Let's take our Bibles once again
and turn with me to the book of John chapter 19. John 19. John 19. I'd like to begin in
verse 38 and go to the end of the chapter there, verse 42.
John 19. And after this, Joseph of Arimathea,
being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews,
besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus.
And Pilate gave him leave. He came, therefore, and took
the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus,
which at first came to Jesus by night and brought a mixture
of myrrh, aloes, about a hundred pound weight. Then took they
the body of Jesus and wound it in linen clothes with the spices
as the manner of the Jews is to bury. In the place where he
was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulcher
wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore
because of the Jews' preparation day, for the sepulcher was nigh
at hand. I've entitled this message The Divine Funeral. This passage deals with that
subject. The funeral of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He has finished the work of the
Father. by laying down his life. And now we're going to behold
the written account of what was prophesied in Isaiah 53 9. He made his grave with the wicked
and with the rich in his death. After the Lord bowed his head
gave up the ghost in that order. The scripture declares that a
man named Joseph of Arimathea came and besought Pilate concerning
the body of the Lord. And here's a man, this is the
only account that we have of Joseph of Arimathea. This is
it. He was the one that came. But
you know, I dare doubt that there's many
people that have some knowledge of hearing something preached
out of the scriptures that wouldn't know who Joseph of Arimathea
was. They've heard of him, you know.
That was the man that asked for the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this man had been from before
the foundation of the world prepared for this event right here. You're the one. You're the one. Scripture declares In Matthew,
I'll just read this to you for sake of time, that he was a rich
man, but being rich monetarily I know was not the greatest of
the blessing that was bestowed upon this man, for obviously
he was one who was rich in faith. The scripture says in 38 and
after this Joseph of Arimathea being a disciple of Jesus. The scripture says he was though
secretly for fear of the Jews. He was a follower. That's what
disciple means. He was a follower of the Lord
but he was one incognito He did it secretly. But thanks be unto God he did
follow the Lord. I'm thankful for that. The Lord
knew him. He was secret until this event
right here. I'm going to show you something
about him being secret and then in this event what happened.
You know I said a few minutes ago, I don't know who the Lord's
people are. I don't know who they are. I've
got this morning, I've got a good idea who I think some are. But
I don't know. I know if he keeps us to the
end, we'll be proven to be the Lord's people. We know that he's
our only hope. We know that. Do you remember
when Elijah was on the side of the mountain there and he was
pouting? I'm the only one left. I'm the only one. Nobody else
is faithful but me. And the Lord told him, he said,
I've got 7,000 reserved that have not bowed the knee to Baal.
Here was a man that was secret for a long time. Mark 15.43 reveals
that he was an honorable counselor. That's what Scripture says concerning
him. He was a distinguished man. He probably held a high office. Very possibly could have been
a senator. When it speaks of that, I'll
just say what I read in one of the accounts. But Scripture says
he was an honorable counselor. He was an honorable man, though
being made so by the grace of God. But here was a man that
very possibly held a pretty high office, pretty distinguished
in that part of the country. Let me tell you what's amazing
about that. 1 Corinthians 1 26-27 says, For
ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise after
the flesh Not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God
has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the
wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things that are mighty. I heard Brother Henry say this,
and I thought, you know, that sounds right to me. He said,
if you'll notice, he said, there's not, when it comes to it, it's
not always the case. It says not many, that not many
wise, not many mighty, not many noble. But Henry says, by and
large, you're going to find that not many really, really extremely
influential people in government stuff, not many. Not many absolutely
drop-dead beautiful women or men. Not many of them. Not many mighty, not many, but
there's some. There's some. He said, by and
large, God chooses, the scripture says, the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise. The weak things of the world.
Why? To confound the things that are mighty. He was a man though, he was an
honorable counselor. And the scripture says in Mark
15 43, he waited for the kingdom of God. Now there's no record
when the Lord crossed his path with the gospel. I can tell you
this, this man, the scripture revealing him to be a disciple
of the Lord, somewhere along the line he heard the gospel.
Because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to them
that believe. Can a man or a woman be saved
apart from hearing the gospel? No. Nope. Nope. It is the power of God. God blesses His word. He called you by our gospel. And the scripture says this man
waited far. Waited far with expectation. The Lord Jesus Christ and this
man waiting far, that word right there, it means more than he
believed that the Messiah would come. The Jews believed that.
Devils believed that. I mean, that was a common well-known. But that word right there, waited
for, it means to have received and accepted Him to be the Messiah. Now let me tell you another verse
of Scripture to prove what I'm saying so. Whenever there was
a group of people, it's in John 6, and they followed the Lord,
and when the Lord told them, no man, can come unto me, except
it were given unto him of my father. No man can. No man has
the ability. No man has the ability. I had
someone ask me one time, they said, well, what if someone really
wants to come and they're not one of God's elect? I said, they
won't. They won't. How do you know? I said, scripture
says they won't. No man can. except it be given unto them
of my Father." They heard that, and they left, and they followed
Him no more. And the Lord turned to His disciples
without missing a beat, and said, will you go away too? You want to leave? I could say this to anybody.
I could say it to myself. Marvin, you want to leave? Is
this a hard saying to you? You want to leave? Well, then
go. And Peter said, Lord, where are we going to go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. And listen to this. And we believe and are sure that
Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. That's what
Joseph of Arimathea believed. He waited. That word waiting,
it means to receive as the one revealed. He waited. Not just
looking for. You're the Christ. You're the
Christ. The scripture says in Mark 15,
43, that Joseph of Arimathea came and went in boldly. unto Pilate, and craved, asked
for the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord had given this
man faith to believe. And he knew that this was the
one that was ever before the Father, in Proverbs 8, I was
ever before his faith, brought up with him. This is the surety of the sheep. You are the angel of the covenant. You are the substitute of your
people. That's who you are. Oh, and what
grace was exhibited in that man's attitude. No telling how long
He was a secret disciple of the Lord because of the fear of the
Jews. But now, here's an amazing thing. This, the hatred, resentment,
it had been brewing and he was mad and just, you know, but here
they had taken the Lord in the garden and brought him before
Pilate and different ones, ran him over here, Herod, Caiaphas,
back and forth, back and forth, and I mean it had come to a peak. Who do you want me to release?
Jesus of Nazareth or Raphael? You release Barabbas, you crucify
him. You kill him. At his crucifixion,
they came, wag your heads, you know, saved others. Can't save
himself. That's right. That's right. Why? Because he's laying down his
life for his people, for his sheep. And they mocked him and
spit on him, pulled out his beard, crown of thorns and ate him.
These soldiers, brutally nailed him to the tree, animosity against
the Lord Jesus Christ brought to a head, and this loving disciple
went in boldly, the scripture says, courageously, and craved, begged
for the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Wasn't ashamed. Wasn't
ashamed. Verse 39 says, there came also
Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night and brought
a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. Here's another disciple that
emerged in evident faithfulness. But slowly, Nicodemus had come
under the cloak of darkness. That's the last account, the
first account we had of him. There's another account right
here when the Lord It became evident that the Lord had taught
this man something. It says in John 7.51 that Nicodemus
was the one when he stood before the Pharisees and the Lord was
being brought up, you know, what are we going to do with this
fella? Here's what Nicodemus says, Doth our law judge any
man before it hear him, and know what he doeth? Nicodemus had
taken a stand here. No one else is mentioned concerning
the care given the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. But this one
thing, again, that was obvious. The Lord had done something for
these two men. They were secretive, laid back, but when it pleased
God, Almighty God said to these men,
now, now, listen to this beautiful passage of scripture concerning
the garden of the Lord. It's in Song of Solomon 416. Though these men were timid,
laid back, secretive, you know we might look at them and say,
I'd have never been like that. Oh yes you would have. Until
the Lord give you a heart in boldness, don't tell me, We think
way too highly of ourselves. Listen to this. Awake, O north
wind, and come thou south. Blow upon my garden, that the
spices thereof may flow out. Spices were there. These two
men obviously were the garden of the Lord. Part of it. His
people, his elect. Now, when the time is right,
the precious Lord of Glory who knows His own and knows that
which He has commanded them to do, He says to the Spirit, O
North Wind, blow in convicting and chastening grace and mercy
on these, my garden, that the spices, what I've done for them,
might come out. The Spirit of God comes and says
to Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, no more, no more, no more secretive,
no more cloak of darkness, no more hiding in the background,
in the shadows, now. And Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus,
Joseph went in there, went to Pilate, courageously, boldly,
and said, I'll take the body. I'll take the body." Oh, then in mercy, Almighty God
moved on these two men and they came down. And I thought to myself,
you know, we think, we just talk about they came and took the
body. Now listen, the body of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the scripture says, it had been beaten, His visage,
the way it was, was more marred than any man. He had been beaten
beyond recognition. Whipped, whipped, crown of thorns,
spit on his beard, been pulled out, just jerked his beard out. Nailed to the cross, spear stuck
in his side, nailed, Feet. He's hanging on a cross. Roman government is going to
leave him there for they care, they don't care. But the Lord,
we looked at that last week, the Lord was not going to let
him stay there. He wasn't going to see corruption. They had to
go and take that body off of that cross. The spikes, the nails that had
been driven through his feet and his hands, they had to pull
those out. Now you think about pulling a
nail out of a board. At least you've got something,
you've got the claw of a hammer to put it to. They were going
to have to pull those nails out. They were going to have to take
his body down. I mean, this was tender. Almighty God ordered
these men. You take care of this." And they
went and courageously asked. And the scripture says in verse
39 and 40, there came Nicodemus, also Nicodemus, which at the
first came to Jesus by night, brought a mixture of myrrh and
aloes, about a hundred pound weight. Then took they the body
of Jesus and wound it in linen clothes with the spices as the
manner of the Jews is. to bury. There was an offering that was
offered in the Old Testament called the burnt offerings. The burnt offering. It was a
sweet smelling savor unto the Lord. I can go back and show
you the scriptures, but let me tell you, the burnt offering
was the offering that pictured, that set forth the obedient sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ as God's lamb, the lamb of God's providing. And the scripture says that Leviticus
1.9, that offering, it says this, But as inwards his legs shall
he wash in water, the priest shall burn it all on the altar,
to be a burnt offering, burnt sacrifice, an offering made by
fire of a sweet savor unto the Lord." That sweet savor. Now think of this, the beautiful
picture here. They came and they took a mixture
of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight, a hundred pounds
of spices. Was it the spices that the Father
smelled? Oh, it was the obedience of the
Lord Jesus Christ. But even in the spices that they
took and wound around the Lord as they wound His body in that
linen and those spices set forth the savor of satisfaction, the
smell. His body was tenderly, tenderly
treated. I got to thinking, 100 pounds
of spices, I wonder what that cost. Was it a wasted gift? Was it too costly a price to
pay? No, I'll tell you what, I believe I believe that those
men were moved by the Spirit of God to purchase those spices
in appreciation in their heart. God moved on them to do it. I
know that. I have no doubt about that. But in their heart, this
was the Lord that had done all for them. Was it too much? Was that too
much to pay? Concerning giving, I don't say
a whole lot about giving. These men gave a lot of money,
a lot of time. Concerning giving, I'm going
to just read a couple of scriptures and then we'll go on. 1 Corinthians
16, 2. Upon the first day of the week,
every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered
him, that there be no gatherings when I come. 2 Corinthians 9,
7, Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let
him give, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful
giver. Was it too much to buy a hundred
pounds of spices? You know that woman that came
with the alabaster box? It was an alabaster box. Very
costly, the scripture says. And she broke it and poured it
upon the Lord. And then Judas says, why was
this wasted? That could have been sold and
given to the poor. Some say that that thing was
worth a year's wages for a working man. A year's wages. You think,
if you had whatever you make in a year, Would you be willing
to break it? Luke 6.38, give and it shall
be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together,
running over, shall men give unto your bosom, for with the
same measure that you meet with all, it shall be measured to
you again. These men bought a hundred pounds
of spices and took it and wrap that linen and those spices around
the Lord. And concerning that linen, what
did that set forth? Turn with me to Leviticus. I'm
going to wrap this up. Leviticus 16. Leviticus 16. This was the Passover. Remember
that he died on the Passover. That's the Lord. He's the Passover
lamb himself. Leviticus 16. Now here's the
account given concerning the priest. They wrapped him up in
linen. Leviticus 16, 1-4. And the Lord
spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when
they offered before the Lord and died. And the Lord said unto
Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times
into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat, which
is upon the ark, that he die not. For I will appear in the
cloud upon the mercy seat. Thus shall Aaron come into the
holy place with a young bullock for a sin offering and a ram
for a burnt offering. And he shall put on the holy
linen coat. He shall have the linen breeches
upon his flesh. He shall be girded with a linen
girdle. With the linen miter shall he be attired. These are
the holy garments. Therefore shall he wash his flesh
in water and put them on. The scriptures set forth that
linen. That linen which the scripture reveals is the righteousness
of the saints imputed to them. But who earned it? He did. Who
was he? He was the high priest. Here's
the great high priest. And here are these two men back
in John 19, 100 pounds, costly, costly, costly. Oh, but what
did he give? He gave all. And these men, without
a doubt, in appreciation, in love, directed by the Spirit
of God, did what they could. That's what the Lord told his
disciples concerning that woman, broke that alabaster box. He
said, you leave her alone. Wherever this gospel is preached
in all the world, it's going to be a memorial to her. She
has done what she could. You hush. And the scripture says in 41-42,
and the place where he was crucified, there was a garden. In the garden
a new sepulchre wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they
Jesus, therefore because of the Jews preparation day for the
sepulchre was nigh at hand." Mr. A.W. Pink said this, beautifully
suggestive is the reference to the garden. He said it was a
garden that the first Adam sowed the seed which issued in death.
So here in a garden was sown the seed himself. The seed of woman, the Lord Jesus
Christ, which was to bear much fruit in immortal life to all
that he came to save. Man fell in a garden, man redeemed
in a garden. And there was that new sepulcher,
the scripture says. That sepulcher was never man
yet laid. There was no corruption there.
There was no corruption. You say, well, you know, no one's
ever laid in a tomb, you know, where someone else is laid. Well,
I can tell you this, I've seen it. I told you I was down in Mexico,
down there with Cody and went and we'd gone down and Cody brought
us over to a graveyard. And he would show us these sepulchres. What they do, because of the
scarcity of where they can bury, they would bury somebody in five
years. That's all you had. These are not purchased. I mean,
I'm talking about paupers-type graves and stuff like that. Remember
that, Nancy? You get to lay there five years.
Then they come over there and they open it up, take the bones out, put them
in a box, close it up. There you go. There you go. There's your family. Put somebody
else in there. Corruption in there. Not his. He saw no corruption. He laid
where no man could lay, where no man deserved to lay. Oh, the preciousness of the revelation
of the glorious Lord Jesus Christ, even in His burial, the respect
that was given Him. I can tell you in my heart, I
think of this scripture, bless the Lord. Oh, my soul and all
that is within me, bless his holy name. Lord bless the word
our hearts we pray for Christ's sake.