I want to take a text in 1 Corinthians
chapter 15, if you would turn there with me. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. My text will be in verse 4, but
I'd like to begin reading in verse 1. In 1 Corinthians 15. Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, and you have received
it, and wherein you stand, by which also you are saved, if
you keep in memory what I have preached unto you, unless you
have believed in vain." For I delivered unto you, first of all, that
which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he arose the
third day according to the Scriptures." The Apostle Paul came down here
to Corinth and he preached the gospel. of the Lord Jesus, His
grace. That's all He ever preached,
was Christ in Him crucified. And Paul said, you received the
Gospel that I preached. You received it into your heart.
You come to feel your need of it. And you received it. You received the Lord Jesus Christ.
And you were saved. You didn't go get the Gospel.
It came to you. You received it and you were
saved by it. And he said, to this day, you
stand in it. You walk in it. You run in it.
You're saved by this gospel. You receive it. And then he tells
us how he got this gospel. He said, I received it too. You
were taught it by me. He said, but nobody taught me.
No man taught me this gospel. I neither received it of man,
neither was I taught it by man. Peter did not teach him the gospel.
John did not teach him the gospel. He received it by the revelation
of the Lord Jesus Christ directly from heaven. And he said, it
saved me too. That's my hope. The gospel I
preach to you, I'm saved by it. I stand in it, I walk in it.
And he mentions three things here, Bible aspects of the gospel. Everything, everything is Bible
to the gospel. If it's written in the Word,
it's vital. Everything that Christ said was
vital to be said. Everything he did was vital to
be done. But he mentions these three particular
things here in verses 3 and verse 4. He says that he died for our
sins according to the scriptures. And that he was buried and rose
again the third day according to the scriptures. Now this is
one aspect of the gospel that you and I probably don't think
much about. And that is the burial of Christ. It's recorded in all four of
the gospels. That he died. And he was buried, and then the
third morning he arose again. And we often think of the miracle
in the death of Christ. The fact that he could die, that's
a miracle in itself. How can life die? We handled
him, John said. We know who he was. He was the
word of life. That's why he said, nobody takes
my life from me. I lay it down. I give it. I get it. That's a miracle in
itself. Why He died is a miracle. He
died for our sins. He died to atone for our sins. He died to satisfy justice. He died. Isn't it a miracle that
He arose again? Three days and three nights and
He arose again. What a miracle that is. But you
know, there is some miraculous things attached to His death,
His burial too. His burial is miraculous. I want you to look at a couple
of places in Scripture with me. I want you to look over in Acts
chapter 13. Keep your Bibles handy and turn
to three or four Scriptures with me if you would. He not only
died according to the Scriptures, He arose according to the Scriptures,
but you know He was buried according to the Scriptures. Isaiah 53
tells us that he made his grave with a wicked. Most commentaries
don't know exactly how to interpret that. He made his grave with
a wicked. Nobody was in that sepulcher
but Jesus Christ. Nobody had ever been there before,
and when he lay in there, he lay there by himself. Some of
the commentaries say when he said he made his grave with a
wicked, the wicked probably was buried nearby. Those two thieves,
they were making preparations for the Passover, so they may
have well buried them by the sepulcher. However we interpret
that, there's one thing for sure that verse teaches us. He had
a grave. He was indeed buried according
to the Scripture. And the Lord Jesus said, as Jonah
was three days and three nights in that whale's belly, so must
the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth. If you and I ever wondered why
God prepared a fish to swallow Jonah and take him down into
the bottom of the mountains, now we know. The only reason
He did that, if no other reason, it was to show us a picture.
of the burial of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when Paul said that
he died and was buried and rose again according to the Scriptures,
he means the Old Testament Scriptures. They proved everything by the
Scriptures. Here in Acts chapter 13, Paul was preaching, and as
he always did, he would make a statement, a statement of truth,
a fact, and then he would prove it by Scripture. And he was speaking
here of the death, the burial, and resurrection of Christ. And
look in Acts chapter 13, and look here in verse 28. Here's
the first thing about the burial of Christ that is miraculous. Paul mentions it here in verse
28 of Acts 13. This is the message he preached
at Antioch. And though they found no cause
of death in him, Yet desired they Pilate that he should be
slain. And when they had fulfilled all
that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and
laid him in a sepulchre, a grave. But God raised him from the dead. He was seen many days of them
which come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, their witnesses
unto the people. And we declare unto you, glad
tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their children, in that he
hath raised up Jesus again, as is written in the second psalm,
Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And concerning
that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to
corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies
of David, Wherefore, he said also in another psalm, Psalm
16, Thou will not suffer thine holy one to seek corruption. Now listen to this. For David,
after he had served his own generation by the will of God, he fell asleep. He died. and was laid unto his
father, he was buried, and he saw corruption, but he whom God
raised again saw no corruption." Isn't that a miracle? That had
never happened before, and it's never happened since. He saw
no corruption. I had a cousin of mine. I don't
know why he didn't want to be involved, but he said, I don't
want you taking the blood out of my body. And they said, well,
sir, the funeral home said, as soon as you die, you better call
us. Because your wife is not wanting
to go to look at your dead body while you begin to turn black. They tell us as soon as the spirit
leaves the body, The tissue begins to break down. It begins to discolor. It begins to decay almost immediately. But it's not so with the Son
of God. Paul said he lay in the tomb
for three days and he saw no corruption. And he tells us why. He was the Holy One. You take absolute holiness. Absolute holiness. And you can't
corrupt it. It's amazing that the Lord Jesus
Christ came into this world, that He took the sins of all
His people and bore them in His own body on the tree. And when
He took those sins, He took all the consequences of those sins.
Some person said he took the guilt, but he didn't take the
sin. You can't take guilt until you first take sin. And when
the Lord Jesus took that sin in His own body, He bore all
the consequences of that sin. Cursed of God. Forsaken of God. And He died that way. He says
it's finished and gave up the ghost. But you know something?
He was as holy in His death. as he was in his birth. When he left his mother's womb,
the angel said, he's a holy thing. And he associated with sinners,
handled lepers, lived among the ungodly, but was not affected
by them. He was holy, harmless, and undefiled. That's why he did not corrupt.
He is the Holy Lamb. Someone said the Son of God was
as holy. Listen to this. The Son of God
was as holy in His humanity as He was in His divinity. He was a holy man. Being man,
even a dead man, that lay in the grave for three days, made
him no less holy than God. Ain't that miraculous? That's
miraculous. Embalm me, do the best job you
can, and make me pretty for my dear wife and others to come
and look upon me. Oh, for heaven's sake, don't
keep me out long without embalming me. Because I'm going to see
corruption. The worms are going to start
eating on the inside of my body. But not him. He's the Holy One. I want you to look in another
place. Look in Acts chapter 2. Peter preached almost this same
message. He quoted this very same passage
as Paul just quoted from Psalms chapter 16. He tells us here in Acts chapter
2. In verses 23, beginning in verse
23, he tells us the same thing Paul told us. Look in Acts chapter
2. But he adds a verse. He quotes
the same scripture. He tells us here in verse 23,
him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, you have taken and by wicked hands you've crucified him and
slain him. God raised him from the dead,
having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that
he should be wholen from it. And then he goes on in verse
25, and he begins to prove the death of Christ and why it was
not possible for death to wholeness. And he says it like this. For
David speak concerning him. I foresaw the Lord always before
my face. He's on my right hand that I
should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice
and my tongue was glad. My flesh shall rest in hope."
Who said that? Jesus Christ said that. He was
a man of faith. He lived by hope upon his father.
I'm going to die, my father. I'm going to commit my spirit
to you. I'm going to commit my body to
you. And you're going to raise it up the third day. And Peter goes down in verse
30. Look at this. And here's the verse he uses.
Therefore being a prophet, David was a prophet, and knowing that
God had sworn with him, sworn with an oath to him, that of
the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise
up Christ and sit on his throne. He seeing this beforehand, spake
of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in
hell, in the place of the dead, neither did his flesh see corruption. It tells us another reason why
it was impossible for Christ to seek corruption, even though
he lay in the grave. It said the Father swore, God
swore to David, of the fruit of your body will Christ rise
up to sit on your throne. I've got one more scripture I
want you to turn to. I want you to see what David
said about that oath. Here was the verse of Scripture
where Peter said, God swore to David, of the fruit of your body,
I'll raise up Christ to sit on you. Look how David said it.
Look in Psalms 132 and verse 11. I saw this one day and my heart
leaped in me for joy when I saw this. Look in Psalms 132 and
look in verse 11. Here is that oath that Peter
said, God swore to David. Look what he says. 132 and verse
11. The Lord, that's all capitals,
we know who that is, don't we? That's the eternal, all-sufficient
God. That's Jehovah. The Lord hath
sworn in truth unto David, he will not turn from it. Of the
fruit of thy body will I set. Who's that talking? That's the
eternal God. That's the All-Sufficient, that's
the Lord of Glory, the Creator of all things. And he said, David,
I will sit upon your throne myself. Brothers and sisters, who was
that in that grave? Well, there's the Son of God
in His humanity. Yes, but who is the Son of God?
He's God the Son. Is He not? One dear man, and
I love him dearly, but he said we should never say that God
was made flesh. What are we to say then? Who
was made flesh if it wasn't God? He said we should say the Son
of God. Who is the Son of God? He's the
second person in the glorious, divine Trinity. He is God, is
He not? And who is sitting on the throne
today? You say Jesus of Nazareth. Yes,
He is. And who is He? The Lord. My soul
then, no wonder, no wonder he saw no corruption. He's the Lord
in our humanity. Now, I want you to turn to one
more place, and we'll stay here. In John chapter 19, turn there
quickly with me if you will, and I'll stay here. I want to
see something just a few minutes, and it won't take me long, I
promise. I want to see some things quickly that the burial of Christ
suggests to our minds. What does it suggest to our minds,
to our thoughts, when we think that he was buried? I want to read the account of
his burial in John chapter 19, and let's begin here in verse
38, a very familiar passage. And after this, after he was
crucified, Joseph went and begged his body. 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, and he came, therefore, and took
the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus,
which was at the first came to Jesus by night, And he brought
a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus
and wound it up in linen, linen clothes with the spices, as the
manner of the Jews is to bury." Now 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 they laid Jesus. Therefore, because of the Jews'
preparation day, for the sepulcher was nigh at hand." First of all,
what does his burial suggest to us? Is it not further proof,
further evidence that he really died? Now, somebody might say,
Bruce, if the scripture says he dies, I just believe it. Oh,
I do too. I do too. But if the Holy Spirit
is willing to give us father evidence to strengthen our faith,
wouldn't we accept that? And here is just the father evidence
that he did indeed die. He was dead. These two men came
and I imagine they went to the cross. They were probably the
ones that actually took him down from the cross. We know they
handled him. They felt him. They wound him
up in this linen cloth and put this napkin about his head. Put these spices in there. Do
you think if he had any life at all in him, they would have
detected it? Well, sure they would have. And
if they had detected life in him, they would have never buried
him. Friends don't bury friends unless they're dead, do they?
They just don't do it. You bury friends because you
know they're dead and you put them out of your sight. One man
suggested that if Christ had not have been dead, He would
have been when they wound Him in all of this stuff so tight
and bound the napkin about His head. No, He was dead. He was
buried. And they buried Him because He
was dead. Secondly, the burial of Christ
suggests this to us. He was buried in a garden. Now, isn't it strange? I've always
thought this is strange, that in the place where they crucified
men, there was a garden. You wonder, why is a garden in
a place of execution? And why is a sepulcher there
in the garden? That's amazing. But I think these
things suggest some things to our mind, and one of the things
is this. Jesus Christ is a true representative
of his people. You say, Bruce, why do you say
that? Where was it death entered the human race? Was it not in a garden? Well,
sure it was. Sin entered, and death by sin,
and that death took place there in the garden. Adam was in the
garden when he disobeyed, and disobeying he died, and you and
I all died in him. That's the way Genesis began. I never will forget a message
you preached one time, Henry. Never will forget this. First
time I ever heard that. I've said it so many times, but Henry
is the first one I ever heard say that. He said Genesis begins
with telling us that God put man in a garden. And he gave
him life, gave him righteousness, created him upright, but he disobeyed
and he died. That's the way Genesis began.
And Henry said, you know how it ends? You know how the book
of Genesis ends? The very last chapter and the
very last verse of the book of Genesis says this, Joseph died
and they put him in a coffin down in Egypt. That's our life story, isn't
it? That's humanity's life story. And I'm telling you, brothers
and sisters, that's where it would have ended. It would have
ended in utter despair, facing a dark eternity, if you and I
was found in our first representative. But we didn't despair, because
we have another representative who came. And lo and behold,
he dies, and he's buried. And where is it? In a garden. In a garden. What a fitting representative
we have. Our first one disobeyed in a
garden, and he died. Our second representative was
obedient even unto the death of the cross, and he delivered us from death. Our Lord Jesus was such a fitting
representative in all that he did. He was tempted in all points
as we are. Are you a man of sorrow? So was
he. Are you full of grief? So was
he. But even unto his death and in
his burial, he was our representative. Did we die? So did he. Did they
put Joseph in a coffin? They'll put you there. But that's
where they put him. And it all took place in a garden. Somebody said death took the
throne in a garden, and death was dethroned in a garden. Death got the victory in the
garden, and death was defeated in a garden. O death, where is
thy sting? Oh death, I'll be your plague.
Oh grave, I'll be your victory. And repentance shall be hid from
my eyes. In a garden, it all took place. What a fitting representation.
We wonder how a garden could be located there at the cross.
It had to be. It had to be. It had to take
place in a garden. That's the first thing it suggests
to us, what a fitting. The burial of Christ represents
something else to us. Doesn't it represent this? The
grave, the grave that we often dread and fear. The grave can be and should be
for the children of God a sweet and desirable place to lay down
and rest for a season. The reason I say that is found
here in verse 39 and 40. Look at this. And then came Nicodemus,
which came to him by night. And look at this. He brought
a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred-pound weight. That's a tremendous amount. Then
tucked away the body of Jesus and wound it in linen cloth with
the spices as the manner of the Jews is to bury. I read a verse about King Asa.
If you read about the kings of Judah, there was a King Asa.
And we read about his burial. And let me read a verse of Scripture
about his burial. King Asa died, and he was laid
in his sepulcher in the city of David, and they laid him in
a bed filled with sweet odors and diverse kinds of spices. prepared by the apothecaries. The reason they brought this
hundred pound of spices, they used that to bury people with.
What it did, it removed the stench of death. When the body began
to decay, these spices were so mixed that that would override
the stink of death. Well, there was no stink of death
in this tomb anyway. But can you imagine when that
stone was rolled away. Can you imagine the aroma that
came from that little separate? Oh, my goodness. What a sweet,
desirable place to be. The angel said to those timid
women, you want to come in and see where he laid? Oh, no, my
goodness, no. Why? Can you imagine when they went
in there? Oh, what a sweet odor that is. What a sweet smell that is. No
death, no decay. Aroma filled the place. The bitterness of it is gone.
We know that. The sting of it is gone. But
it's more than that. This burial of Christ with all
these spices suggests to us that the grave is now a pleasant place. The Holy Spirit said it like
this, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. And Paul said
it like this. He said, I have a desire to depart. Paul, don't you know what that
means? They're going to have to bury your body. Did he fear that? Well, no. He said, I desire that. I desire
for this body to be put back in the grave to rest. It's not
going to hurt. Nothing's going to harm it. How
do we know that? Well, this burial of Christ suggests
to us that the grave was not only feeded and robbed of its
victory, but it's just a sweet place to lay down. Richard Baxter. Some people don't like him, but
I like him. What I've read about him, I like him. And he said,
death is an unnatural thing. God never made us to die. And
he said, if you take a man up on a high building, and you wrap
cords around him and secure him ever so well, if you stick him
out the window and suspend him there, he's going to be afraid.
Because it's not natural. It's just not natural. Death
is not natural. It ain't natural for the body
and the soul to be severed. But you know something? The dread
of it's been removed. Christ was buried. And all he
left behind, brothers and sisters, was the sweet aroma. Lay down and rest. No wonder
he said, Lazarus is asleep. They said, Lord, if he's asleep,
why don't we go away? He said, oh, my soul. He said,
how long am I going to have to bear with you fellas? He's dead.
But he said, the language of heaven is, he's asleep. He's
just resting. This place was full of aroma.
I desire it. I'm 61 years old. I desire to lay down. Lay down
and rest. Ain't nothing there to hurt you.
Go see the place where he laid. Smell the tomb. What a pleasant
place. Blessed are the dead that die
in the Lord. His burial quickly suggests something
else. He was buried in a garden. What does that suggest to us?
I noticed when I got over to Paul's yesterday afternoon, he
showed me some big wooden boxes that he's going to plant a garden
in. Ten or twelve, fourteen, several
huge boxes. He's going to have a big garden.
He's going to fill them full of soil, and he's going to plant
a garden in all those boxes. And what he'll do, he'll stir
up that soil and he'll take a few bean seeds, don't have to have
many, and he'll put them down in the soil and they'll germinate. And boy, he'll pick bushels of
beans off of those few seeds. Tomatoes, you'll freeze tomatoes
or canned tomatoes and you'll eat on them all. When the Lord Jesus Christ died
and was buried, that suggests to us, out of that death and
out of that burial is going to come fruit. In the twelfth chapter of John,
he says this, a very familiar verse, except a corn of wheat
fall into the ground and die. Well, he died and fell into the
ground. But if it doesn't die and fall into the ground, it
abideth alone. If the Lord Jesus had stayed
in heaven, if the Son of God had stayed in heaven, He could
have had the company of angels, but He could have never had our
company. He could have never had humanity
with Him. But if it dies, If it's put in the ground, it bringeth
forth much fruit. I see some of it. I see it. If
I'll be lifted up, I'll draw all men to me, all my elects
coming to me. That's the fruit of my being
lifted up. And I see it. Don't you see it?
How many of you tonight have been drawn to the Lord Jesus
Christ? And boy, there's coming a day.
Bless God for the hope of it. What a day that will be when
the Lord Jesus Christ comes again. And He raises His dead saints. And He changes those that are
alive and remain. And you know what He says about
them? There are many of them. bringing many sons into glory. And the Scripture says, Jesus
Christ is the firstfruits. If there's first, there's got
to be a bunch coming after any. I watch my garden. I put out
a garden with my neighbor, and I have to watch the tomatoes.
My neighbor always wants the first one. And she's an old lady,
and I always let her have it. Because you know what I think? That's the first one. But there's
a bunch coming behind that one. Christ is the first one who came
out of the grave, but He's just the firstfruits. He's taken heaven. He's possessed it now on the
behalf of His people. And His entrance there ensures
there's old fruit. Fruit. Fifthly, It suggests this, and
this is the last thing. I'll stop with it. The burial
of Christ suggests this. What he left in the grave. Look one more chapter. Look in chapter 20. What he left
in the grave suggests something to us. Look in verse 5 of chapter
20. This is where they came to the
tomb. It's separate. Peter and John. And they stooping
down, looking in, saw the linen clothes lying, yet he went not
in. John went not in. Then come Peter,
following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeing the
linen clothes lie. And the napkin that was about
his head, not lined with the linen clothes, but wrapped together
in a place by itself. What did the Lord Jesus Christ
leave in his grave? He left the grave clothes. He left the grave clothes. He
left the linen that had him wrapped up tight. He left this napkin
that was about his head. Now, what does that suggest to
you and me? You remember when Lazarus was
called from the grave? Remember what was said of him?
Remember what was said of him? It said that he that was dead
came forth from the tomb, and he was bound hand and foot with
grave clothes, and his face was bound about with a napkin. What does grave clothes suggest
to us? Doesn't it suggest bondage? He was bound. When the Lord Jesus
was raised from the dead, the bondage was gone. The grave clothes
was left in the tomb. The napkin that blinded his eyes,
it was gone. The linen that bound his hands
and feet, it was gone. It was all in the grave. He left
it there. And when he went to heaven, he
took nothing with him. of this earth, but a glorified
humanity. And you can see poor Lazarus. I don't know how he got out of
that grave. I don't know if he tiptoed. I don't know if he floated. But can't you see him? He's alive. He's been dead for four days,
and now he's alive again. And there he stands on the outside
of that tomb. That napkin. He peeps. And there's the Savior. He just
sees it. But there He is. There He is.
He raised me from the dead. Bless His holy name. But he can
hardly see Him. Why? He's bound with a napkin
around His face. He sees His sisters. Oh, they're
astonished. They're full of joy. And He sees
that a little bit. And don't you think He'd love
to run? And just embrace the Lord Jesus and say, oh, thank
you, I love you. Hold his feet. But he couldn't.
He was bound with these grave clothes. He could not. And the
Lord Jesus finally said to them that stood by, go loose him and
let him go. Get those grave clothes off of
him. Don't that suggest something
to us, brothers and sisters? Here you and I are tonight. And
we're bound with these grave clothes. Our fallen humanity, this vile,
corruptible flesh, this old man, he binds us up. He blinds our eyes that we can't
see. Isn't that so? Don't you feel
it? Oh, you would see the Lord Jesus,
would you not? How often you go pouring over
a verse of Scripture, and you just can't hardly get that old
napkin back. You just see a little bit of
Him there in the verse. You say, there He is. I can't
see Him very plainly, but I know that's Him. And suddenly, sometimes
He appears to you, and then He's gone. You'll see him in a verse of
Scripture, and your heart burns within you. But it's just for
a moment, is it not? And you're saying, oh, I wish
I could see his face. I wish I could read this map
to him that blinds and blinds my eyes. And around your feet,
wouldn't you love to follow him fully? Wouldn't you love to embrace
him and kiss him with the kisses of his mouth? Why don't you?
You can't get to him. You're bound. You're in bondage.
This mortality. Paul made a wonderful statement. He said the creature shall be
delivered from the bondage of corruption. Paul said this. He said, I'm
now ready to be offered, and the time of my release is come. My release. What a hope that we have, brothers
and sisters. Someday, someday, at the resurrection, when the
Lord Jesus speaks and we come out of the grave, All the grave clothes will be
left in there. And we'll see him face to face. David said, I shall behold his
face in righteousness. And I'll never be satisfied until
that happens. Job said, though skin worms devour
this body, in my flesh I shall see God. I'll see Him for myself.
You're not going to have to preach Him to me there. You're not going
to have to tell about it. I'll see Him. And the Holy Ghost
said they shall all see His face. And Brother Scott used to say,
with undimmed eyes. With undimmed eyes. There was a preacher that asked
Fannie Crosby one time. He said, Ms. Crosby, he said,
it's so sad that all the gifts God gave to you, He didn't give
you sight. And she said, sir, that's not
a pity. She said, if He left it up to
me to do all over, I would choose not to be able to see anybody's
face. The first face I want to see,
she said. And then she wrote that song,
I shall see him face to face and tell the story saved by grace. If he left his grave clothes
in the grave, you will too. And all that you'll take to heaven
with you is a glorified humanity. And you'll see Him there as you
long to see Him here and could not for this wretched napkin
about your eyes. You'll see His beauty. You'll
see His glory. You'll see His love. You'll see
all His saving attributes that you long to see here and could
not. And you'll see Him as He is. Sometimes we misjudge Him, do
we not? We misjudge His providence. We're
like those poor disciples. Lord, don't you care that we
perish? Oh, but in that day, we'll not misjudge Him. We'll
know Him because we shall see Him as He is. Christ was buried. And someday soon, you and I will
be buried. But we'll be buried with a hope. With a hope that all we're going
to do is wait. to receive the fruit of his labors. Christ was buried. Thank you,
Pastor.