Before we read our scripture
tonight, I'd just like to say amen to what David said just
a few minutes ago. The last few services we've had
a couple visiting here with us from Florida, and their comment
was how the Lord has blessed us. in this congregation, blessed
us with the gospel and blessed the fellowship that we have here
in this church. They live in a place where there's
no place to worship, and they watch the streaming, but like
you said, the streaming is better than nothing, but there's nothing
that can take the place of coming together with God's children,
singing praise unto the Lord, and with his special promise,
The Lord Jesus said, where two or three are gathered in my name,
there am I in their midst. And when we come together, we
know we have his word and he is faithful. He is always among
us. If you will, let's open our Bibles
now to John chapter 19. John chapter 19. Beginning in verse 38. 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 the first came to Jesus by night
and 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. Now in the place where he was
crucified, there was a garden and 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. We're looking tonight at these
scriptures which record the burial of the body of the Lord Jesus
Christ. You know, the Apostle Paul in
1 Corinthians chapter 15, he mentions this when he gives a
brief summary of the gospel. Let me read this passage to us
from 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have
received and wherein you stand. by which also you are saved,
that is by the gospel. This is the gospel that saves
sinners, the gospel of God, the gospel of the grace of God, the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 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 died as a sin offering. as he had been pictured all through
the Old Testament according to the Scriptures. He died for our
sins according to the Scriptures and that he was buried. This is part
of the message Paul said, part of the gospel that I preached
unto you. Now that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures and that he was buried and that
he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. The burial
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything about our Savior,
everything about the Lord Jesus Christ is important because he
is important, because of who he is. Everything that is recorded
about him is important and is recorded that we might believe
that He is the Christ, the Son of God, and that we too might
have eternal life. I want you to notice back in
John chapter 19, if you still have your Bibles open here, the first words, the first three
words in verse 38, and after this, and after this, After this, after what? After his crucifixion, after
he had bowed his head and dismissed his spirit, and after this. Now I want tonight to take those
three words and add another word and make this a question. And
after this, what? And after this, what? First,
after this, that is his crucifixion, what? What is to take place with
his body? There his body is hanging upon
the tree, lifeless. Is it to be left there on the
tree? Are there soldiers to take it
down and throw it into a public grave, which was common among
the criminals which were crucified? Is there any reason for us to
believe that his disciples who had fled, who had deserted him,
that they could possibly take charge? After this what? Are His disciples in a position
to take charge, to bury the body of the Lord
Jesus Christ? Would it be possible that those
women who stood around the cross that we read of in verse 25,
would it be possible for them to take the body down and to
bury the body After this, what? Now, I would encourage us as
we look at these things to get a glimpse of God's providence. Of God's providence in what happened. After this, what? Well, God's
still on the throne. God is still working all things
after the counsel of His own will. Let us observe, if we will,
God's providential care concerning the body of the Lord Jesus Christ,
but as we do so, let us remember His providential care for each
one of us who are His children. First, the body must be recovered. The body must be recovered. A private individual would not
be permitted to just go and take down that lifeless body. Someone needs to get permission
from the authorities to do so. The body must be recovered. Pilate was a Roman governor. He's the man. He's the man. He's in charge. And someone must
speak to him. The body must be recovered. Does anyone believe that a fisherman
like Peter or John, that they could go and knock on the door
of Pilate's palace and say, here we are. We want to talk to you. No. They would be turned away. No. It's going to take a particular
person. It's going to take a man who
is somebody, a man who is a member of the Jewish rulers, the Sanhedrin. It's going to take someone who
has some prestige, some place, some dignity to be given an audience
with Pilate. Do you think Levi, who was a
publican, a tax collector, do you think he would have been
given an audience with Pilate? I don't think so. No, but a man
who was a man, a member of the Sanhedrin, could get an audience
with Pilate. And his name, we see, is Joseph
of Arimathea. He could ask for the body. He
could get an audience with Pilate. And he could ask for the body. That's the first thing. The body
must be recovered. And God has a man here. Now it
says in our text that he had been a disciple but secretly
for fear of the Jews. But has he not come to this place
at this time just like Esther when she went in before the king?
Mordecai told her, remember. It may just be that God has raised
you up at this time for this purpose, that is, the saving
of the Jews. And here we have a man that God
has raised up. Before this, he had never publicly
confessed to be a follower of Christ, but now he is emboldened
and he goes in and Mark tells us in his gospel that he went
in boldly. He went in boldly to Pilate and
craved the body of Jesus. You see what I'm saying? God's
providence. After this, what? After his crucifixion,
what? Is the body just going to be
left there on the tree? No. There has to be someone to
recover the body. And God has His man. and God
has him in place. The second thing, the body must
be wrapped. The body must be wrapped. Now
who's going to furnish this winding sheet? Who's going to furnish
the winding sheet? Are we to believe that any of
his disciples, Peter, James, John, any of them that they had
the money, they had the means by which they could purchase
a winding sheet? You know, Peter, before this,
he said this, he said, Behold, we've left all and followed thee. We've left everything. They left
their fishing boats, they left their business, we've left all
and followed thee. Do we believe they had any money
to purchase this winding sheet? Our Lord himself said, foxes
have holes and birds have their nests, but the Son of Man hath
not where to lay his head. The body must be wrapped for
burial, but after this, what? After the body has been recovered,
what? Where is this winding sheet,
this linen going to come from? Well, God has a man. is not only a member of the Sanhedrin
who gained audience with Pilate, but the Scriptures reveal unto
us that this man was a rich man. This man was a rich man. And
so yes, God has his man. He's in place. And he has the
money to buy the material, the linen cloth. In fact, in Mark
chapter 15 and verse 46, we're told he bought fine linen. Not just linen, not Muslim. No, he bought fine linen. Why? Because he was a wealthy
man. He had the means. And he laid
out his means. Are you following me now? The
providence of God. The body must be recovered. Not
anyone could go in and speak to Pilate. This man could. The
body must be wrapped. Not just any man had the money
to buy the linen to wrap his body in. After this, what? The body's been recovered. The
linen's been bought. But the third thing, the body
must be embalmed. Now, embalmed, not in the sense
that we're familiar with, not in the sense that we exercise
in our country, no. But according to the custom of
the Jews, and they did call it embalming, but the way they embalmed
was they put spices, sweet-smelling spices on the body. And so after this, what? After
the body's been recovered, the linen's been bought, But now
the embalming, well look who shows up next. A man by the name
of Nicodemus. A man that, and we sang about
him in that one hymn, didn't we? That came to Jesus by night. Why did he come by night? For
fear of the Jews. But now we see he's overcome
that fear, hasn't he? By the power of God the Holy
Spirit. Now, he brings the spices which
we're told the myrrh and the aloes. And it wasn't just a little,
a hundred pound weight. I would imagine that was a large
amount of spices to anoint, to embalm the body of the Lord Jesus
Christ. But you know, there's a fourth
thing. The body must be buried. I say after this what? After
the crucifixion, the body must be recovered, the body must be
wrapped, the body must be embalmed, but after this what? The body
must be interred. It must be buried. Well, we read here that in the
place where the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, there was a garden. And in this garden there was
a new sepulchre. Now God, in His providence, took
care of this as all of these other things. The sepulchre,
if you notice in verse 42, or verse 41, Now in the place where
he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre,
wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus. therefore
because of the Jews' preparation. The garden was nigh at hand. What if, of course there's no
if with God, I understand that, but just for our study tonight,
what if Joseph of Arimathea had a tomb that was at a great distance? What if this tomb had not been
nigh unto where he was crucified? What if, after they took the
body down, they had to transport the body some distance before
it was laid in the tomb? Well, as one writer pointed out,
this would have given an opportunity for those unbelievers to say,
Well, the body was switched. And carrying the body from this
place several miles or several blocks or however far, then the
body was switched. And it really wasn't that dead
body that was buried in that tomb, but it was the body of
some other man in order to deny the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ. But what I see here, I see God's
providence in ordering all things for His glory and for our faith
to be confident that the same body that was taken down from
the tree was the body that was laid in that tomb and a rock,
a large rock, was rolled upon the entrance of the tomb. Well, here's a second point. After this, what? After his burial. First of all, after his crucifixion,
what? Well, we've seen how God has
providentially taken care of all of that. And the thing for
you and I to realize is we think of things in our future, well,
what's gonna happen? What's gonna take place? God
took care of the body of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and
God has promised to take care of you and I. As we go through
this world, Have you ever known or even heard of any child of
God who starved to death because there was not food supplied? I haven't. I know David said
that he had been young and now was old and he had never seen
the righteous forsaken or his seed baking bread. takes care of us as we go through
this world, just as he took care of his body. But now after this,
that is after his burial, what? What is to take place with the
body of Christ? His body is to see no corruption. When we were in Mexico many years
ago at burials, very crude. I remember they would put the box
with the body down in the ground and then they would take lime
and put all over lime. Then they would try to cover
it back up. You say, what was the lime for? To keep the varmints
and Things like that, out. But you know, there was a problem
on the inside. The corruption was already working. The body of the Lord Jesus Christ
was to see no corruption. As we saw concerning his burial,
the providence of God, now let's think for just a minute about
the faithfulness of God. the faithfulness of God to the
Word of God, to His promises. If you will, look with me in
Acts chapter 2. Peter is preaching here on the
day of Pentecost, and he quotes from the Old Testament as he
is declaring about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, about
His burial and resurrection. In Acts chapter 2 and verse 25, bear with me. For David, Peter quotes from
the Psalm, Psalm 16, for David, speaketh concerning him. I foresaw
the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that
I should not be moved. Now notice, therefore, these
are the words of Christ. Therefore, did my heart rejoice,
and my tongue was glad. Moreover, also, My flesh shall
rest in hope. This was His flesh that had been
crucified that was laid in that new tomb. My flesh shall rest
in peace or in hope because, because, because He had this
promise. He had this promise from the
Father. because thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell. Now, the word hell here, I understand
to mean the departed, not the hell that we usually think of,
but the place of the dead, when the soul is separate from the
body. Thou wilt not leave my soul in
hell Now notice, neither wilt thou suffer than holy one to
see corruption. After this, what? After his crucifixion,
what? His burial, after his burial,
what? He rested, rested in hope, in
confidence, in assurance, because he had God's promise. He had
God's word. that he would not leave his soul
separate from his body. Neither wilt thou suffer than
Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the
ways of life. Thou shalt make me full of joy
with thy countenance. I won't say much about this,
but we know that on the third day, the Lord Jesus Christ came
out of the grave in a glorified body. The body that had been
buried was now glorified. And he came out of the grave. And God has given you and I the
same promise concerning our bodies. Not that it will not see corruption,
but that one day he will call his people from the grave and
we shall come forth. in a glorified body, a body like
unto His glorious body. You know, Paul calls this body
in which we live now the body of our humiliation. How different
our new body will be, our glorified body. It will be like His glorious
body. Well, third, after this, that
is, after His resurrection, what? What now takes place with the
body of Christ? Well, it was now glorified, we
know that. And we also know that after this,
after his resurrection, what? He is exalted to the right hand
of God. As the writer of Hebrews tells
us, there's a man in glory. There's a man in glory. And because there's one man there,
we have confidence there's going to be many there. But he's a
forerunner. He's the first fruits of them
that sleep. But there's going to be many,
many more. Now I want to close by asking
all of us a very simple question, but a similar
question. After this, what? Lord Jesus
Christ told the story of two men, two men, and after this,
that is, after their death, what? What took place? One of these
men we know was named Lazarus, and the day of his death came, and after this, what? After his
death, what? Our Lord said the angels carried
him to the bosom of Abraham. That, of course, is the way the
Jews would speak of heaven, to the bosom of Abraham. Paradise, as our Lord told that
man that was saved on the cross today, thou shalt be with me
in paradise. But what about that other man?
There were two men in our Lord's story. One he named, one he didn't
name. Many people believe his name
was Dives. I don't know if that's true.
It's not important. Some say he didn't name his name
because remember he had five brothers and many of his brothers
probably were still alive. And so our Lord did not call
him by name. But after this what? He too died. After this what? Well, the scripture
tells us, he lift up his eyes and hail being in torments. And I read this story over 40
years ago. The story I'm about to tell you. It concerned one of the justices
of the Supreme Court of the United States of America, one very respected
justice by the name of Oliver Wendell Holmes. And he was speaking
with a young man one evening. This young man was privileged
to be in his presence, he thought, and he was excited. He was going
off to college, and the justice asked him, well, son, What are
your plans? And he said, well, I'm leaving
for college. And the justice said, and what
then? Well, I hope to do good, to apply
myself and make good grades. And the justice said, and what
then? Well, I'm going to attend law
school. That's my plan is to attend law
school and practice law. And again, Justice Holmes said,
what then? Well, in time, I hope I trust
to become a judge myself, a judge, to be on the bench. And the judge
said, and after this, what? What then? And he said, well,
it may be presumption on my part, but I would hope one day to be
named to the Supreme Court like you. And the justice said, what
then? He said, well, I guess I'll die. And the justice said, and what
then? The young man said, well, I don't
know. I've never thought about that. And the justice said, son, you
need to think your life through. you need to think your life through. After this, what? What? I pray that God would help
each one of us as we think about this same question, after this,
what? After this life is over, what? And we know it's going to be
over. And for some of us, maybe the least expected here, It's
going to be over soon. After this, what? Although those
who know Christ as their Lord and Savior, we're going to go
to be with the Lord and to be with them forever and ever. What a blessed thought. What
a joy. There's fullness of joy in his
presence. You know, you were talking about
the refreshing time, the blessed time, when we come together to
worship. Think of the best time, the very
best time, the most joyous time that you have ever experienced
in worshiping God. Maybe it was in a public assembly,
maybe it was at home in the prayer closet, but the best, the most
glorious time you've ever experienced It lasted for a while, didn't
it? But heaven is forever. Forever. That glorious time,
not just for a while, and much greater even. And that forever
and ever. May the Lord bless His word to
us here this evening, David.