if you will, to Luke chapter
24. Luke, the 24th chapter. Because of silly superstition,
because of man's guilt and sin, he's subject to many silly superstitions. People generally feel a little
uncomfortable around cemeteries, graveyards. I remember when I
was a boy, I guess it was just part right of passage in those
days, younger kids, especially boys, had to suffer great abuse
at the hand of the older boys. And as a young boy, they'd take
you to a cemetery and leave you and scare the wits out of you.
And then you'd get a little older and you'd take younger fellows
to the cemetery and leave them and scare the wits out of them.
I recall on one occasion, I was probably 16, and for what reason
I don't know, a friend of mine who was about 20 years old and
I were in the cemetery one night, and I found out he was scared.
It was the wrong thing to do. It just tormented the thought
of the death. But for me, a cemetery is a very
comfortable place. If I have a little time, I walk
around and look and read the inscriptions and read about people
and do a little thinking, especially where preachers are buried. I
spent some time at Bunn Hill Fields in London many years ago
looking up John Gill's cemetery grave and John Ripon, Owen Bunyan,
some of those men. I spent a little time just reflecting
and thinking. and praying for some wisdom from
God to follow the steps of such men. I read years ago somewhere someone
put this on a tombstone. Said, please view my tomb as
you pass by, for as you are, so once was I. And as I am, soon
you shall be. So make your plans to follow
me. We often speak of the empty tomb as proof of our Savior's
resurrection from the dead. And the fact that our Savior's
body left the tomb is clear evidence of his resurrection. After all,
they sent a guard around the tomb to make sure his disciples
didn't come steal away the body because they heard him say he
would rise again the third day. But really, The tomb of our Savior
wasn't empty. Let's read the first 12 verses
of Luke 24 together. And then I want to show you the
blessedness of the fact that our Savior's tomb was not empty. Now, upon the first day of the
week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher,
bringing the spices which they had prepared and certain others
with them. And they found the stone rolled
away from the sepulcher. And they entered in and found
not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they
were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them
in shining garments. And as they were afraid and bowed
down their faces to the earth, They said unto them, why seek
ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spake unto you
when he was yet in Galilee, saying the son of man must be delivered
into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third
day rise again. How often the Savior said that
to his disciples. But for the time their eyes were
blinded and their ears were stopped and they couldn't see and couldn't
hear. Why God prevented them from seeing
and hearing clearly what the Savior had told them, I cannot
know and I will not speculate. But the master told them repeatedly,
the son of man must go to Jerusalem and he must suffer many things
at the hands of the Gentiles and he must be put to death and
he must rise again the third day. And now the angel reminds
them and they remembered his words. And returned from the
sepulcher, verse nine, and told all these things unto the eleven
and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna,
and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with
them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their
words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them
not. And then Peter got to thinking, maybe this is also And he ran
to the sepulcher, and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes
laid by themselves, and departed wondering in himself at that
which was come to pass. We who believe on the Lord Jesus,
our crucified risen Redeemer, have entered into rest in him. The blessed Sabbath of faith
ceasing from our own works, resting in his redemptive work, resting
in his person, resting in his wisdom, goodness, and grace in
all matters with regard to grace and providence and everything
else. We rest in him because he is resting at the right hand
of the father. When he had by himself purged
our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on
high from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool. We rest in him because his work is all finished. He came to save his people from
their sins and he did it. He came to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself and he did it. He came to bring an everlasting
righteousness for somebody, and he did it. He came to conquer
Satan, death, hell, and the grave, and he did it. His resurrection
is the pledge that he has perfected forever them that are sanctified,
and the pledge of our resurrection. He's finished all the salvation
of his people, and we're complete in him. It is my prayer that
God the Holy Spirit will graciously calls you who yet know not our
Savior to enter into his rest. And it is my prayer in preaching
this message that God the Holy Spirit will graciously enable
you who are his once more to enter into his rest. My subject
this evening is comfort found in the tomb. Let's come again
to the tomb of our Redeemer. At the funeral home the other
day, one of the fellows who helps out there was a preacher down
the road here a while back, and he was just so gleeful he had
visited Jerusalem, Israel, and talked about the Holy Land. Well,
if I knew where the physical tomb of the Savior were, That
would be more holy than your tomb. It would be more holy than
your tomb. And visiting the physical tomb
wouldn't do you any spiritual good. It wouldn't have any benefit
to your soul. But I want us to come as God,
the Holy Spirit takes us in his word to this holy place, the
place where the Savior's body once laid and the place now left
by him and left by him with certain things. First, understand this. Christ Jesus, our Savior, once
died for our sins. He died the just for the unjust
that he might bring us to God. He died under sin once, but in
that he liveth, he liveth unto God. So as we gather around the
place where the Lord Jesus slept with the rich in his death, seeing
the stone on the road from the mouth of the tomb, We know he
is no longer there, yet he assuredly once was. He was crucified, dead,
and buried, as dead as anybody down there in the cemetery down
the road. There came a time when his ear
no longer heard, his hands no longer worked, his feet no longer
moved, His mouth no longer spoke because there was no pulse in
his body. Our Savior did not just appear
to die. He died in our room instead because
of our sins made his. He didn't merely appear to be
put to death any more than he merely appeared to be made sin.
He died under sin once because he was made sin for us. and therefore
was buried in the sepulcher. That's a fit place for a dead
man. That's a fit place for a dead
man. I recall back years ago, my dear mother, if you could
find something to worry about, she'd worry about it. And she
often said, when we die, there won't be enough money to bury
us. And she worried about that. And she said it one time too
many to me. I said, mom, I'll tell you something. When you
die, we'll get you in the ground soon. It won't take long. Somebody will put you in the
ground because that's a fit place for those who are dead, but blessed
be his name. Our savior who died is no longer
in this too. He's risen from the dead. And
we look upon him who is risen from the dead and see that as
God's declaration, God's public declaration that he who died
under sin once has by the sacrifice of himself put away our sins. Turn to the fourth chapter of
Romans, Romans chapter four. at the end of the chapter, verse
25. The Spirit of God says that Christ
was once delivered for our offenses. The word for means because of. Christ was delivered to the hands
of divine justice. Delivered over to death because
of our sins and was raised again. Again, the word for means because
of. Because of our justification. He fully justified us when he
cried, it is finished. And then he was raised from the
dead because he had accomplished that justification of our souls. He had put away our sins that
were made his. He had fully satisfied the justice
of God. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace, this grace
of freedom from sin, this grace of free justification, this grace
of perfect righteousness, wherein we stand, not wobble, but stand,
wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Rejoice in hope of everlasting
salvation because here we stand in Jesus Christ in grace without
sin Justified and righteous before God and not only so but we glory
in tribulation also knowing that tribulation worketh patience
and and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope
maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. For when
we were yet without strength in due time, at God's appointed
time, Christ died for the ungodly. Yea, scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward
us. God sets out his love before
our eyes. He shows his love to us. He commends his love to us in
this way. God commendeth his love toward
us. And that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. Oh, amazing love of God. While we were yet sinners, Christ
Jesus died for us. Verse 9. Much more then, much
more then, if this is so. If indeed, while we were sinners,
Christ died for us. If indeed, while we were enemies
to God, Christ died for us. If indeed, while we were lost
and undone and had no concern for God, his glory, or sin or
righteousness, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. That is to say, we have nothing
about which we should have concern. Nothing that should cause us
fear Nothing that should disturb our hearts and minds nothing
to make our souls uneasy if While we were sinners Christ died for
us much more than being justified Righteous in him we shall be
saved from wrath through him read on verse 10 For if when
we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son
Much more, much more being now reconciled. We shall be saved
by his life, his resurrection life, saved by him who is life,
who sits yonder on the throne of God. And not only so, but
we also join God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we
have now received the atonement. The atonement. Some folks don't
much care for the word atonement. They think that that's just an
Old Testament word and shouldn't really be used in the New Testament. It's usually translated reconciliation.
The translators gave us a good translation. Atonement means
at one with. At one with. The atonement in the Old Testament
was accomplished by blood sprinkled on the mercy seat, the blood
of the Paschal lamb sprinkled on the mercy seat, covering sin
ceremonially. The atonement we have received
was accomplished by Christ, our Redeemer, who took his blood,
the merit of his blood, entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us. And now in him. Oh, my soul rejoice. I am at one with God. I didn't accomplish this. I didn't
perform this. I had nothing to do with this.
But through his blood, I'm at one with God. And this I receive
by faith in him. Let me show you. Some of the
memorials are the fact that our blessed savior once was in the
tomb, dead, crucified for us, and he left some memorials for
us in the tomb. One more text before I give you
these. First Corinthians 15. First Corinthians
15. Moreover brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel. There's just one Just one I declare
to you the gospel Everything contrary to what he's about to
declare is another gospel Anything that does not include what he's
about to declare is another gospel It is a delusion if you walk
right across the street tonight and heard the fellow preaching
from the word of God, claiming to be God's servant, I'm telling
you, what you would hear is another gospel. It's another gospel. It is a false gospel. It is damning
to the souls of men. Paul said, I declare unto you,
first of all, what God gave me, the gospel, the gospel. There's not a Baptist gospel
and a papist gospel, a Methodist gospel and a Mormon gospel. There
is the gospel, the gospel of God, the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which I preached unto you, which also you have received
and wherein you stand, fixed, firmly established, by which
also ye are saved. By this gospel, you're saved. God, by the foolishness of preaching,
saves them that believe. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to give life to dead sinners. We're saved by
the preaching of the gospel, anointed by the power of God,
driven home to the heart by God, the Holy Spirit. Read on. By
which also you are saved if you keep in memory or hold fast what
I preached unto you, Unless you have believed in vain You hold
on to this You hold on to this You hold on to this if you let
go your religion was vain Your professed faith was meaningless.
We don't For I delivered unto you first of all that which I
also received H o w How? The gospel is not a declaration
of the fact that Jesus Christ died. You can read that in a
history book, it's not the gospel. The gospel is not the fact that
Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again. That is not the
gospel. The gospel is the declaration
of how Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and
was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the
scriptures. How did Christ die? He died by
his own voluntary will. under the wrath of God Almighty
as a substitute in the place of his people for his sheep to
save his people from their sins. And he assuredly did what he
died to accomplish. He redeemed us from our sins. The gospel is the declaration
of redemption accomplished, not redemption made possible. Not
redemption that might be. Redemption accomplished. We come
to sinners and proclaim good news. Good news. All other religions, all other
religions, all other preachers preach good advice. There's a
huge difference. Everywhere else you go, folks
tell you what you must do. That's good advice. Actually,
it's not good advice, it's horrible advice. But the gospel is the
declaration of good news. Everything's done. Everything's
done. All right. What memorials of
this can we find in the tomb? And how are they to be used?
First, You remember when our Lord Jesus was buried, Nicodemus
and Joseph of Arimathea came to Pilate and begged the body
of the Lord Jesus. And Joseph brought with him a
hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes, a hundred pounds of sweet spices. And when our Lord Jesus left
the two, he didn't take the fragrance with it. He left it behind in
the tomb so that now the grave that once was troubling, the
grave, the end of man, the way in which every man's life must
end, which was once disturbing, the grave once so fearful, The
grave we once dreaded, the grave we once tried every way possible
to push out of our minds now is filled with a sweet aroma,
the sweet fragrance of the myrrh and aloes. That tomb must have
smelled like a perfume store when Peter and John stepped into
it. What a blessed thought that is. when taken in a spiritual
sense, our Lord Jesus has filled the grave with sweet fragrance
for our souls. The hymn writer put it this way.
Why should we tremble to convey these bodies to the tomb? There
the dear flesh of Jesus lay and left a long perfume. The graves
of all the saints he blessed and softened every bed. Where
should the dying members rest but with their dying head? Thence
he arose ascending high and showed our feet the way Up to the Lord
we too shall fly in that great rising day. The bed awaiting
us, awaiting these bodies beneath the earth, is now perfumed with
costly sweet spices. There the truest friend of our
souls once laid. And the angel's first word to
those women who came to the open tomb was, Fear not ye. First word, children of God,
don't be afraid to die. Why should you be afraid? Other men fear because we all
fear the unknown. Fear the unknown. I recall years
ago, hearing a preacher make a statement at a funeral. I think
it was the last time I went to one where some babbling wheel
worshipper was preaching. He said, we don't know what lies
beyond the grave. I want to stand up and shout.
I do. I do life and light and righteousness and perfection. Oh, no, no reason to fear the
unknown. Well, you really don't know what to expect. I know full
well what to expect. I most certainly do. I'm going
to enter into his rest. I'm going to cease from my toil
and cease from sin and care. We should ever look upon the
grave with anticipation. Just the other day I heard someone
say, well, the Lord might come before we die. That would be
better. No, it wouldn't. No, it wouldn't. Wouldn't you
rather live till the Lord comes? If there's ever a place in Scripture,
and there is one, where the Word of God gives preference to one
group of saints above the other, it's in this regard. The dead
in Christ, what does it say? Shall rise first. so that when
Christ comes, we which are alive and remain on the earth, it may
be but for the batting of an eye. We shall wait until the
dead in Christ arise to meet the Lord in the air. Oh, no,
there's nothing to be preferred for a believer to death in the
arms of the Savior. Did you hear me? There is nothing
to be preferred for a believer to death in the arms of the Savior. No wonder, David sang, yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Next, our Savior left his grave
clothes behind him in the tomb. Luke tells us in verse 12 that
The Lord Jesus didn't take those grave clothes with him and he
didn't leave a moldy shroud of Turan in the tomb. He left behind
linen clothes. Linen clothes. Our Lord Jesus
rose from the dead and when he did, he took his linen clothes
and neatly folded them and laid them to one side. Reckon why? Reckon why? Well, turn to the
book of Revelation, and I'll show you. I'll get there in a
minute. You go ahead and turn there. Our Lord's grave clothes left
in the tomb are things for us to look upon as tokens of his
fellowship with us in our lowest estate. They're reminders that
he has cast aside the garments of death, and so shall we. That
started to have you not turn here I want you to turn back
Oh Jan in Revelation turn back to 1st Corinthians 4 2nd Corinthians
4 2nd Corinthians 4 we read this often, but read it too lightly
Verse 16 For which cause we think not
But there are outward men perish yet the inward man is renewed
day by day A good many of us here often
complain about the fact that our legs aren't so strong as
they used to be. As Merle just read in Ecclesiastes
12, it must come to pass. And we can't do what we used
to do, and we can't remember as we used to remember. Why? Because it's outward man's perishing. It's outward man's perishing.
We're dying. We're dying. Yet the inward man
is renewed every day. Every day. I have never been more full of
life. Have you? I've never been more full of life. I've never
been more full with life in Christ Jesus that I am now. Our inward
man is renewed day by day for our light affliction. Our light
affliction. Our featherweight troubles. And
that's what these afflictions are. Which is but for a moment,
just last for 60 seconds. Worketh for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house of
this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God and
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Now what the
Spirit of God is telling us here is something that's just beyond
anything we can get our minds wrapped around. Between death
and the resurrection, we will possess a body. Awaiting the resurrection of
these bodies. We won't leave These bodies and
just be floating around in the air like ghosts as they as folks
imagine No, no when this earth the house of this tapernacle
dissolved immediately We have a house not made with hands eternal
in the heavens for in this we grow earnestly desiring to be
clothed upon with our house which is from heaven if so be that
being clothed we shall not be found naked and For we that are
in this tabernacle, this temporary pup tent, do groan being burdened,
not for that we would be unclothed upon. Paul is not talking like
Jeremiah or Job or me, in trouble and things of that nature. I
wish I'd never been born. I'm not desired just to get out
of this mess. No, no, no. I'm desired for something
better. I'm looking for something better. We desire to be clothed upon.
That mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now, he that hath
wrought us for the selfsame thing is God. I know better, but I still tend
to want to read that he that hath wrought for us the selfsame
thing is God. But that's not what it says,
is it? He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God.
In other words, the Lord God has, all the days of our lives,
been preparing us for this day. He has wrought us, making us
meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. This
is God who hath given us the earnest, the pledge of the Spirit,
Therefore we're always confident knowing that whilst we're at
home in the body were absent from the Lord For we walk by
faith and not by sight. We're confident I say and willing
rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the
Lord Wherefore we labor that whether present or absent We
may be accepted of him David put it this way I had fainted
unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the
land of the living. As for me, I shall be satisfied
when I awake in thy likeness. These grave clothes are memorials
of our Lord's fellowship with us while we walk through this
world, making our pilgrimage here in our sojourn through this
world. And they are also memorials of
victory. Redemption accomplished. You
go to museums, especially war museums, and you will see flags
hung in the museum, memorials of victory. One of the most fixed
pictures of the Second World War are those soldiers raising
the flag on the hill they just taken. Victory done! We've taken the hill. We won
this battle. And our Lord Jesus left His grave
clothes neatly folded in the tomb to tell us death is conquered. Sin is conquered. Satan is conquered. Victory is accomplished. Oh,
death, where is thy sting? Now, look at Revelation. These
grave clothes are also emblems of righteousness. that righteousness
he has bestowed upon us and that righteousness he has wrought
in us in free justification and in perfect sanctification in
the new birth by which we're made to be partake meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light the psalmist
said thy priest let thy priest be clothed with righteousness
and thy saints shout for joy look in revelation 19 19 verse
6 I heard, as it were, the voice
of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and
as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice and
give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his
wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she
should be arrayed," watch this now, "'in fine linen.'" clean
and white. For the linen is the righteousness
of the saints. And he saith unto me, right,
blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the
Lamb. And he saith to me, these are the true sayings of God. So the linen clothes neatly folded,
not like one in a hurry, not like one tired and worn out.
I tried my best not to create extra work on my wife, but generally,
this afternoon I had to hang my suit up. Generally, I don't.
I step out of my breeches and there they are. I'm tired. I just step out of them and there
they are. But the Lord Jesus didn't leave
his grave clothes as one tired, weary, worn out, weak. No, no. He appears to have taken
time neatly to fold them and lay them aside. Just lay them
to one side. Because this is a picture of
the fine linen in which our souls are now arrayed and shall be
arrayed forever. Perfect righteousness. This is
the righteousness of the saints. Then, it's only to turn there
back in John chapter 20, John adds to Luke's account. Peter
saw the napkin laid, that was wrapped about his head, carefully
folded up and laid by itself so that here are the grave clothes
and here is the napkin that was around his head. The napkin that
was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped
together in a place by itself. And I see something else there. We read in the scriptures that
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Surely this handkerchief is that
by which he wipes the tears from our eyes. When we have left this world
and entered into life in glory with our Redeemer, there will
be no more crying. No tears. Can you imagine that? One of the sweetest things in
this world is the bitterness of repentance before God. And
yet it's painful, painful. God will wipe the tears away. We have tears for trouble here. When God has finished that for
which he has wrought us, we will see that our troubles have been
blessings in disguise, and God will wipe the tears from our
eyes. We have fear. Some of you have watched as one
you love dearly is close to death and you cry with great fear,
great fear. And God will wipe the tears from
your eyes with this handkerchief. Christ is risen. Sin is pardoned. Eternal life is gained. Glory
is sure. We have tears of bereavement.
sorrow because of those who are gone. And rightly so, rightly
so. We sorrow, but we sorrow not
as others which have no hope. I recall many years ago, a dear
friend of mine in this congregation was dying, going through Brother
James Rankin. He suffered a great deal with
cancer. And some young pup, young believer,
he too was a dear friend. He said, I don't see what all
the concern's about. I don't see what all the sorrow's about.
I said, you never lived with a man for 30 years, did you?
He said, believe me, everything's all right. Yeah, but you're still
sorrow, but not as others which have no hope. And when the bereavement
comes, God'll take this handkerchief and dry your tears because the
bereavement's just temporary. The separation is but for a short
time and soon we shall be gathered to our Redeemer and all the redeemed. And then our Lord left something
else in the tomb. Something that we don't see there
otherwise. Angels behind him. I don't recall
ever seeing angels in a tomb before. But at his resurrection,
they descended. One rolled the stone away and
two sat at the head of the place where the Savior's body lay.
And I never recall that the Savior called those angels back. I said
to you this morning. Last week, the Lord Jesus sent
his angels to carry our sister to glory. Well, that's just a
metaphorical way of speaking. Oh, no. Oh, no. No, that's exactly
what he does. As our Redeemer's Lazaruses come
to the end of their days, he sends his angels to carry them
into Abraham's bosom into paradise above. And as surely as Michael
kept the body of Moses until the resurrection, So surely he
sends his angels to watch over the dust of our bodies in the
grave. Brother David Coburn fairly frequently
sings this great, great song. Listen carefully. The sun of
time is sinking fast. My race is almost run. All earthly way will soon be
past and triumph soon be gone. The God of peace beneath my feet
shall crush the serpent's head. When I, with Christ in victory
sweet, this robe of flesh have shed, I must be near the blessed
ranks of those to God so dear. I feel the midst of Jordan's
banks. My crossing must be near. Yes, soon I must be going home
where Christ the Lamb appears. He'll send his angels and they'll
come to fetch his ransom there. Oh, bear my longing soul to him
who lived and died for me, whose blood has put away my sin and
heaven won for me. One more thing. The stone was rolled away from
the tomb. And standing in the tomb, as
Peter and John came in that tomb, and saw the place where the Lord
lay, and the grave clothes neatly folded and laid to one side,
and the napkin laid in a separate place, neatly folded by itself. As they turned around, you know
what they saw? And what they saw? They saw a
way out. They didn't stay there. They
walked out. They just walked out of the tomb.
Will you hear me? The Lord Jesus has left in his
tomb for us the way out of death. The way out of spiritual death. is the risen Redeemer who once
died. The way out of physical death
in the resurrection is the risen Redeemer with whose body our
dead body shall live. And the way out of the second
death is our risen Redeemer, the Savior who died. Our mighty
Samson has pulled up the post and carried away the gates of
the grave with all their bars The key he's taken from the girdle
of death and it's held now in the hands of the Prince of life
We shall sleep a while each one in his resting place But we shall
rise again in the morning For the stone is rolled away,
and Christ is the way out, for he is our life. God be pleased now to bless his
word to your heart. Amen.