After this…
After what?
After all the events that just happened.
After Jesus’ arrest, pharisees’ kangaroo court, Pilate’s
sermon…
After Jesus’ seven statements from the cross:
Ø Father
forgive them for they know not what they do
Ø Today you
will be with Me in paradise
Ø Behold
your mother…
Ø My God My
God why have You forsaken Me
Ø I thirst
Ø It is
finished
Ø Father
into Thy hands I commit My Spirit
And then there was a great earthquake, the rocks split and;
and the veil in the temple (45-60’ high x 4” thick) was ripped in two from the
top to bottom… Mt. 27:51
Joseph of Arimathea…
He’s called, Joseph of Arimathea, because he came from
the Judean town of Arimathea.
He's mentioned in all four gospels.
He's a member of the Sanhedrin; seventy-member council;
Israel’s Supreme Court. Luke 23:50. He opposed the Sanhedrin’s decision to
crucify Christ; Luke 23:51.
Wealthy; Matthew 27:57.
Good and upright; Luke 23:50.
being a disciple of Jesus…
So, Joe was a member of the Sanhedrin, wealthy, good and
upright, and a disciple of Jesus.
Side note: There
are some unsubstantiated stories about Joseph of Arimathea.
Such as: he was the uncle of Jesus’ mother Mary; and that Joe brought the
gospel to Britain during his travels for trade. There is no Biblical reference
or historical documentation, that we know of, to substantiate these claims.
but secretly, for fear of the Jews…
Secret disciple? How can
that be? Some say this sounds like a contradiction; an oxymoron. Aren’t we
supposed to let your Light so shine? Matt. 5:16.
Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also
confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men,
him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. Matt. 10:32-33.
However, we do have Documentation in this case to substantiate
the claim
The Bible is always right.
The Bible says, first, “Joseph of Arimathea, being
a disciple of Jesus…
Those words establish Joseph as a disciple of Jesus, no
matter what the following words reveal.
We must never deviate from what the Bible establishes,
to fit inside our logic.
So, how can he be a secret disciple?
Well, today the underground Church has Christians who are secret
disciples of Jesus in dictatorships like China, N. Korea, Turkey, Washington
DC (just kidding about DC...for now).
Consider Lot, in all his crazy foolishness, and yet he’s
remembered as “righteous Lot” in 2 Peter 2:7-8.
God looks at the heart.
asked Pilate that he might take away the body of
Jesus…
At great risk to himself and his reputation, Joseph went to
the Roman governor, and requested the body of Jesus.
Roman law permitted this privilege to friends and family.
Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead
because many lived for 24-36 hours or more. So, he confirmed with the centurion
first (Mark 15:44-45); and then, Pilate gave him permission.
So, he came and took the body of Jesus.
This wasn’t exactly an easy task. So, he gets some help from a friend.
39 And Nicodemus, who
at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh
and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
Nicodemus is only mentioned in John. First in chapter three,
then, seven, and finally here in chapter nineteen.
He first came to Jesus by night, in chapter three. It was this conversation with Nick at night, that gave us the now famous, John 3:16.
In, John 7:50, we’re told he’s a member of the Sanhedrin.
In the next verse Nick sticks up for Jesus. They ordered that
Jesus be arrested but Nicodemus said:
Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does? John 7:51.
One more thing about Nick.
Here, in John 19:39, the large mixture (75-100 pounds) of
myrrh and aloes that Nick provided on such short notice seems to imply that he must’ve
been, like his friend Joe, quite wealthy.
40 Then they took the body of
Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of
the Jews is to bury.
Then they took the body of Jesus…
This isn’t as easy as it sounds.
Picture two rich religious guys with nice fancy clothes. Their
soft hands are filled full of stuff, hammers, ladders, rope, several pounds of
oils and spices and linens.
Joe has a note, in his mouth (because his hands are full); a
permission slip from Pilate to let the guards know not to kill them but to let
them take the body of Jesus.
They look up, at Jesus on cross. How are we going to get Him
down?
The soldiers probably sit back and watch.
Perhaps they could pay the soldiers to do it, but couldn't bear
the thought of how they’d do it.
You see, the victims of crucifixion that weren’t claimed by
family or friend, were ripped from the cross by the soldiers, then drug to the
valley of Hinnom and dumped into a pit where the trash from the city is
sprinkled with Sulphur and burns nonstop day and night.
Hinnom is a picture of hell where the worm dies not and the
fire is not quenched, Mark 9:48.
Joe and Nick, cannot, will not, let that happen to Jesus.
Somehow, they manage to get Jesus off the cross.
and bound it in strips of linen with the spices,
as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
They immediately began to prepare the body for burial. The sun
was sinking fast.
Following Jewish custom, they wrapped the body in strips of
linen and mixed in myrrh and aloe. This was to reduce the stench of death.
However, first, according to Jewish custom, the body
had to be thoroughly washed.
Imagine these religious elite who rarely had to get their
hands dirty, now gently cleaning dirt, and blood, off every inch of His torn
skin; carefully removing from His flesh, thorns imbedded from the crown of
thorns; slivers from six hours of raising up and down just to catch a breath on
the old rugged cross; and shards of metal, and bone, left from the thongs of
the scourge.
Wonder what they were thinking? This is the Man, they secretly followed.
Did they have doubts? This is
the Man they’d hoped would change the world, save the world, deliver them, the
Jewish nation, from Roman occupation and rule. But now, He’s dead.
How about guilt? I should’ve
said something. Done something. I was too concerned about my position, my
reputation, my this, my that… I was a coward.
Were they overcompensating? Now
that He’s dead, were they trying to make up for what they didn’t do, while He
was living?
Can you relate? Doubts? Guilt? Over compensate?
41 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.
There was a garden…
In the beginning there was a garden, Eden, where paradise was
lost, by Adam (man) saying not Thy will, but mine.
There was a second garden, Gethsemane, where paradise was won, by the Second Adam, (The Son of Man, Jesus) saying, not My will, but
Thine.
Here in our text, is the third garden, a temporary place for a
temporary tomb; this life, this death, is but for a moment, a vapor…
There awaits a fourth garden, where we shall meet, if you are in
Christ. There all things are new; there’s no more tears, death, sorrow, crying
or pain; the tree of life abounds in this paradise garden of God. Rev. 21:1-6, 22:1-2.
42 So there they laid
Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was
nearby.
This garden tomb belonged to Joseph of Arimathea according to
Matthew 27:59.
There they laid Jesus, fulfilling prophecy.
Isaiah
53:9
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth
Grave with the wicked— He was crucified
between two thieves.
With the rich in His death—He was buried
by two rich men, Nick and Joe.
While these rich men prepared the body of Christ, do you think
it dawned on them? He was with the rich in His death. They knew the Scripture.
Preparation Day…
It was Passover; it was the day before Sabbath; it was late in
the day. It was Preparation Day.
Preparation Day is mentioned three
times in this chapter; verses 14, 31, and here in 42.
When God says something once, it’s important. Twice, scoot to
the edge of your seat, pay attention, it’s really important. Three times, stand up, draw
close, take notes, it’s vitally important.
Friends, it’s Preparation Day, the night is falling fast. There’s
no time to be silent and secret, lukewarm and worldly.
The soldiers of hell are coming to rip your, family and
friends and those God has given you, away from the cross of Christ, and drag
them to Hinnom, where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus,
We don’t know for sure, but it appears that Nick and Joe may
have finished well.
We want to finish well.
Help us to come out of our selfish shell, and be bold and courageous
for You. Lord, we pray for passion to stand in the gap for those You’ve given
us so not one winds up in the valley of Hinnom.
Today, right here, right now, we say, not my will, but Thine.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
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