. But more importantly,
God the Father is satisfied. He shall see of the travail of
His soul and shall be, what? Satisfied. Satisfied. And then the last word of those
four words, sovereignty, substitution, satisfaction, success. When he
by himself purged our sin, he sat down on the right hand of
the throne of God. He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again because he justified us with his own blood. Now in
our study today, our God in his great and wise overruling and
sovereign providence give to us powerful evidence beyond all
dispute that our blessed Lord, God and Savior really did die
and was buried. And we have given to us three
or four witnesses in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall
every word be established. They're combined and united testimonies
given to us are evidence that is beyond all suspicion. They
could not be deceived. They took his cold, lifeless,
mangled, bloody body down from a tree and buried it in the earth
because he died. Let this be established in our
minds. Our Savior really and truly did
die for our sin. He really and truly did put away
our sin by the sacrifice of himself. Now I've said that, how many
times have I said that? Over the 31 years I've been here,
I've said that thousands and thousands of times. I hope it's
just not a catchphrase. He really did die for the sin
of His people and He really did make complete atonement, payment
for their sin and they cannot perish. He obtained for us eternal
redemption with His own blood. Now the four witnesses that we're
going to look at are the Roman soldiers, the centurion. The
centurion was over a hundred soldiers. He had a detail of
a hundred soldiers. The centurion and those hundred
soldiers, they're witnesses. Many of the women that followed
him to the grave, they watched him die, they watched the body
being taken down, and they followed them to that grave. And then thirdly, we see Joseph
of Arimathea, the rich man, and then Nicodemus. Nicodemus is
well known in John chapter 3, that came to the Lord Jesus by
night. And they came and they begged
for the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they buried his dead
body. So there's the third witness.
And the last witness, the grave itself. The grave itself bears
witness that he did die for our sin. Now, let's consider the
first one here. Turn to, you hold your bookmark
there in Matthew 27. And let's turn over here back
to Mark chapter 15. Mark chapter 15. The Roman soldiers gave witness
to the Lord Jesus Christ actually dying. Verse 39, Mark 15. And when the centurion stood
over against him and saw that he so cried, what he cried, it
is finished. Father, into thy hand I commend
my spirit. And he gave up the ghost. He
said, truly, this man was the son of God. So this centurion
observed the Lord Jesus Christ was actually dead. Okay, down
to verse 44. And Pilate marveled if he were
dead, already dead, when Joseph came to ask for the body. And
calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been
dead any while, whether he had been any while dead, and when
he knew it, of the centurion, he gave the body to the Lord
Jesus. So, these Roman soldiers and
this particular centurion said and witnessed that he really
was dead, and they gave a watch at the graveside, didn't they?
These Roman soldiers crucified many Jews. Many, many, many Jews. They were professional killers,
executors. They knew how to kill and they
knew when the body was dead. When the centurion saw the Lord
Jesus Christ die and saw him gave up the ghost, as it says
there in verse 39 of Mark 15, and he gave up the ghost, he
knew that he had died. In John 19, when they broke the
legs of the two thieves to hasten their death, and when they came
to the Lord, they saw he was already dead, but to make sure,
they put a spear in his side to make sure, and this was done,
that the scripture might be fulfilled. They thrust the spear in his
side, and out came blood and water. When Pilate wanted evidence
of the Lord's death, before he would release the body to Joseph,
He asked this Roman soldier. Let this be a sure word of testimony
before us. Let it ring loud and clear. Let us be convinced by God the
Holy Spirit that the Lord Jesus Christ actually tasted death
for His people. He experienced death for His
people. Now listen to this Scripture.
Don't turn. Let me just read it to you. Philippians
chapter 2. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took upon himself
the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men,
and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, became
obedient unto death, even, even the death of the cross. His faithfulness
unto death is our righteousness before God. Our righteousness
before God is not based upon our faithfulness. Our morality
is based upon Christ's faithfulness and obedience unto death. He, by the grace of God, tasted
death for us that we might have eternal life through his death. He died that we might live. You
remember he said in the revelation, I'm he that liveth and was dead,
behold, I'm alive forevermore. He said, I have the keys of hell
and death. He has authority and power over hell and death. He
died that we might live forever with him. There is therefore
now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. He that
spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall
He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who can lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died. Yea, rather. is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who makes intercession
for us. Our Lord said to his apostles
in John 14, because I live, you shall live also. Here's a second
witness. We also have the true testimony
of these faithful women. I want you to turn now to Luke
23. Luke 23. Verse 49, Luke 23, 49, and all
his acquaintance and the women that followed him from Galilee
stood afar off beholding these things. They were beholding him
dying upon the tree. Look down at verse, 55, and the women also which came
with him from Galilee followed after and beheld the sepulcher
how his body was laid." When Joseph and the others took the
body down and prepared it for burial, they followed them in
this funeral train, if you will, to the cemetery, to this gravesite,
and they watched them put his lifeless dead body in that grave. So they were witnesses as well,
right? These faithful women were the
first to come back to the grave on that resurrection morning.
We'll see that next week. when Peter and the rest of the
apostles forsook the Lord for fearing their life. I remember
reading when John the Baptist died, remember when he's beheaded,
his disciples came and took his body and buried it. Where's Peter
and John and the rest of these men? We find the women following
him. These women stayed and watched
the Lord of Glory put away their sin. They heard the words he
spoke and rejoiced in their salvation being accomplished by the Lord
Jesus Christ. They were granted faith to believe
him, and that's what saving faith does. It believes him and follows
him at all times, in all circumstances, looks to the Lord Jesus Christ
to provide all things for us, that's what His sheep do, they
hear His voice and they follow Him. Now I'm not saying that
Peter and John and the others were not followers of the Lord
Jesus Christ, they certainly were, but where are they at now? All the disciples forsook Him
and fled. These faithful women, you faithful
women, give testimony to the glorious Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. By believing Him. By believing
Him. Now here's a third witness. Another
witness the Lord brings before us is that of Joseph Baramathea. who was called a secret disciple
for fear of the Jews, and that of Nicodemus, as we read in John
19, who came to the Lord Jesus by night. Remember, the Lord
told Nicodemus about the new birth, about regeneration by
the Spirit of God. Evidently, the Spirit of God
worked a miracle of grace in the heart of Nicodemus. Now he's
no longer fearing. He comes with Joseph boldly and
publicly to claim the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Luke
chapter 23 verse 50, And behold, there was a man named Joseph,
a counselor, and he was a good man and just, and a just man,
like Simeon, waiting for the waiting for the consolation of
the Lord, the Messiah. The same had not consented to
the counsel and deed of them. He was of Arimathea, a city of
the Jews who waited for the kingdom of God. This man went under Pilate
and begged for the body. Give me the body. And he took
it down, wrapped it in linen, laid it in a sepulcher that was
hewn in stone wherein never man before was laid." So here Joseph,
and it says there in John 19 that Nicodemus came and they
claimed the body of the Lord Jesus. They prepared it as the
manner of the Jews for burial. and they took his body and buried
it. Now, what do we know about Joseph?
We don't know much. He only appears one time in Holy
Scripture. He completes the work the father
gave him to do, and we never read of him again. We don't know
much about him, but we know a few things about him. It says in
Mark 15, 43, he was an honorable counselor. He was a member of
that Sanhedrin. He's either a Pharisee or a Sadducee,
one or the other, maybe. one or the other. In Luke 23,
51, he was waiting for the kingdom of God. He was looking for the
Messiah like Simeon did. Matthew 27 said he was a rich
man. Said he was a disciple of the
Lord. In John 19, 38, we read he was a secret disciple for
the fear of the Jews. He was a just man. had not consented
unto their counsel of the other Pharisees to put him to death.
But he boldly went unto Pilate and begged for the body of the
Lord Jesus Christ. In John 19 verse 39 and 40, They brought a hundred pounds
of myrrh and aloes and prepared the body, wrapped it in linen,
and put it in that tomb, Joseph's tomb, that he had made for himself. But he put the Lord Jesus Christ
in there and laid his body. and laid the stone on top of
it. Almighty God used this man, or
these two men, for a specific purpose to bury the body of the
Lord Jesus. Generally and normally, crucified
bodies were left to hang on the cross until their flesh rotted
away and their bones crumpled to the ground. That's why it
was called Golgotha, the place of the skull. That hill was littered
with bones of those who've been crucified by the Romans. But
the Lord Jesus Christ could not remain there upon the cross.
He must be buried to fulfill scripture. His body must be put
in the grave to honor the law of God. We studied recently in
Psalm 16, where the Lord said, therefore, my heart is glad,
my soul does rejoice, my flesh shall rest in hope, for thou
wilt not leave my soul in the grave, neither will thou suffer
thy holy one to see corruption. In Isaiah 53, 9, he made his
grave with the wicked, with the rich in his death. The Lord our
God always raises up men, chosen vessels to carry out his purpose,
sometimes for the most unlikely places. Moses, you remember,
was a prince in Egypt. God raised him up to be his prophet
and deliverer, to deliver his people out of bondage. Peter,
Andrew, James, and John were fishermen. made apostles and
sent to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who would
have ever thought that the Pharisee, that self-righteous Pharisee,
Saul of Tarsus, a persecutor of believers, he was arresting
them and causing them to be put to death, Saul of Tarsus. He
was a chosen vessel and made an apostle to the Gentile and
a great preacher of the gospel. We never We thought maybe Joseph
of Arimathea would be raised up to replace Judas, but no,
it was that old rotten snake, that man from Tarsus named Saul. And then God raises up this man,
Joseph of Arimathea Nicodemus, to be witness to the death and
burial of the Lord Jesus Christ. All this is by God's purpose,
nothing by accident, nothing by accident. We read in Isaiah
14, the Lord hath sworn, saying, surely as I thought, so shall
it come to pass. As I purposed it, so shall it
stand. God's will is never hindered
by anything men do. He works all things after the
counsel of his own will. God's work is never overturned,
never made disannulled. Known unto God are all of his
works from the beginning. God's cause is never in jeopardy
of being reversed. I am the Lord, I change not.
Now much may be said of Joseph's weakness and failures, He was
a secret disciple, it says. But at the appropriate time,
he shows himself to be a strong believer. He demonstrates faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. At the time when the Lord's disciples
had forsaken him, Joseph went before Pilate, boldly craved
the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what saving faith does. It craves for the body. the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Saving Faith desires to lay hold
upon the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what they did. They laid
hold of Him. And that's what Saving Faith
does. It lays hold of the Lord Jesus Christ and sees in Him
as all of our salvation. At the time when many were ashamed
of the crucified Christ, Joseph and Nicodemus went and retrieved
His body from the cross and buried it, buried his body. Joseph believed
and honored him and was identified with him and was not ashamed
of him. Joseph prepares the body for
burial and puts it in his own new tomb. The linen, the fine
linen, was an emblem of the Savior's purity and righteousness. He
was anointed with those spices and we know that he was anointed
of God above his fellows. They wrapped him in fine linen,
clean and white. If you turn back over to Matthew
27 verse 60. That's not the verse I want.
Verse 59, when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in clean
linen cloth. You know that's a picture of?
That's a picture of the righteousness believers have in Christ. We
have that fine linen righteousness in the blessed Savior. Turn over
here to Revelation, I believe it's 19. Revelation 19, turn
there. They wrapped him up in fine,
clean, white linen. They anointed his body with spices. In Revelation 19, I'm saying
that linen is the type and picture of the righteousness we have
in Christ. Revelation 19, seven, let us be glad and rejoice, give
honor to him for the marriage of the Lamb has come. His wife
hath made herself ready. To her was granted that she should
be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. Well, the fine linen
is the righteousness of the saints. Christ is our righteousness.
He saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called to
the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are
the true sayings of God. Blessed is that man to whom the
Lord imputeth righteousness without works. Now, you've got there
Matthew 27. Here's the fourth witness. the
grave itself. The last testimony to the Lord's
real and actual death for our sins is the tomb itself. They
buried His body in the grave. Matthew 27, they came to Him saying, Sir,
the Pharisees came together under Pilate saying, Sir, we remember
that this deceiver said while he was yet alive that after three
days I will rise again and command, therefore, that the sepulcher
be made sure unto the third day, lest the disciples come by night
and steal him away, and say unto the people, he's risen from the
dead, so the last heir shall be worse than the first. Verse
65, Pilate said unto them, you have a watch, you have a guard,
go your way and make it as sure as you can. And they went and
made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone and setting the watch. they knew the body of the Lord
Jesus Christ was in that tomb. And the grave itself is a witness,
a witness to the burial of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord put
special honor upon the grave by allowing his body to be put
in the grave. As our forerunner, he died for
us, he was buried for us, and he's risen for us. Now this is
my personal conviction. I believe the body, the book
of God bears this out. When Abraham died, he was buried.
When Moses died, he was buried. When Joseph, old Joseph in Egypt,
Joseph made the children of Israel a promise when God delivered
them that they would carry his bones out of Egypt, and they
did. The point I'm making is this.
I've been asked this question often. Should believers at death
have their body cremated? No. No. I don't think so. The Lord Jesus
Christ was buried. Every believer we read of in
Scripture who died was buried. Was buried. I believe that's
the Scriptural way for a believer to have his body taken care of
to put in the grave. Our Lord put special honor upon
the grave by allowing his body to be put in the grave. Our forerunner
has died for us, was buried for us, and he's risen for us. The
Lord has taken away the sting of death for us. We no longer
need to fear the grave. To be absent from this body,
remember the Lord told that dying thief, now, this day, you'll
be with me in glory. They took his dead body down
from the tree. But he was not in that body.
He ascended to glory. He was with the Father. As Paul
said, to be absent from this body is to be present with the
Lord. It's a plain fact. It's appointed
that a man wants to die, and after that, judgment. But death
for the believer is not defeat. It's victory. Death of the believer
is not punishment, it's promotion. The Lord Jesus Christ has taken
the sting out of death, and that He put away our sin. The Lord
Jesus Christ has taken the victory from death and the grave, and
that He was raised again the third day according to Scripture. We're going to see that next
week. The coffin, the funeral, the corruption of the body, back
to the dust. These things are painful to think
upon. But as our Lord arose victorious,
we too shall be raised up from the dead to be with the Lord
forever. Forever. Turn over here and we'll
close with this. Back to 1 Corinthians 15. Back to 1 Corinthians 15. Look at verse 50. We know when
the Lord comes back, He'll bring back those believers who have
been with Him for many, many years. And the dead will be raised
up first, and then we which are alive and remain shall be caught
up together to be with the Lord forever. And that's what He mentions
here in verse 50. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 50, Now
this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot enter into the
kingdom of God, neither does corruption inherit incorruption.
But I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall be changed. In a moment, a twinkling of an
eye, that's the last trumpet, for the trumpet shall sound and
the dead shall be raised incorruptible. When the Lord came forth from
that tomb, he had a glorified body, and we're going to have
a body just like Christ. To be raised incorruptible, we
shall be changed. or this corruptible must put
on incorruption. This corruptible flesh is going
to be chained and put on incorruption. This mortal shall put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall
have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall be brought the saying that is written, death,
Isaiah 25, eight, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where
is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin. The
Lord has taken care of our sin. The strength of sin is the law.
The Lord honored the law of God for us, that we can say, therefore,
verse 57, thanks be unto God, which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Did He really die for us? Yes. Was He really buried for us?
Yes. Was He raised again the third day? Yes. Did He ascend
to glory 40 days later? Bodily ascended and occupied
the throne of God right now for us? Yes. Yes. These are powerful witnesses
that witness to the glory and the victories of the Lord Jesus
Christ for us. Amen.