The Burial of Jesus (2)

The Burial of Jesus

Mark 15:42-47

If you brought your Bibles, turn with me over to the gospel of Mark chapter 15. The gospel of Mark chapter 15, and in a moment, we are going to read verses 42-47 of the gospel of Mark chapter 15. The tittle of the message this morning is “the burial of Jesus” because that is what’s taking place in this story. However, the tittle could have easily been “the proof of death” because that is the purpose of Mark writing this story.

It is important that we understand that all scripture is God breathed and is profitable for teaching and correcting our life. Even these verses about the burial of Jesus call for us to do something and inspire us to grow in some way closer to God.

We have almost come to the end of our study in the Gospel of Mark. The next message will be our last as we look at the resurrection of Christ and we will end more than two years of walking in the footsteps of Jesus through Mark’s gospel.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this study and if you have been here throughout this journey, you have learned more about the gospel of Mark than you ever knew before. After the advent season, as we begin a new year, we will begin a new study of a book of the Bible. It will be something from the Old Testament because we believe in teaching and preaching the full council of the Word of God.

So, today we are approaching the very end of Mark’s gospel. Jesus has been condemned, crucified and He is dead on the cross. We have seen the dramatic effect of this taking place in the world. The utter darkness of the judgment of God, the veil of the temple torn in two, and the great confession of the Roman Centurion that this was truly the Son of God, and today, we will see the sovereignty of God over the burial of Jesus, and how it is meant to inspire us to trust and believe. (Mark 15:42-47)

42. When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

43 Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

44 Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead.

45 And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

46 Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid. (Pray)

When we think about the story of Jesus, we often think about His birth, the incarnation, the immaculate conception. A baby born in a manger and angels proclaiming “peace on earth and good will toward man. Or we focus on His life, the ministry, the healings, the miracles. Turning water into wine, the feeding of thousands with a loaf of bread, or the calming of the sea. Often, we talk about the crucifixion or the power of the resurrection. We might even think about the ascension into heaven and how He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, but what we rarely think about is the burial of the body of Jesus.

Yet the Bible gives a significant amount of attention to His burial. There are 26 verses in the New Testament devoted to the burial of Jesus. In fact, I would say the burial becomes just as important as all the other dramatic events of the Bible. That is why all four of the gospels include this story. That is why Joseph of Arimathea is not mentioned anywhere else in scripture, yet all four gospel writers include this man in this section.

As we read through this, we find there are a lot of lessons we learn from this story. We see the sovereignty of God working behind the scenes. We see the courage of a disciple taking a stand for Jesus. We see the commitment of the women who followed Jesus and never abandoned Him, but the reason Mark wrote this story is because he wanted his audience to know, Jesus really did die, and He was buried. And because Jesus really did die and was really buried, we can trust and believe there was really a resurrection.

You see throughout history there have been many skeptics of the resurrection, and to dispute the resurrection they had to come up with a theory for why the tomb was empty. Because no one could deny the empty tomb.

One of those theories was the swoon theory. They said that Jesus really didn’t die on the cross, but He just swooned. He reached unconscious hypnotic state and was later revived. Therefore, there was no resurrection just a resuscitation. That is why all four of the gospel writers include this story so we would know; Jesus absolutely died, was buried, and rose again.

The first thing I want you to see in this passage is the precise timing of God, Vs. 42. The timing of the burial of Jesus creates a crisis, but God is in control and His timing is perfect.

Notice Vs. 42, “When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath.” It is important we understand this is not what we call evening. For the Jews evening represented what we refer to as late afternoon, sometime between 3 and 6 o’clock. You see Jesus died on the ninth hour, at 3 o’clock on the day of preparation. That is Friday, the day the Jews prepared for the Sabbath, and He had to be buried before 6 o’clock because that is when the Sabbath begins. So, time is of the essence. There is no time to waste.

Jewish law forbids anyone from working on the Sabbath. The Sabbath begins at sundown 6 o’clock on Friday and goes until sundown 6 o’clock on Saturday So, you see if Jesus is not buried by 6 o’clock He will hang on the cross through the Sabbath.

And God is not going to let that happen. Prophecy has already told us that He will be dead and buried and rise again on the third day. But for that to happen it is going to take a miracle from God. Because the disciples have abandoned Him, the women cannot take Him down from the cross and the Romans they don’t care, they will leave Him on the cross and allow the vultures to dispose of the body.

But all of this is meant to demonstrate for us the sovereignty of God. God is in complete control of everything that is taking place. And the same thing is true in your life.

(John Newton) If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear. His eye is upon us, his arm over us, his ear open to our prayer; his grace sufficient, his promise unchangeable. Under his protection, though the path of duty should lie through fire and water, we may cheerfully and confidently pursue it.

God is at work in your life, and He is calling you to trust Him, to put your faith in Him and not in the world. Jesus said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered! Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Luke 12:5–7).

Last week we saw God in control as Jesus surrender His life on the cross at the time of His choosing. He did not die the way a person normally dies of crucifixion. He did not die gasping for air and struggling to breathe, but He died with a shout, and said, “Father into your hands I commit my Spirit.”

Today we see God in control because it is critical that the Passover Lamb be slain, and buried before the Sabbath begins. That is what we see taking place in this story everything is functioning on a divine timetable. Everything is taking place just as God said it would through the prophets of Old. Isaiah 53:9 says, “His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was buried with a rich man in His death.”

And now in Mark 15:43 we are introduced to the rich man, Joseph of Arimathea. And the next thing I want you to see in this passage the courageous disciple. Notice Vs 43 says, “Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God.”

Joseph is a dynamic example of what a disciple should be; someone who allowed himself to be used by God. Someone who sets the example for all of us to follow.

There are many things we learn about Joseph from the gospel writers. For example, from Mark alone we learn three things. 1. He was from Arimathea. It doesn’t exist today, but it was a town 20 miles Northwest of Jerusalem, where the prophet Samuel was from.

2. We learn he was a prominent member of the council. The council is referring to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, or the supreme court of Israel. Ironically these are the very religious leaders who handed Christ over to the Romans to be crucified. Notice he wasn’t just a member of this group but a prominent member. He was someone with great influence, someone they looked up to, someone they respected.

3. We learn he was waiting for the Kingdom of God. That means Joseph had a Messianic hope. He believed in the promises of God, spoken through the prophets. He believed God was going to intervene in human history and bring salvation to the world, and Joseph of Arimathea found all of those promises fulfilled in Jesus.

What about you, are you someone who is waiting for the kingdom of God? Do you find the promises of God fulfilled in Jesus Christ?

The other gospel writers continue to fill in the blanks for us about this courageous disciple. For example, Luke 23:50 tells us, He was a good and righteous man, who didn’t consent to the plan to crucify Christ. Matthew 27:57 tells us he was a rich man who became a disciple of Jesus. But the most telling information we get comes from John 19:38 which says, “He was a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews.”

What an indictment. What a horrible thing to say about someone. Joseph was an undercover agent. He was a secret service disciple. He could not openly follow his heart for fear of losing his reputation. I can’t help but think about the words of Jesus who said, “If you deny me before man, I will deny you before my Father.”

Imagine what he was feeling when they were plotting the death of Jesus right in front of him? He didn’t consent to what they did but he didn’t do anything to stop it either. I can’t help but think to myself, “what if he would have just spoken up?” Maybe he could have prevented what happened.

Then I remember, we don’t save Jesus, Jesus saves us. The cross was the divine plan of God for sin of the world. If there is no cross there is no forgiveness. If there is no cross there is no heaven, and no one was going to stop the cross not even Joseph of Arimathea.

Even the silence of Joseph was a part of the plan of God and when timing was right, God called this secret disciple to step up and take a stand for Christ. Notice Vs. 43 says, “He gathered up courage and went in before Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.”

It is important to understand when a person was crucified for insurrection you needed special permission from the Romans to have their body, and usually it was only given to a member of the family. This is a dangerous situation for Joseph. Pilate is already tired of the Jews; remember he despises the Jewish leaders. And really this shows us just how prominent a man Joseph was. He is given an audience with Pilate and Pilate listens to him. And maybe that is because Pilate knew Jesus was innocent.

Whatever the case, Joseph had a lot to lose by coming out of the closet as a believer. He stood to lose his place of authority with the Sanhedrin, He stood to lose his popularity with the people, and he stood to lose his wealth, something that would affect his family for generations to come.

And really what does he stand to gain in this moment? Jesus is already dead. He is not expecting the resurrection, but he could not stay silent any longer. God was stirring his heart to act.

But what about you. Are you tempted to live as an invisible Christian? There are many problems we face in the church today, but one of the biggest problems is God’s people are not willing to take a risk for Jesus. The Latin phrase Carpe Diem, means “seize the day.” You see taking risks is what makes life extraordinary if we do it according to God’s plan.

I am reminded of Moses and the children of Israel. They wandered for forty years in the wilderness because they were not willing to do what God had called them to do. They were afraid of the unknown. In Deuteronomy 1:6-7 God said, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Turn now and move on”

Moses knew the path in front of them was not going to be easy. He knew he was going to be risking the lives of the men, women, and children with him, but God never intended for them to stay in the wilderness. And God doesn’t intend for you to stay where you are either. We need the courage of Joseph to step out in faith and take a stand for Christ no matter the cost.

The next thing I want you to see in this story is the Confirmation of Death, Vs. 44-45. Pilate was surprised to learn that Jesus was already dead and seeks confirmation. And this passage serves as a death certificate for us. Notice Vs. 44, “Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time.”

The word “Wondered” here means Pilate was amazed, he was shocked by the news. He couldn’t believe that Jesus had already died. You see normally it took days for the person who was crucified to suffocate on the cross. John 19 tells us how they broke the legs of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus just to speed up their death, but they only pierced the side of Jesus because He was already dead.

Pilate is surprised by this, Vs. 44 says, “and summoning the Centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead.” This is an amazing scene because this is the same Centurion who stood in front of the cross and confessed that Jesus was truly the Son of God. Pilate is now sandwiched between believers. You have the courageous disciple Joseph of Arimathea and the new convert Roman Centurion. You talk about a witness to the sovereignty of God; Pilate is surrounded by believers. And Vs. 45 tells us “He granted Joseph the body.” Well of course he did. How could he refuse. The Holy Spirit was all over this scene. God was demanding the body of His Son, and Pilate gives it up.

But all of this teaches us the fact that Jesus really did die on the cross, and because He really did die on the cross, three days later He really rose again. His body was given to Joseph of Arimathea who had come out of the shadows to take a stand for Christ, and that is something every true disciple will do.

What we learn from this story is that it is okay to be silent at times. Joseph certainly was silent, sometimes it is even wise to be silent. But a true disciple of Christ cannot stay silent forever. We must publicly proclaim our faith.

The first way we do that is through Baptism. Romans 6:3-4 says, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized unto His death? Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism unto death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in a newness of life.”

We must identify with Jesus in two ways; we identify with Him in the burial and resurrection and then we become witness to the world in word and deed. That is what Joseph of Arimathea did; he was silent until he could not be silent anymore, then he put his faith into action.

The next thing I want you to see in this story is the Commitment of the believers, Vs 46-47. At the burial of Jesus, we see an incredible act of commitment from two men, and we see the faithfulness of two women.

Notice what Joseph does in Vs. 46. He does three important things; He takes down the body of Jesus from the cross. He wraps Him in a new linen cloth, and he lays Him in his own tomb. Joseph was personally taking care of the body of Christ. But he wasn’t acting alone. We learn from John’s gospel that Nicodemus, another secret disciple, another member of the Sanhedrin was there to help him.

This is an incredible act of commitment by these two, because this is a serious offense to the Jews. They are eliminating themselves from taking part in the Passover feast. By handling the body of Jesus, they have just defiled themselves and made themselves unclean for 7 days. They are now forbidden to take part in the Jewish festivities. What a commitment to the body of Christ.

We are told in John 19:41 “There was a garden nearby and in that garden, there was a new tomb which no one had yet been laid.” Again, this speaks of the providence of God at work every step of the way. God was in control of every detail, even preparing a tomb, near the cross so the Lamb of God could be buried before the Sabbath. And it wasn’t just any tomb, it was a new tomb fit for a King.

It was Joseph’s very own tomb. He steps out of the shadows and takes a stand for Jesus, and I pray that we would be that bold. I pray that we would be bold enough to serve Him when we are called upon. I am reminded of the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans when he said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”

Finally, in Vs. 47 we see the commitment of two faithful women. They are witnesses of the burial of Jesus. Even when all hope was gone, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses refuse to abandon Jesus. You see it is easy for us to have hope on this side of the resurrection. We know the victory that is coming in three days. But these women were faithful even in despair.

Throughout church history, faithful women have always led the way and set the example of how to serve God. Scripturally, they are not allowed to teach men, but the Bible is emphatic about what we learn from women; they are faithful. When the men who were disciples hid themselves from the authorities. The women came boldly to the cross and they will come boldly to the tomb. They are an example for all of us to follow.

There are three things I think are important we take away from this story. 1. God is sovereign. He is in complete control of everything. Everything in this story and everything in your life. Romans 8:28 says, “God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love the Lord, those who have been called according to His purpose.” Don’t you know you have been called according to the purpose of God. God has a plan for your life, and He is working it out for your good.

2. We learn that a true disciple must take a stand for Jesus. At some point, if you are truly a believer, you need to identify with Christ. The reward outweighs the risk. And just like Joseph of Arimathea your love for God must show up in your words and deeds. When God calls we must respond.

3. We learn that Jesus really did die. The facts cannot be disputed. Pilate made sure of it. And because Jesus really did die and He really was buried, we can believe that He really did rise again. The empty tomb is proof Jesus is the Son of God. That is what we learn from this story. The Sovereignty of God over the burial of Jesus is meant to inspire us to trust and believe.