Buried!

After these things, Joseph of Air Misea, 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. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of mur and alas about 75 pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloth with the spices as is the burial custom of the Jews. 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. This is the Word of the Lord. Believe it or not, I can remember a time when we attended journals. And I was growing up there were quite a few journals. I recall going to more journals than waiting. Now that may not have been true, I don't know, but it just seemed that way. We don't have journals anymore. We have home going celebration. I never knew what that was growing up. Now we have home going celebrations. We don't like to talk about death. So instead, we talk about celebrating life. But you know the interesting thing about those life celebrations is that death is still the predominant issue while we're there celebrating life. So I get it. We don't like to talk about it. Now I want to suggest to you this morning, beloved. While the world doesn't like to talk about it, the Christians must understand that death is not an intruder to be ignored. Death is not a friend to be celebrated, but an enemy destined to be defeated. And this is what we have in Jesus. Death is a thief, a real thief. It steals from us. It causes us to suffer some of the greatest losses in our lives. We lose parents. We lose pets. We lose children. We lose spouses. We lose friends. Family members. And in this, death regularly asserts itself as our enemy. And yet the Bible reminds us that it is an enemy that Christ came to destroy. John chapter 10, in verse 10, the Bible says the thief comes to steal and to kill and destroy. But Christ says I came that you might have life and have it abundantly. And yet here is the irony. Here is the irony of it all. In order for us to have life, Christ has to die. In order to destroy death, Christ had to enter into death himself. If our Lord was to embrace and empathize with the fullness of the human experience, he had to die. Christ didn't come to this life just live. He came to die. That you and I, that you and I might live. He came to destroy the ultimate enemy of what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 26, calls the last enemy. The ultimate enemy, the last enemy, death. But in order to put an end to death, Jesus had to die, really, really die. As we saw last week, the post crucifixion scene was proof that Jesus died. I mean, really die. We'll see this morning. There was not just one scene. There was not just one post crucifixion scene. There were two post crucifixion scenes. So we continue this theme of looking at the scenes that remind us that Jesus not only died, but the Bible wants to make sure that we know this because he was also buried. He died and he was buried. There was a funeral because death had come and those around Jesus suffered loss. And there was no ignoring this. There was no hope in that this would go away. Death had come. Jesus had died. And not only died, but he had to be buried. There must be a funeral because Jesus was dead. And how do we know he was dead? Because they buried him. They buried him, I love it. And the burial of Jesus may seem like a little and insignificant thing. And I get it. And the grand scheme of things, it probably is. Because what really matters, right? Is that he died. And what really matters is that after he died, he was raised. That's what we think about. And when I saw him, I was going to say anything about him being buried. He went to the grave. They rolled a stone in front of it. Then they rolled a stone away and he rose up from me. What are we talking about? He died and he raised. And he was raised. And the important things to believe are in the crucifixion and the resurrection. And yet in between, in between the death and the resurrection of Jesus is the important fact that Jesus was buried. And his burial signified real death. In fact, understanding the gospel is understanding a real death and actual burial. That's what the Bible says. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 3 and 4. The Paul there is rehearsing the gospel. He says, for what I received, I passed on to you as the first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. That he was buried. That he was raised on the third day according to the scripture. Now, beloved, I don't want you to misunderstand me this morning. The burial of Jesus does not make you more sane. In Romans chapter 4 and verse 5, the Bible says that Jesus died for our sins and that he was raised for our justification. It doesn't say anything about his burial. He died for our sins. It was raised for our justification. And yet, what I want to suggest to you this morning is something I believe is very important. And it comes to us by way of the burial of Jesus Christ. Because I think the burial of Jesus Christ has significance for discipleship this morning. And what it means to be a disciple. The burial made a difference in the lives of the disciples of Jesus sin. And I want to suggest to you this morning that it points to important principles in the lives of disciples now. It's important to remember, as we made the point last week, that by the time that John was inspired to write this gospel, there were already theories and false stories that were going around about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And the burial portion here in the gospel, as well in other gospels, the burial portion of the death of Jesus is important because it gives further evidence to the truth and the reality of the death and subsequent resurrection. It says a few things, pointing to a few truths that needed to be asserted again. And the first one was that no one stole the body. No one stole the body. Joseph asked Pilate for it and Pilate had been assured that Jesus was dead. No one stole the body. You can imagine a faked death for Joseph and Nicodemus prepared the body. They had the funeral. They wrapped the body. They prepared it for burial. No one faked the funeral. Joseph and Nicodemus and their servants performed it. And Jesus didn't all of a sudden wake up out of a coma and escape. Because not only did they wrapping, but they placed them in the tomb. They placed them in the tomb. And beloved, the importance of this small section of scripture once again is to make sure that the testimony of the church and the disciples of Jesus is that the resurrection really happened because the burial really happened. The burial scene, therefore, is important because it gives insight into the life of the disciples of Christ. Now beyond the fact that it gives testimony to the reality of the resurrection, it also gives testimony to the meaning of what it means to be a disciple. What does it mean to be a disciple? It means two things. It's faith and worship. That's what being a disciple of Christ is. You want to boil it down. It's faith and worship. We are those who walk by faith and not by sight. We are those caught out of bondage to sin to worship God. It's what it means to be a disciple. Faith and worship. The disciples live by faith. The disciples live to worship. The disciples are saved through faith. The disciples are saved to worship. The disciples are called in faith. The disciples are called to worship. Faith and worship is what it means to be a disciple. It is what defines our lives. It is what orders our steps. It is what governs our daily living. Faith and worship. Everything we are by faith and everything we do is an exercise in worship. That's what we see this moment at the burial of Jesus. The burial of Jesus brings out the essence of discipleship and what it means to follow Jesus. Faith and worship. Because Jesus was buried by faith. He was buried by faith. That's what it says in verse 38. Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus, because he feared the Jewish leaders, asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus' body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. Now, beloved, the life of the disciples is the life of faith. All of Jesus' disciples have faith. That's what it means to be a disciple. However, it's important to understand that not everyone's faith is the same. But everyone still has it. Everyone has faith. But not everyone's faith is the same. And yet here is the glorious reality of it. Is that sooner or later, God makes sure that if you have it, that it shows up. It's sooner or later. Listen, beloved. Jesus was taken down from the cross. But the interesting thing about it is that Jesus was not taken down by strangers. He was not taken down by agents of Pilate or agents of Caesar. Jesus was taken down and he was buried by his disciples. Now, you would naturally think, well, of course. Of course, his disciples buried him. That's what you do. When friends and loved ones die, those closest to them take their body, perform the prayers, the ceremonies, place them in the grave. That's what friends and family and close associates do. Of course, his disciples came to get the body of Jesus. They were the ones closest to him. But it isn't an interesting. That it wasn't Peter. It wasn't James. It wasn't Andrew. It wasn't even John. It was Joseph of Amathia and Nicodemus. It wasn't Peter who asked for the body. It wasn't James. It was Joseph of Amathia. He was not a member of the 12th. But, beloved, he wasn't even a member of the 72th. That you'll find in Luke chapter 10. That one even knew that Joseph was even in the family at all. Any idea that he wasn't a disciple. In fact, if you had told Peter that Joseph wasn't a disciple, Peter would have took the Twitter. Followed him out. It's sort of Bible called him a secret disciple. A one who believed but was afraid for others to know because of what it might cost him. Now, the interesting thing is he's a secret to other people but he was no secret to Jesus. But Jesus knows those who are his own. And he knows where they are. He knows why they are. He already said so. The Bible already says so in John chapter 12 and verse 42 to 43. Yet, at the same time, many among the leaders, among the Sanhedrin, among the council, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, amongst these, many among the leaders believed in him but because of the Pharisees, they were not openly acknowledged their faith or they feared that they would be put out of the synagogue or they loved human praise more than the praise of God. And amongst these, amongst these, apparently was Joseph. Amongst these, apparently were Nicodemus. And they were kindred spirits in their fear. They were kindred spirits in their fear. Why? Because they were among the political and the social elite and they understood that one misstep might not only cost them their position but could easily cost them their lives. And they were afraid of losing either. They wanted to hold on to both. And so most people wouldn't even have considered them disciples. How could they be? How could they be? After all, they were members of the Sanhedrin. How could they be? After all, they belonged to an institution that openly opposes Christ, right? They belonged to an institution that openly opposes Jesus. How could they possibly be disciples? Beloved, it is important to remember that the grace and mercy of God reaches into places we doubt is even possible to go. Take a moment, if you will, and step back with me out of your holy evangelical enclave. And listen what the Bible is teaching us this morning. There are Christians, disciples of Jesus, in places we deem unfriendly to the Christian calls. They are there within the walls of political power and halls of justice. They are disciples who are politicians and lawyers and judges. They are the witness of Jesus there in institutions of higher learning. There are disciples of Jesus at Harvard. They are disciples of Jesus at Yale. They are disciples of Jesus at Princeton. Even Agnes Scott, there are people who are trusting the Lord Jesus Christ and seemingly all of the humanistic sciences. In the science of philosophy, there are Christians. In the science of sociology and biology and physics there are Christians there. There are disciples in the entertainment business. There are these or the states whether it's Hollywood or Broadway. There are those who are there who are disciples of Jesus. There are Christians in music. There are Christians in hip-hop. There are Christians in reggae. There are Christians in rock. There are Christians in jazz. And we all know that's Christians in country because that's all they are Christians. There are Christians, beloved. There are disciples of Jesus. The mercy of Jesus reaches in the places that you and I would deem most ungodly. And the Lord has his disciples often secret, not yet called to mission, but one day. As the Lord sees it, we will be called upon from the street games, to the poor support, to the riches of rich, kings, queens and peasants. The Lord has his disciples because his grace knows no bounds and his mercy knows it. It's hard to believe, isn't it? I don't know from where you sit. It's hard to believe from where we are and how we think it's hard to believe who would have thought that Nick at demons and Joseph were disciples of Jesus. Nobody, nobody would have imagined that. None of the other disciples, not even those close to Nicodemus and Joseph would have thought that. And here they were. Here they were. And when the other disciples run away in fear, Joseph and Nicodemus. Now, beloved, were they afraid? Yes. Yes. They too were afraid. And yet they were faithful. Afraid but faithful. That's the end contradiction this morning doesn't it? Afraid and yet faithful. Well, beloved, I want to suggest to you again that faith is not the absence of fear. Like courage. Faith is acknowledging your fear but believing anyway. It is the prayer of the father who son had been possessed by demons and taken him to Jesus' disciples and his disciples who apparently could not do anything for him. And so then the man called on Jesus and marked chapter 9, verse 24, and Jesus looked at him and said, if you believe all things are possible, and the father cried with tears, Lord, I believe, but help me to overcome my unbelief. Were Joseph and Nicodemus afraid? Were they were? Sure they were, beloved. The political climate was tense and people were out for blood. And one political mid-step could be fatal. And yet in the midst of that fear, note the Bible says in Mark chapter 15, verse 43, it says Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of a council who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Took courage. Listen, beloved, there at that moment, the spirit of God, whatever faith was there, the spirit of God, set it on. And whereas no one up to that point ever knew that that faith ever existed, Joseph on a cross, enough is enough. If they secret before, they were not secret anymore. But this is what faith does, beloved. This is what faith does. This is what the grace and the mercy of God does. This is what it produces in our lives. Sooner or later, the flicker becomes the flame. The flicker becomes the flame. Listen to me. Listen to me this morning. Fear grips us all. It grips us all. At some point in time in our Christian life, this we are honest. We are not all brave heart Christians. And if God abandoned me every time that I failed to give a clear and present testimony of Jesus, where would I be? In fact, that's what the Bible says. If the Lord kept records of sin, Lord where could we sin? If the Lord kept records of all of your times of fear, where would you be? If the Lord kept records of all the times of your spiritual cowardness, where would you be? Thanksfully by his mercy and his grace, he doesn't count our failures or our fears against us, beloved. He loves us through them all, the boystress one. Where was Peter? Peter denied the Lord out of fear. The other disciples ran away from the cross and they were hiding. Why? Out of fear. Even John didn't dare ask for the body of Christ. Why? Out of fear. And yet, beloved, the good news is this, is that despite all of their fears, Christ loved them all. And guess what? Guess what? I get good news. He loves you too. That's fearful. And it's frightened as you are. Even some of you this morning, the Lord loves you too. And yet here was Joseph and Nick Dean.

Once fear had moved him to be silent, now faith was causing him to speak up. Why? Why? Why, beloved? Why is it change? Because, beloved, Jesus was not going to be buried by fear. If Jesus was going to be buried, it was going to have to take me. Somebody would have to be moved. By faith. That's what a disciple is. That's what a disciple is. Those who are moved by faith. Those who are called by faith. Those who are saved through faith. Jesus was buried by his disciples who were moved and called by faith. Faith! That means a bit of faith. As that moment, who would you bet was more disciple of Jesus? Nick Dean is superior. At that moment, who would you bet was more disciple of Jesus? Joseph or James? Beloved Jesus was not going to get buried by fear. It was going to take faith. While Peter and James were gone, he didn't have it at that moment. Thank God. God had his disciples in secret places that he could call upon and be moved by faith. That's what discipleship is. His faith. And so Jesus was buried by faith, but he was not only buried by faith, he was buried in worship because that's what disciples do. That's what disciples do. When Jesus was crucified, Pilate put above his head the word. Remember the words. What did they read? King of the Jews. And they thought that it was a mockery. Pilate thought it was a mockery. The Jews thought it was blasphemous. But it was neither blasphemous, nor a mockery beloved. It was the testimony of God. And what the burial does is remind us of this as well. When you come to Jesus, even in death, you come to a king. You come to a king. It's the in verse 39. He, Nicodemus, I mean, he Joseph of Ramothia was accompanied by Nicodemus, a man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Joseph of Ramothia was a secret disciple. Nicodemus, like to walk around in the dark. And Nicodemus, it says, brought a mixture of murder and alloy about 75 pounds, taking Jesus' body the two of them wrapped it with spices and strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. This is what they did. It was time for freedom. And they prepared Jesus' body to be buried because Jesus is dead. Really dead. And such preparation was not unusual. This is what they did with bodies. They had funerals. Jesus went to funerals. They didn't stay for funerals. But he was there. The funerals happened all the time. When they prepared bodies all the time for burial. You recall in John chapter 11, when Jesus comes and raised Lazarus from the dead, the Bible says in 1144, that Jesus, when he raised Lazarus from the dead, he commanded them to unwrap him from the linen clothes. Of the dead. Why? Because this is what you did to prepare dead bodies. Perfume and spices wrap them in linen clothes. They replace them in the tomb. So what they were doing with Jesus was not unusual. Except nicodemus thought to bring 75 pounds of spices. 75 pounds of Perfume. My wife didn't have that much. And she's got a lot. 75 pounds? Well, maybe. Let me think about that. 75 pounds? This was more than could be expected for a common man. Definitely more than should be expected for a criminal. But this reminds us again that Jesus was no common man. This type of preparation would be saved for the wealthy. This type of preparation would be saved for the importance. This type of preparation would be saved for the royalty. This type of preparation would be afforded to a king. And here was nicodemus introducing the worship of Jesus as king. Nicodemus knew. And he understood that he was not coming unto his equal. He was coming unto his better. He was coming unto his master. He was coming unto his lord. He was coming unto a king. He was coming unto a king. Beloved. You remember when Jesus was born at a child? The Bible tells us that the wise men came bringing gold, frankincense, and merc. Why did they bring gold, frankincense, and merc? Because they said we have come to worship the one who had been born king. At his death, here is nicodemus bringing 75 pounds of allos, 75 pounds of murmur, and perfume. And I'm sure his servants will say, Master, why do we need 75 pounds? Because we have come to worship the one who was born but now has died as king. Listen, Beloved. We don't like kings in our country. We don't like kings. We don't like people who assume that they king. Who talk like they king? Who act like they king? We don't like kings in America. We do away with kings. We rather have presidents and governors that we can elect and reject every few years. Because we don't want pirates and tyranny. And we want to have a say in who governs us and who doesn't. Which means we want to govern ourselves. Beloved, I got news for you this morning. The kingdom of God is not a democracy. The kingdom of God is not a republic. The kingdom of God has a king. He is a sovereign king. He is a loving king. He is a gracious king. He is a king full of grace and mercy. And he is a king worthy of worship. And that's why we sing, oh, worship the king. Oh, worship the king. All glory is above all grace. All power and his love. Our shield and defender the ancient of day. Pavilion and splendid. Girded with praise. Girded with praise. Because we worship a king. Such was the honor. Such was the faith of Nicodemus. And he will determine to pay to his Lord. This is the glory and worship. This was willing to pay. And here, again, was the faith of Nicodemus growing, growing, growing. Here was evidence of what our Lord had come to do. Nicodemus came to the Lord by night. Colossians chapter 1 and verse 13 reminds us that the cross of Jesus crawled, called us out of darkness. This is what Nicodemus was witnessing because this is what the Lord does. This is what the difference the cross makes, calls people out of darkness into the light. As Peter reminds us, and first Peter chapter 2 and verse 9, that we are that people. We are that people who have been called out of darkness into his marvelous light. We are that people. Nicodemus give witness to being that person in the kingdom of God, called out of darkness into the marvelous light of the Lord. Whereby now you worship. But the old saints used to say, look where the Lord had brought me from. Look where the Lord had brought me from. Here is, don't get excited, brother. This is the faith of Nicodemus reminding us something very important. Now, this is the worship of a kingdom and it's worth it. 75 pounds. Now, this is the worship of a kingdom and it's worth it. 75 pounds. I'll bring 175 pounds. Why? Because worship costs. Worship costs. This is no little feat. What Nicodemus is doing here below me. This is no little feat. What Joseph of Amathea has done here. This is no little thing. It took courage. But faith, it took risk of loss. Whatever they were afraid of before, they were willing to risk for the worship of Jesus. And they spent. They spent well. That burial plot was expensive. 75 pounds of perfume and oils was expensive. But more expensive than the burial plot and more expensive than the perfume was their personal association. It was done. It was over. Whatever secrets they had before, there would be no more secrets now. They were out. They were disciples of Jesus. And everyone would know it. We're willing to pay. Because being a Christian is not cheap. It is not cheap. Our Lord gave His all for you. What are you willing to give Him this morning? What are you holding back? You holding back your treasure? The Lord has blessed you and giving you the ability to get wealth. You can spend the time consuming it upon yourself. What are you holding back from the worship of God? Is it your treasure? Perhaps it's your time. Perhaps it's your time. You've got time to go to work. You've got time to go to school. You've got time to play golf. You've got time to play soccer. You've got time to go to football practice. You've got time to go flip around and gym. You've got time for everything else. But you have no time to worship. How do you hold Him back this morning? It's your talent. Maybe it's your treasure. Maybe it's your talent. You've got time to give to that organization, to that school. You've got time to be in that neighborhood association. You've got time to involve yourself in all these political arguments and all these political debates. When it comes time to serve in the Church of the Lord, Jesus Christ, you have no talent for that. And Joseph, as your even the risk of life, when David was offered the Threshing floor, so that he might build an altar to God. When they heard that David would build an altar to God, the one who owned the Threshing floor, told David, David, I donate the Threshing floor to you. And you know what David said? The second time in the 24 and 24? No. I insist on paying for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord, my God, but offerings that cost me nothing. Worship costs. And Nicodemus and Joseph were for real. And you know how you know they were for real, because they were willing to pay. Not just money, but they were willing to let it be known that they loved the Lord, and that he was their king, not pilots, not herod, not Caesar, Jesus. But what blood to give up their lives because Jesus had given his, and beloved the Lord, never, never, the Lord never acts of his people, but that which he himself is willing to do, and so who died for us and died for him. He who lived for us, called us to come and lived for him. And this is what Joseph and Nicodemus were willing to do because they were disciples, because this is what disciples do. They were shepherds. This is what disciples are willing to pay, because Jesus paid it all. And all to him, my own. Sin had left the crimson stain, and he washed it white as snow. Why? Why? Why are you here, Nicodemus? Why are you here, Joseph of Amatia? Because when I look at the cross, I can't help but say, all to Jesus, I surrender. All to him, my freedom. I will ever live and trust him. And in his presence, daily, man, I surrender all. Now that's what the disciples do. Let's pray.