Before we begin to really dive into what our text is telling us, let’s take a quick look back at where we’ve been and where we are in the story of Jesus. We’ve already seen, 5 days prior to the events discussed in our text, a multitude of people lined the streets and cheered as Jesus entered into Jerusalem. Jesus had just spent the past few days being conspired against by those in power in city, the Sanhedrin. They had stewed in anger as Jesus went throughout the city teaching all those who would listen. They sought any way possible to deal with their problem with Jesus. Finally, they arrested him on insurrection charges after the betrayal of one of his own disciples, one of his own dear friends. After being arrested, he was publicly beaten and nailed to a cross for everyone to see. A cross, the most humiliating way for someone of this time to be put to death. And as we just saw last Sunday, he was placed upon the cross alongside two criminals. After many hours of painful suffering, the man known as Jesus died, giving up his spirit, and it is there that we find ourselves today. The Messiah who had come to save all of God’s children is dead, and we can only imagine the pain and numbness and confusion that all of those who welcomed Jesus into the city were feeling at this time as his body lay lifeless upon a cross.
As we begin to look at our text today we must realize that we are presented with a golden opportunity. You see, not every event of Jesus’ life is recorded in all 4 of the gospel accounts, but his burial is. When we are presented with an opportunity like this one, a chance to use all 4 gospel accounts, it serves us well to look at each one. And as we just said, his burial is there for us in all 4 accounts. The Apostles’ Creed, which is recited several weeks ago, affirms, among other things, that Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried.” It is easy for us to wrap our minds around the significance of Jesus’ suffering, his crucifixion, and Jesus’ death, but why do we include such a seemingly minor incident as His burial? Why would this be an article of faith in the Apostles’ Creed? One reason for the inclusion of Jesus’ burial in this creed is that it marks a turning point in Jesus’ ministry. It is beyond doubt that the lowest point of Jesus’ ministry was his crucifixion. It is equally beyond doubt that the highest point of his ministry was his resurrection from the dead, which was followed by his ascension to heaven where he sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. What we often overlook is that Jesus’ burial is the transition from his humiliating position upon the cross to his glorious resurrection and escape from the tomb. Jesus’ exaltation began here, in the tomb, as he went from a man without life, a man with no breath in his lungs, to a living and breathing person once again.
The circumstances that surround Jesus’ burial were unusual when compared to those of most Roman prisoners of the day. Fitting, since Jesus was no ordinary man. When a Jew was executed his family had the right to request the body after the Roman authorities were sure that the person was dead so that it could be buried outside of the city. They had to bury the body outside of the city so that the sacred places within the city walls would not be defiled. If a body went unclaimed, it was simply tossed onto a garbage pile outside of Jerusalem and was burned along with the rest of the trash. For others, the bodies of those who had been convicted of acts of treason, inciting rebellions, or heresy, their bodies usually remained on the cross for days while the vultures finished off their remains. Jesus was deemed guilty of such crimes, but his body wasn’t left upon the cross for the vultures. We see in verse 38, “After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body.” Here is Joseph, a member of the Sanhedrin, the very group that sought to have Jesus killed, sparing Jesus’ body from the humiliation that would befall it if left to the vultures. We are told that Joseph was actually a disciple of Jesus, but he was too afraid to express his faith and he kept it hidden for some time. I know that there are many of us here today, myself included, who have had times in our lives that we were and still are not proud of where we have followed the example of Joseph and kept our faith hidden out of fear of the opinions of those around us.
Joseph, prior to Jesus’ death, reminds me of something that happened at a Colorado high school near the end of the 1990’s. I often tell this story when talking about the faith that we ought to have in Christ because not only is it a popular story that resonates with so many people, but also I envy the young girl in this story for the faith that she displayed. I can only hope that if ever faced with a similar situation where my faith is tested to its limits that I would show the same love of Christ that she displayed. The story is of a 17 year old girl at Columbine High School during the tragic shooting on April 20, 1999. The girls name was Cassie Bernall. After a bomb went off at the school at 11:17 a.m. and gunshots began at 11:19 a.m. Cassie ran to the library as a place of refuge. Not long after Cassie and many other students reached the library, one of the gunmen from the shooting entered. The story of Cassie is best known for how it ended. One of the gunmen, while having a gun held next to Cassie’s head, asked her, “Do you believe in God?” He told Cassie that all she needed to do was say no and he would let her live. Cassie could not deny her Lord and Savior and she responded with an eternal, “YES!” The gunman proceeded without hesitation to pull the trigger ending Cassie’s life. Friends, here is a young girl, only 17 years old, who knew exactly where her hope rested. Her story, although tragic, has brought many others to know Christ long after she has gone from this earth. So when faced with awkward and uncomfortable situations, let us have the faith of a 17 year old little girl. Let us have the faith that Joseph the disciple of Jesus showed after Christ’s death, and not that of Joseph the honored member of the Sanhedrin. Our faith is never something that we should be ashamed of or hide away.
Getting back to our text, we also see that Joseph was not alone in his finally giving in to the faith that he had in Jesus Christ. We read in verse 39 of another member of the Sanhedrin who joins him in preparing and burying Jesus’ body. “Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds in weight.” So we see that both Joseph and Nicodemus, two men who were members of the group that sought to have Jesus killed, are no longer afraid to express their faith and are willing to take a stand for the burial of Jesus. But why did John include the things that Nicodemus brought with him? Well, he gives us the answer to that question right there in the next verse. “So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.” You see, the Jewish people did not embalm their dead but wrapped them in linen and covered the linen with spices, ointments, and fragrances in order to mask the smell of the rotting fleshly body. Jesus’ body being prepared lets us know that this death was a death just like that of any man who passed away. It is what comes next that is where the story of the man named Jesus differs from any usual death.
So we have come to the point in the story where Jesus’ body is ready to be buried. The only problem is that Jesus has no place of his own to be buried nearby and time is quickly running out because the Sabbath was almost there and those burying his body could not have done any type of work on the Sabbath. Verses 41 and 42 tell us, “Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.” In an act that can only be described as the completely divine providence of God, there was a new and unused tomb in a garden close to the site of Jesus’ crucifixion. We know from the other gospel accounts that this tomb was actually owned by Joseph himself. So Jesus was laid in a brand-new tomb owned by this wealthy man who was part of the Sanhedrin, a tomb that was probably prepared for Joseph’s own burial. We are starting to see the beginning of the transition from Jesus’ humiliation to His exaltation.
One last thing of note from this passage is actually found in the accounts of Jesus’ burial as they are recorded in the other three gospels. Each of these other accounts includes the mention of two women who were with Joseph and Nicodemus. These two women were Mary Magdalene and another Mary. So this would bring our total count up to four; four people in all. That’s it; that’s the total number of people that we can find from four different accounts of Jesus’ burial that were present. Think of how many people lined the streets only 5 days earlier to see Jesus’ arrival into the city. When I hear this, I’m saddened. Also, strangely enough, I think of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. After losing the Super Bowl to the Saints in 2010, in a game that nearly everyone predicted them to win, they were almost completely forgotten about. While the city of New Orleans threw a parade that rivaled that of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, the Colts players were met by a whopping 11 people at the airport when they arrived back home, 11! After being all but declared champions less than a week earlier no one seemed to care about them anymore. Think about Jesus and all of the people who professed that he was the Messiah that they had so desperately wanted as they lined the streets and cheered him upon his entry. Where were they to be found when Jesus’ body needed to be buried so that the vultures didn’t destroy it? Who knows, maybe they were in mourning. Maybe they were so upset because the man that they placed so much hope in as the Son of God was dead. Maybe they had simply moved on and were looking for the next person who claimed to be the Savior. I don’t know what they were thinking or where they were, but I do know that two men, two men from the very same group that sought to have Jesus killed in the first place, were the ones who took Jesus’ body down from the cross, prepared it for burial, and placed it in the tomb. This is the point in the story where if we were concerned with theatrics, if this were a play, then the lights would go out and we would all exit through the back of the sanctuary without saying a word to each other. The hopes and desires that so many people had, were now gone. They thought that Jesus was gone forever, and his claims to be the promised redeemer were false.
As our text for today comes to a close we stand at the cusp of the completion of the greatest historical event that mankind has ever known. After lying in the tomb for three days, as we will see next Sunday, Jesus will rise up from the dead, he will be resurrected. What Jesus had been saying about himself all along would come true. So let me ask you an important question about yourself with regards to Jesus and the tomb. How do you live your life? Do you live your life as someone who is struck by the awesome promises that we have in Jesus Christ? Is your life one in which you live in a way that reflects that you know without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus rose up and walked out of that tomb, ultimately conquering the last enemy and Satan’s greatest threat; death? Do you live as if this text is just another part of the story that is yet to unfold? Or do you live a life that would tell others that Jesus never came out of that tomb after Joseph and Nicodemus and the two Mary’s placed him there? Friends, if you do not live as if your entire being and your entire life is found in Jesus Christ then it is as if you think that He never walked out of the tomb. If this is your life, then this is the end of the gospel for you. There might as well be no more written about this man named Jesus. So I would encourage all of you to think about the power of God and what was going to be accomplished when he exited the tomb 3 days after his burial. Live your life in a manner that all you do is for God’s glory. There is no greater love than that which we have in Jesus Christ. He willingly came to earth taking a human body, he voluntarily bore our sins, was sentenced to death upon the cross, died and was buried, and then conquered death for sinners; sinners like you and me. If we place our faith in anyone or anything outside of Jesus, then it is as if he is still dead, still wrapped in linen, and still in the tomb. Don’t let your life be one in which the work of Jesus Christ is not constantly on display. Don’t let your life be one that tells others that Jesus is still in the tomb. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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