Mark 15, verse 40. Mark 15, 40. There were also
women looking on afar off, among whom was Mary Magdalene, and
Mary the mother of James the less, and of Joses in Siloam,
who also when he was in Galilee followed him and ministered unto
him and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem. It mentions women, some specifically
by name and just as many others, but particularly the women are
mentioned here. I've been asked before, it's
been a while, how do you feel about women ministers, Brother
Chris? And I'll tell you, I'll answer
it right now. I think godly women are the best ministers. Not preachers. Scriptures are pretty clear on
that. God has given the man the authority in the home and in
the church. But scriptural teaching concerning God's order and God's
ordained roles of authority in the home and in the church does
not make women less important or inferior in any way whatsoever. It's not about that. Submission
and service are not weakness or inferiority. Our Lord taught
just exactly the opposite. Matthew 20 26 whosoever will
be great among you let him be your minister and whosoever will
be chief among you let him be your servant. Do you see how
that applies to what we're talking about to the fact that women
are to submit to their husbands in all things and in the church
there to be submissive and silent. And I know that when I read that,
it says, whosoever be great among you, let him be your minister.
We've taught on this before. I know there are many who think
that this means if you're subservient now for a while, that someday
you'll be made great. And that's not what that teaches.
Submission is greatness. Service is greatness. To be great
is to be submissive. To be a servant. That's not what
he said, that you'll be great someday if you're a servant.
Now, that's not what he said. He gave himself as the example
in this. He said in the next verse, after
what I just read, even as the son of man came not to be ministered
unto, but to minister, to give his life a ransom for many. Our
Lord Jesus Christ came to minister unto his father in this world
and unto his people. Would you dare use the word inferior
with regard to the master? So don't think like that with
regard to those his people who submissively minister in this
world now, men or women. And never mistake submission
for inferiority. This world operates under a different
set of standards and values than God does, and then we should. God has established roles and
authority in the family and in his church and in society to
picture his authority and preeminence for his glory, for the good of
his people. And there's not anything more beautiful or great than
submission and ministering. He is superior. He is preeminent. But he did not consider it beneath
him to wash his disciples' dirty feet. And he said, you should
do as I've done. And men have authority from him
in various ways, in various offices in this world. But all of his
people are called what? The bride of Christ. Submissive, obedient, reverence your husbands. Doesn't
the scripture say that? We're his bride, we reverence
him. We're not preeminent, none of us. He is. Notice that these women followed
him though. I wanna stress this this morning. Peter boasted his willingness
to follow the Lord all the way to death. And then he couldn't
follow through on it. All of the apostles forsook him
and fled. It was prophesied before time
that they would, I'll smite the shepherd and the sheep will be
scattered, and they were. They hid out for their very lives.
They didn't want to be associated with him because they would have
had to suffer. But these women, they followed him wherever he
went. They tenaciously, wherever he
was, that's where they were. His mother, Mary, was so close
there to him at the cross that he was able to speak to her from
the cross. They followed him everywhere
he went. Women, I've come to see in the word of God and in
my own experience, women are strong. Godly women, believing
women are strong. There are different kinds of
strength, aren't there? My wife probably can't bench press as
much as I can, but there are different kinds of strength. There are better, more important
kinds of strength than muscles. They followed him all the way
to the cross. And who was it who came to his sepulcher after
he was taken down from the cross? Let's read it, Matthew 28. Matthew 28 verse 1. In the end of the Sabbath as
it began to draw toward the first day of the week came Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary exactly the same ones in our text who were
right there when he was crucified. To see the sepulcher and behold
There was a great earthquake for the angel of the Lord descended
from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door
and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning
and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him, the keepers
did shake and became his dead men. And the angel answered and
said unto the women, fear not ye. For I know that you seek
Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here for he is risen
as he said, come and see the place where the Lord lay. and
go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead.
And behold, he goeth before you into Galilee. There shall you
see him. I've told you. Lo, I've told
you. And they departed quickly from
the sepulcher with fear and great joy and did run to bring his
disciples word. You know, the scripture says
those who are forgiven much, the same loveth much. And the scripture says that these
many women ministered unto him. We know from other scripture
that Martha cooked for him often. He was at their house a lot. And I'm sure many of them did. And they made their homes his home.
No doubt, as they traveled together, You know, the women would do
what women do now, what godly women do. They would go get water,
I'm sure, and cook, make fires and things as they traveled together. Many, many tasks and taking care
of their own families, many of them at the same time. Godly
women are hard workers. That's been my experience and
I see it in the word of God. Read Proverbs 31, the virtuous
woman. Her price is far above rubies. Why are we bragging on the women? Well, I'm trying to score some
brownie points this morning with the ladies. Although I'll take
it if that's... No, this is about honoring the
Lord Jesus Christ. Godly women who honor the Lord
Jesus Christ exalt him. He said, didn't he say, behold
a woman of Canaan? And we saw her, we saw that woman,
he said, look at that woman, look at this woman. And we looked
at her, and what do we see? She was coming for some mercy
from the master, and she wouldn't leave without it. And she was grateful to him for
it, and she took her place, she submitted, didn't she? She got
in the dust before him. And so these women here are an
example to us, and I'll tell you this, there are women in
this church that are a great example to other women. Great
example to other women and to men, an example to all. And that's honoring to the Lord
Jesus Christ, not to them, not to us, but to him. That's why we're looking at him. Luke 8, one, it came to pass
afterward that he went throughout every city and village preaching
and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God and the
12 were with him and certain women, which had been healed
of evil spirits and infirmities. Mary called Magdalene out of
whom went seven devils. What did I say a while ago? What
did the scripture say? Those who are the greatest debtors
to his grace. They're the ones who love the
most. And Joanna, the wife of Chusa,
Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, many others,
as he was going through preaching, many women, which ministered unto him of
their substance. Whatever they had. What did it
say about Mary? She did what she could. Whatever
they had, whatever resources they had, whatever abilities
they had, whatever strength they had, from their heart and whatever
he had blessed them with in this world, they ministered unto him
with it. That's what this is about. It's
not about who can collect the most toys before they die. Everything
we have is from him and it's for the purpose of honoring him.
Our strength, our talents, our abilities, our substance. There's nothing more honoring
to the Lord himself than when a man or a woman take their rightful
place that they are given by him and minister unto him in
that place, in that role, in that way, as a godly father or
mother, as a teacher or whatever it is in the church. Just cooking
something or cleaning something, fixing something. When he went through every village
preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God,
what did they do? Whatever was necessary, that's what. Just
like here. The same things that have to
be done here. Always in the ministry, it's the same, isn't it? There
are things that have to be taken care of. And these women, these
many women, they were more than willing to do it. I find that
to be true here too, don't you? Men have their place and women
have theirs. That's old fashioned. No, that's
just God's way. God's way doesn't go out of style.
There's a whole lot too many women acting like men and men
acting like women in society these days. And there's nothing
more disgusting than that. And I thank God for the godly
men that act like men, too. This is a good occasion to talk
about that. Quit yourselves like men, the scripture says. Be a
man. And thank God for the godly women.
Boy, we come across this in the scriptures. It's a good opportunity
to thank God for the godly women that he's given us. Thank God for them, you men.
And everybody, you children. And the ones who still are following
the Lord Jesus Christ and ministering unto him. Because see, when you
minister to us, you minister unto him. When you minister to
his church, you minister unto him. If you've done it to one
of the least of these, my brethren, you've done it unto me, he said.
And may he raise up many like these. There were many then.
And we got quite a few now. And the more the better. Well, let's look at verse 42
and read the next little passage
here. Mark 15, 42. And now, when the even was come,
because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,
Joseph of Arimathea, an honorable counselor which also waited for
the kingdom of God, came and went in boldly on the pilot and
craved the body of Jesus. That would take a little boldness,
wouldn't it? It wasn't a good time to be associated with Jesus
of Nazareth. But he came in there and said,
you know what, you've had your way with him now, give him to
me. I'm come for his body. That's pretty bold. And Pilate marveled if he were
already dead. It wasn't unusual for folks to
hang on the cross for a long time, days sometimes. And he called on him the centurion
and he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And when he knew it of the centurion,
he gave the body to Joseph. It surprised Pilate that he was
already dead. And we know why. That's not mentioned
just in passing. We talked about it last week.
Our Lord gave up his spirit, and he did it in his time, on
his terms, his way. It was his prerogative to do
that. He wasn't clinging to life. He came there to die. And he
did it exactly when he came to do it. They tried to kill him many times
before, but he said, my hour's not yet come. And when it did,
He deliberately bowed his head and gave up his spirit. And Pilate marveled. But he gave the body to Joseph.
He bought fine linen and took him down and wrapped him in the
linen. He took him down. Can you imagine
that? Taking the body of the Lord Jesus Christ down from that
cross. What that involved. Do you ever
think about things like that? He had to get those nails out
of there, out of that wood somehow. Maybe he somehow had some help
and they lifted the cross and laid it down. I don't know. He
got him off of that cross somehow. And he had gone beforehand and
bought some fine linen. and laid him in a sepulcher.
He wrapped him in that linen and laid him in a sepulcher,
a grave which was hewn out of a rock. He rolled a stone under
the door of the sepulcher and Mary Magdalene and Mary, the
mother of Joses, beheld where he was laid. There they are. There they are. Where was the
Apostle Peter then? I don't know. I know where they were. You see
the lesson here now? Where are we? Where are we? That's
the question. Did you notice in this passage
how our Lord was referred to twice as the body? The body. And there is a sense in which
it was just a body. Just. a body. It was a very important body
though wasn't it? There's some teaching here now that I think
is important that we we don't often hear. It was just a body
in the sense that his spirit had left that body for a time
but I'd say this was a precious body. Joseph treated it as such
didn't he? He bought fine linen and he washed
him and he prepared his body for burial and And he put him
in that grave that no doubt cost some money too. The Lord wouldn't
be needing it long, but it was provided there for him. And as I say, there's
a sense his body was just a body in a sense. His body would be
changed, but it would still be that same
body. Different, but the same. And this is true of us, too.
And this is something I never have really understood fully
before. I'm sure I don't understand it
fully now, but the Lord taught me something I believe here.
When we die, we say, well, that's not Chris in that casket down
there. And you'll be right to say that. That's true. But Christ,
the Lord Jesus Christ, has redeemed this body. It's just a body now. I'm not in that body anymore,
but I will be. You say, well, no, it won't be
that same body. Oh, yeah, it will. It'll be different, but
it'll be the same body. It will have been changed, but
not exchanged. Does that make any sense? He's
not going to exchange a new body for my old. He's going to change
this one. He's going to change our vile bodies and make them
like into his glorious body. This was a blessing to me to
see this. He redeemed this body. He redeemed my soul, of course,
but he redeemed me body and soul. When my spirit is gone from this
body, you may well say, that's not Chris and that's just a body.
I've said that and it's true in a sense, but it's an important
body to him. He shed his precious blood for
me, body and soul. And he's going to raise it incorruptible
one of these days. He bought it and paid for it
and he wants it with him. And he's going to have it with
him. What he wants he gets. What he paid for he'll receive.
And that's just a blessing. Let's turn to 1 Corinthians 15
and look at this. This is a blessing to me. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 35. Some man will say, somebody's
always gonna say something, aren't they, about the truth. How are
the dead raised up? Somebody's always saying how,
aren't they? We talk about the Lord being made sin and how that
he became what I am so that I could be what he is, the righteousness
of God. We talk about him burying our sins in his own body. And
people say, how can that be? Well, people are always asking
how, aren't they? And with what body do they come?
You know what Paul said about that? Thou fool. I've never answered to that.
Well, I may have called somebody a fool one time or another, but
it's just a fool calling a fool, calling somebody else a fool. That which thou sowest is not
quickening except it die. There can't be life without death. You say, well,
it's impossible for somebody to be raised from the dead. It
happens all the time. You see it in nature. And that which
thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but
bare grain, and it may chance of wheat or of some other grain.
But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every
seed his own body. I'll tell you this, I don't know
a lot about it, but I know whatever pleases God, that's the way it
is. Whatever God wants to do, that's what he'll do. All flesh
is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men,
another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, another of birds. There are also celestial bodies
and bodies terrestrial, but the glory of the celestial is one
and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun
and another glory of the moon. We just sang about that. Another
glory of the stars, but we know who's all glorious. Jesus shines
brighter, doesn't he? I love that little song because
it's just such a simple song of praise and adoration of him. Another glory of the star, one
star different from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection
of the dead. It is sown in corruption. It
is raised in incorruption. It's flesh that goes in the ground,
and it'll be flesh that comes up, but a different kind. A different
kind. One that's more glorious than
what it was before. Like unto His glorious body. That's about as glorious as it
gets. That's what this body is going to be one of these days.
This body. It is sown and it is raised. The same body that's sown is
the same body that's raised. You see that? It is sown in dishonor. It's raised in glory. It is sown
in weakness. It's raised in power. It is sown
a natural body and is raised a spiritual body. There is a
natural body and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, the
first man Adam was made a living soul. The last Adam was made
a quickening spirit. In Adam all died but in Christ
all whom he represented are made alive. How be it that was not
first which is spiritual but that which is natural and afterward
that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth
earthy. The second man is the Lord from
heaven. And as is the earthy such are they also that are earthy.
We're just like our father Adam. Man begets man just like everything
begets its own kind. And as is the heavenly I tell
you that we're begotten again of God Almighty from above spiritually. And when that comes to fruition
it's going to be another kind of body another kind of flesh.
But it's the same body. Such are they as is the heavenly
such are they also that are heavenly. In other words we're going to
be like the last Adam. then we're gonna be like him, like the Lord
Jesus. We're like the first Adam now. We're gonna be like the
heavenly then. And as we have borne the image
of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
David said, I'll be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. I reckon I will too. Now this
I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God. Not like we are now, we're not
going. Neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold,
I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed. Whether you're alive or dead.
We saw this in 1 Thessalonians, didn't we? Whether we're alive
or dead, it doesn't matter much, does it? Whether when our Lord
comes back, whether I'm alive still, or whether my body's in
the grave. What does matter, Paul said there in 1 Thessalonians
5, is that Christ died for us so that whether we're alive or
dead, we're going to be with him. That's what matters. And either way, we're gonna be
changed because he redeemed us. Because he bought us, we're gonna
bear his, he's begotten us again. We're gonna bear his image, whether
we're alive or dead. In an earthly sense, We're all
gonna be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at
the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. I love that word, don't you?
You think about everything about yourself now that just makes
you sick, and then think about this word, changed, changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
that which is already decreed. It ain't all gonna come to pass,
isn't it? Saying that is written, death
is swallowed up in victory. It's gonna come to pass. It's
already done in his purpose. He's already destroyed death
by His precious blood by what he did on the cross. But we're
going to experience it then. Like we never have before. Oh,
death, where is that sting? Oh, grave, where is that victory?
The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brother,
be steadfast and unmovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord. For as much as you know that your labor is not in vain
in the Lord. We know how this ends. And it
makes us wanna roll up our sleeve, doesn't it? Oh, by God, I pray that that's
true. I pray that that's true. But that body, that body, think
of the significance of our Lord being the body in our text. And then turn to Hebrews chapter
10. Hebrews chapter 10 Because that
body was sown just like ours will be it went into the grave
just like ours will We're gonna come out of the grave
too just like he did and we're gonna be just like him He redeemed
our body He's going to make it like his body. Hebrews 10, 1.
For the law, having a shadow of good things to come and not
the very image of the things, can never, with those sacrifices
which they offered year by year, continually make the comers thereunto
perfect. For then would they have not
ceased to be offered, because that the worshipers once purged
should have had no more conscience of sins. The fact that they offered
sacrifices daily and they went in on the Day of Atonement every
year into the most holy place, that teaches us something. Those sacrifices can't take away
sin. This whole passage here shows
the importance of the body. The body. Those sacrifices can't
do it. But in those sacrifices, there
is a remembrance again made of sins every year. and all the
time really but especially once a year on the day of atonement
he's talking about for it is not possible that the blood of
bulls and goats should take away sin therefore when he cometh
into the world you see all of those sacrifices that were ever
offered from the beginning of time and Abel in the very beginning
offered blood sacrifice to the Lord think of all the thousands
the millions of animals that were slain birds and goats and
bulls and calves and sheep for different types of offerings
but they couldn't get it done nothing could atone for our sin
wherefore when he cometh into the world he saith sacrifice
and offering thou wouldest not those things were ordained of
God but he's not satisfied with those things that's not what
makes atonement for sin but a body thou hast prepared me now we're
talking Now the Son of God has a body, and it's going to be
offered for sin. And what every other sacrifice
couldn't do, He is once for all going to accomplish by His one
death in time at Calvary, His one offering for sin. He's going
to perfect forever everybody He came to sanctify with that
precious blood. That's what he's saying here.
A body that has prepared me in burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin that has had no pleasure. You know what that equals for
us? No pleasure on God's part equals hell for me. Then, when it looked hopeless,
then when there was nothing that could atone for my sin, then
when nobody was found worthy to open the book, then said I,
lo, here I come. Here I come. Be ye lift up ye
everlasting gates. The Lord of Glory is coming in
now. And he said, I'm coming in the volume of the book. This
whole book is about it. That's how important this is.
That body that Joseph took down from the cross. This whole book
concerns who he is and why he was the body. And what he accomplished. there
on that cross that he was taken down from. In the whole volume
of this entire book, it is written of me, lo, I come to do thy will,
O God. To do everything that we didn't
do. God expressed his will to us in his law, we tore it up.
We literally broke it. In every way it can be broken.
But the Son of God said, out here I come to do thy will, to
keep thy law and to obey you in the covenant of grace, in
the terms of the covenant of grace, wherein I become surety
for your people that you gave me. The ones you gave me, they're
yours and they're mine. You gave them to me and I'm not
gonna lose any of them. I'm coming to do your will concerning
them. Above when he said sacrifice
and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest
not neither had pleasure therein which are offered by the law
then said he lo I come. Paul had to go over it again
didn't he it was just so blessed so so incredible so amazing to
him. I come to do that will oh God
he taketh away the first that he may establish the second by
the which will we're made holy. By Christ doing the will of God
and obeying Him in all of His law, in every jot and tittle,
and in laying down His life for His sheep, now we're holy. Because Christ did the will of
God. Because of what He accomplished in all of His life and in His
sin atoning death, I am sanctified through the offering of, you
see those next two words? The body. That's what we're talking
about. Because Joseph took the body
down. Because that body was there to
take down. Because of what he did. When that body was prepared
for him and he came and became bone of my bone and flesh of
my flesh. And became my representative.
Became my last Adam. Became my surety. Became my sin
offering. Obeyed God's will in all of that.
Now I'm holy before God. That's the result. That was the point of the day
of atonement at one with God. But it was truly accomplished.
That was just a shadow. The substance is Christ and what
he did on Calvary and through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. I'm holy because he made that
offering for sin for me for me for me it is enough we sing that
Jesus died and that he died for me he offered his body and soul
he made his soul an offering for sin and body and that body
also I was going to read another passage this will be your homework
Hebrews 2 8 through 18 turn to that and read it to you this
is such a blessed thing to see that body his body it was can
you imagine what it looked like when when Joseph took it down
off the cross can you imagine It was bruised and cut and torn
by God's decree now and by God's will. Not a bone of it was broken.
But it probably looked like it was. It was so torn. He crushed
his son on the cross. But Joseph washed all the blood
off of it. Can you imagine? And wrapped
it in that fine linen that he had bought and laid him in that
tomb. And it says there that those
two Marys beheld where he was laid. And when our Lord was risen
three days later, who was it that discovered that glorious
truth first? The two Marys. We read it there
in Matthew 28 a while ago. And let me say this in closing,
you ladies, you godly women whom the Lord has given great faith,
He's blessed you. He's had mercy on you. He's given
you life. He's caused you to fall in love
with him. He's forgiven much. And by his
grace, you love much. So much that you'll never leave
his side. These women, they never left
him, did they? They never left him. They followed
him all the way to the cross. And when he was laid in that
grave, they watched him. They watched the place where he was
laid. They were interested. And then when he rose, they were
there. They were still there. That's just a blessing to me.
You've been forgiven much and you love much. Let me say this,
when the men that you love are acting like impetuous fools and
are absent from their rightful place like these men in the scripture
were, let's just call it what it is. They forsook the Lord and fled.
Have any of you men ever done that? When we do, when we've forsaken
the Lord and fled, and when we're sad for all the wrong reasons,
like those ones on the road to Emmaus, you ladies come to us and tell
us what these ladies whisper in our ear, the Lord Jesus Christ
is risen. Do you see how that news is just
as relevant today as it was then? When I'm sad, I need to remember
that the Lord is exactly who He said He was, who He is, and
He's doing exactly what He said He would do. Remind me what He did for me
and that He lives. And that ought to do it for me.
Let's not be weary, brethren, and faint in our hearts. Remember
how this all ends. Remember what we read there.
And don't be weary in well-doing. And remember for whom we do what
we do. Listen to what Paul said in Ephesians
6.10. He said, Finally, my brethren,
be strong in the Lord. Be strong in the Lord and in
the power of His might. Now, I might, by His grace, just
be able to obey that. If it said be strong in yourself, that wouldn't help me much. But if a sinner can be strong
in the Lord, then may the Lord make it so of us. Be strong in
the Lord and in the power of His might.
And when we're not strong, you ladies be strong for us. And maybe the Lord will strengthen
us and give us grace to honor Him as we see in this text. Thank God a body was prepared
for Him. And that body was nailed to a
cross. And the Lamb of God, once for all, Offered his himself
body and soul for my sin there. And then he was taken down and
put in a grave. For three days. And rose again
for my justification. Thank God for reminding us as
these women came and told these men that. Remind us who he is
and what he did and where he is now and what he's doing. Thank God for that body, for my Lord Jesus Christ and
all that he did for a wretch like me. Let's pray together.