Sermon – “God Provided a Proper Burial”

All right now get with it this morning outside of a message God provided a proper burial for His Son Jesus Christ. You know as I think about all the events of Easter and the day of preparation and the Sabbath and resurrection Sunday I’m thinking of all these things and this morning I’m going to touch on the day of preparation but also on some of the things that happened during the Sabbath but also on the on the resurrection but it just shows God’s sovereign hand over the entire event the events of that Passover season that God was in control of every single circumstance that happened during that week. Everything and it’s proof that he is God is proof that Jesus has risen from the grave a man I want to begin this morning I have two passages that I’m going to read to start with Mark fifteen verses forty two through forty seven and then Matthew twenty seven versus sixty two through sixty six beginning with Mark. Now when evening had come because it was the preparation day that is the day before the Sabbath. Joseph of Arimathea a prominent council member who was himself waiting for the Kingdom of God coming and taking courage when into Politan asked for the body of Jesus. Polat marveled that he was already dead. He marveled he think and how happy to be dead so soon. He marveled that he was already dead. Well let me tell you they beat him practically beat him to death before they even took him to the cross with the whip. With those barbs on air that rips your flesh off. Plus think of this the way to the sins was upon him he was already dead and he summoned this injury and he asked him if he. I’ve been dead for some time. So when he found out from this interview and he granted the body to Joseph that he brought fine linen took him down and wrapped him in the linen and he laid him in a two which had been here an out of the rock and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb and Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joe says’ observed where they laid him or where he was laid and then turning to Mark Matthew chapter twenty seven versus sixty two through sixty six on the next day which followed the day of preparation. So what day follows a day of preparation for the Sabbath day. The chief priest and the Pharisees gathered together to pilot saying sir we remember while he was still alive how that deceiver said after three days I will rise. I admire how Satan had twisted their thoughts. Here’s Jesus Christ the Son of the living God And they’re calling him the deceiver the deceiver had so twisted their minds that they didn’t recognize their Lord and actually call him a deceiver. They said therefore command that the tune be made secure until the third day lest his disciples come by night and steal him away and say to the people he has risen from the dead. So the last deception will be worse than the first. Howard said to them you have a guard go your way and make it as secure as you know how so they went and made the tomb secure sealing the stone and setting the guard they would seal the stone but they would take clay and mud and they would put it on one side of the tomb and then put this quarter across it and seal it on the other side and they would seal the tomb. So they begin with this morning my first point was because it was a preparation day the day before the Sabbath. This my friends was a day. It was very important to the Jewish people. Do you remember where God taught them about the preparation day don’t you remember as the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years. What did he do he sent them manna. He sent them manna from heaven and he told them to go out and gather. I’m going to I’m going to use modern terminology to make it a little easier to understand. If God said Go out and gather or let’s just say a court go out and gather a court for every person Sunday through Thursday glowering gather one court for every person in your household and if you gather more than the court it will rot if they want if they got greedy and went out and got an extra hundred a day I’m going to gather two quarts when they go out it would be rotten there be maggots in it. Then God told them on preparation day the day before the Sabbath. Go out and gather extra gather two quarts. Then it would be preserved. They would have their food for the preparation day and their food for the Sabbath. God bless them and honored it whenever they were faithful to obey him. So it was important for the Jewish people. They prepared their houses they prepared their tables you know meaning they prepared their meals ahead of time and any other chores that they may have had they would do them on the preparation day so that they would be free from the cares and the concerns in the business of the world on the Sabbath day that their hearts could be focused on their God that their hearts could be focused on their service to God and their worship of him you know I think most of us probably really have a firm grasp or understanding of this whole concept of preparation because you know I’m sure that you’ve all had a picnic at your house or a Christmas party at your house or some county event it’s your house where you have prepared for hours you know if it was. In the summertime you clean the yard up you mow the lawn you might have washed the porches off inside you dusted the furniture you clean the floors you straighten everything up nice and neat. Why. So that your house will look at the very best for your guests right. I know a little bit about this preparation too. At work we had was we had a retirement party this last Wednesday for a upper management person in our facility and he was very well I mean he was way upper management and they knew that there’d be a lot of dignitaries come in from Jacksonville for this retirement. We have literally been preparing for two and a half months for that. For one afternoon we have cleaned and painted and cleaned and painted and cleaned and painted like you wouldn’t believe for two and a half months for preparation time for this one day. Women are no more now women I know that you’ve prepared your house for that Pampered Chef party or that party right. Preparation time. We could follow their example and practice a little preparation in our lives on the day before the Sabbath whether it’s the weather we worship on Saturday or Sunday. We could practice a little bit of this so that we could freely enjoy all the blessings that God has for us on the Sabbath day amen that we wouldn’t be distracted by the things of the world that we could focus on him we wouldn’t have to go do the laundry. We wouldn’t have to scrub the floor but we could focus on our God amen. My second point. You can clearly see from our passage today that God made sure that his son received the proper burial. Does anybody know what would have happened to Jesus’ body if someone wouldn’t have been when and requested his body they would have taken it down off the cross. Yes and toss it in the heap in a pit with other bodies. It would it just like adults outside the city limits. The Romans would have just taken him down threw him out there in a heap with the other criminals. Those who could not afford a proper burial. That’s what would have happened to me. You know these Romans were export experts of torture I don’t know how they could have had a conscience when you look at how they tortured people. So do you think they have much concern for the dead after they’ve already died on a cross Froman heap. But God did not allow that to happen to his son even in his death. Christ fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah fifty three verses eight and nine. It says he was taken from prison and from judgment and who will declare his generation for he was cut off from the land of the living for the transgressions of my people. He was stricken for the transgressions of my people he was stricken. We can make that person ill say for my transgressions. He was stricken I say that with me for my transgressions he was stricken. And they made his grave with the wicked but with the Rich and his death. But because he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth verse forty three of our passage in Mark reveals whom God raised up to provide this burial for Jesus. Joseph Lieberman who is said to be a prominent council member one who was waiting for the Kingdom of God you know it would seem like most of the religious leaders rejected Jesus but there were some that believed in him. There were some that were looking for the Kingdom of God there were some who were looking for the Messiah. There were some that received Jesus though. It may have been secretly for some of them but they still received him. The scripture said that he taking courage taking courage. You know he was a he was a counselor of the high priest. He was a man that had much respect among his peers. So for him to come in and request the body of Jesus to give him the proper burial was taking a risk of losing his reputation in the eyes of his peers a risk that he was willing to take. Why was he willing to take that risk. Well he may have been in the crowd one day when Jesus said for whoever is ashamed of me in my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his father with the holy angels. He might have been standing in a crowd that day he says this is anger time. Now now see they didn’t want you to hear that. It’s time for us to become courageous. Forget about our reputations. It’s time for us to get courageous. For him to not be ashamed of him proclaim the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to proclaim that he is risen. You know Joseph did not act alone. Mark only mentioned Joseph mentioned Joseph but the Gospel of John also mentions that the demons who assisted Jesus assisted in the burial of Jesus in John nineteen verses thirty eight to forty. It says After this Joseph of Arimathea been a disciple of Jesus but secretly for fear of the Jews as pilot that he might take away the body of Jesus and Paul it gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus and Nica Damus who had first came to Jesus by night also came bringing a mixture of murder and aloes about a hundred pounds and they took the body of Jesus and bound it in strips of linen with spices as a custom of the Jews is to bury. You know the disciples would not had the means to supply Jesus with a proper burial. They wouldn’t had the means to do it. They didn’t have the money to do it. But God raised up two men that were able to do it. God was sovereign over every detail every detail. God left absolutely nothing that could inject doubt when it comes to Jesus’ death burial and resurrection. Everything about Jesus’ life was exactly in line with prophecy. He fulfilled every process prophecy they could not come back and say that Jesus wasn’t really dead. They couldn’t say or he was just in a comatose state because it was confirmed verses forty four and forty five said that powered marveled that he was already dead and summing this and carrion and he asked him if he had been dead for some time. So when he found out from the Centurion he. Granted the body to Joseph it is proof it is proof that he was dead. This interim was there. They seen a side Piers in the water in the blood rush hour. He knew he was dead. Well next point versus sixty two and sixty three of Matthew reveal something you know I really never paid a whole lot attention to before that the chief priests and the Pharisees took Jesus claims to rise from the dead very seriously. Maybe even more serious than the disciples If the disciples had taken Jesus seriously. Shouldn’t I have been out there waiting by the tomb. If they took him seriously they should have in a sense pitched our tents out there. Come on brothers it’s almost a third day let’s get out there and wait. Let’s wait for our Lord to come out of that tomb. But they took him seriously. The words said that following the day of preparation which was the Sabbath day they went to see powder and said to him that while Jesus was still alive he claimed that he would rise again the third day. Therefore they requested that the tomb be made secure. Here these men are supposedly these godly righteous men religious men here they are on the Sabbath day petitioning pilot to make the tomb secure the same man that whenever Jesus healed the lame man said Take up your mat and walk. It happened to be on the Sabbath day they criticized him when he stretched out his hand and touched a man with leprosy healing on the Sabbath day they criticize him. Here they are they should have been in their synagogues worshipping God and repartitioning pallete non-self far they have went from following the true God. That’s how twisted their minds were. How deceived they were. But I’ll tell you the most important thing I see in this I see a God that’s even using these enemies to accomplish his purpose Amen. He’s using his enemies his use and those that have rejected him to accomplish his purpose to have that seal put on there because of their efforts the tomb was secured. They couldn’t come back they might come back in line and try to say that this tight disciples came and talking but they couldn’t come back and they couldn’t confirm it because they say you are the ones that had it sealed How could it possibly have happened. And then proof because they sealed the tomb. And I believe that they were afraid of his resurrection. That thing which brings Christ the greatest honor. His resurrection from the grave is what brings greatest fear to his enemies even today not just then but even today. That which brings him the greatest honor brings the greatest fear to his enemies. Why. Because they know they are defeated. They know they are defeated. Yes Satan has demons might have been having a celebre Tory party on the Sabbath day when Christ was in that tomb but guess what Sundays coming Sundays come in Amen. The party was going to be short lived. They know they are defeated. They were afraid of losing their power. They were afraid that they would have to bow down to him. There’s a similar story down in the Old Testament. I know that you all know the story the story of Joseph and his brothers. You know how Joseph was given dreams and visions and he had these dreams that. Is she the wheat would rise above that of these brothers and that the Earth would bow down to him. So my thing is he tell these brothers about these dreams I wonder if we ever walk away thinking why did I tell them that they just hate me all the more they were exasperated by his claims that he would have dominion over them. I mean they were angry. They’re like we’re going to get rid of this troublemaker. I mean Dad even loves him more than us look at that fancy coat that he made them. We’re going to get rid of him. They first thought the killing one of the brothers had no let selling so they sold him to a band going down the ages. But we know what happened. God had other plans didn’t he use Joseph’s enemies to fulfill his plans to provide for its people. You see our God uses enemies he use jokes as brothers who hated him to fulfill his plan to provide food for his people because he knew there was a famine coming and his brother did bow down to him didn’t they. Yes they did. Christ not only rose above his enemies he has defeated them he has defeated Death is defeated Helen is repeated the grave a man all right there’s a lot about their acts two verses twenty two through twenty four says him being delivered by the determined purpose and for knowledge of God You have taken by lawless hands have crucified him put to death whom God raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be helped by it. I found a little story about D.L. Moody and he said says how as a young man he was suddenly called upon to preach a funeral sermon he said I hunted and hunted throughout the four gospels. I’m defining one of Christ’s funeral sermons. But he searched and he searched and he searched in vain he found that Christ broke up every funeral that he ever attended lujah death could not exist where he was a man. When the dad heard his voice they sprang to life. Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life. If you are in Christ you have life. Do you believe that brothers and sisters. If you are in Christ and He in you you have life. First Corinthians fifteen as I shared in Sabbath school I’m going to share it again. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh Death where is your sting of Hades where is your victory. The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. We had the victory. The grade could not hold him. Death could not hold him. Praise be to God that He rose up out of that grave that first Easter morning. I can imagine the first Easter morning could you imagine the celebration in heaven. Could you imagine angels rejoicing in heaven when Braff come back into Jesus Christ and he rose up out of that brain. I don’t think that he got up many someone around trying to find his way he was a lot more alive than he’s ever been. That first Easter morning when that spirit of God came upon him rose him out of that great hollow you can you say amen amen. You have a life if you are in Christ because He lives we too shall live. Amen amen hallelujah. I just pray that that’s in your hearts every day not just during this Easter season. Live like resurrected sons and daughters of the Living God A man has to work for the day amen or close in him today.