Witnesses to the Tragedy

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 33

Psalm 33 ESV

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Scripture Reading: Psalm 27:13-14

Psalm 27:13–14 ESV

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

Sermon:

Good Morning Church!

I was Glad when they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord.

So On Thursday I received both a text message and an email. It is one that I have been simultaneously looking forward to and NOT looking forward too. This Month is the third time that I have been called for jury duty. but, in case you have never been selected and didn’t know this, you get selected for a month, then fill out the forms and if they want you/need you you will be called in. Well in the three months prior I have actually never been called in. I have filled out the forms and and never heard nothing.

So I decide that on Monday I will make some plans. Jayden And I were going to go have a good time on my day off. And then, the first rule of being David kicks in. Plan something and then something happens to completely derail all those plans. So tomorrow instead of going out with Jayden i have to report to court on Picaho.

So why is this important? You can pray for me. I'll be doing jury duty tomorrow. That's part of it, but mostly Because one of the most important parts of any legal proceeding, Is the witnesses. This is true today even now in the time of video and audio recording equipment, you still need witnesses. But this was even more true. 2000 years ago. And so matthew has been recounting for us. What becomes the most important event in all of history? The death burial and resurrection. Of jesus. And as matthew begins to lay out this event, He's sure to include for us. Some witnesses. Eyewitness account. People who saw, who would know. So as we read what matthew writes, it's not just that matthew's going around making up stories and saying, yeah, there was this guy, jesus, he did this and He did that. instead, He points to Real events. And uses real people that really lived throughout history. To corroborate and to show us the truth Of all that he said. And what's beautiful about Matthew, what he does so perfectly And beautifully. Is he gives us the witness To show the the veracity -- to show that this event truly happened -- But each one also teaches us and shows us something about both our savior, but also, Who we are?

And so this morning, as we look at our text, Matthew chapter 27 verses 54 through 61 And in case you notice that this will be 54 through 61, this is the last turn of a page as we draw to the end of the book of matthew, we still have a couple weeks left but As we look at this passage, it's important for us to note. Who are the witnesses are But then what they teach us.

Let's read our passage matthew chapter 27 verse 54,

Matthew 27:54–61 ESV

When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

These are the words of the lord for us this morning. Let's open. With a word of prayer.

Our father in heaven. We thank you once again. For today. We thank you for your grace and your mercy. Thank you for your goodness. We thank you for your kindness. That leads us to repentance. Thank you for the precious gift of your son. Our savior, lord and king. The one who. Willingly offered himself. That we might be made whole. The one who faced the terror of death so that we Can proclaim that death. No longer has a sting. The one who lives forever to intercede on our behalf, thank you for the precious gift of jesus. We thank you for the spirit to work within our lives. The spirit who enlivens us. Thank you that the same spirit that rose christ from the dead is is making us alive and working in us may we live in that power. We pray that you would speak to us this morning. That you would open our eyes to see what you have done and said that, you would speak to our hearts. May we be a people? Who hear and respond and are changed by your word. Since jesus name, we pray Amen. And amen.

Well, as we walk through, you can even see in your blanks. There's really three Witnesses and kind of groups of witnesses here. Even our first one, it's sort of one witness and a group. They begin to to show us. Truly first and foremost, i don't want to I don't want to miss this point just diving into theological points and we're actually going to look at this even more on Thursday. But sort of on the most basic level, but one of the most important levels these witnesses show us that jesus truly Died. They show us. That there was no sort of confusion or thought, maybe he wasn't really dead. Jesus died and these witnesses Prove it.

Before we get into any meaning or any thought we have to start there, When we read in verse 50, that jesus yielded up his spirit, truly he did, in fact, die, The miracles we talked about last week, they gave evidence to that but then these witnesses also. They're standing up in court, in some sense, the court of our mind, the court of history and saying, yes jesus, truly did die.

So, who were these witnesses? The first is a centurion. I've called him the fearful. Centurion.

the FEARFUL Centurion

Matthew 27:54 ESV

When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

As we look here at this centurion, there's three thoughts. That that should render a sort of amazement in our hearts That Matthew would use these as the witness. The first. Is a question of WHO is the witness?

It's a roman Centurion. This isn't One of the disciples. This isn't someone who is familiar with what was going on, and what would happen? Who the messiah was? This isn't someone who had baked in into their sort of DNA the movement and working of god. rather Here's some gentile. Not, just some gentile. But one of the gentiles, really the gentile tasked with overseeing and enforcing the crucifixion of jesus.

We read that they were keeping watch over jesus. We've heard that before. Matthew chapter 27, verse 35.

Matthew 27:35–36 ESV

And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.

The same roman centurion that were just earlier, mocking, him pushing the crown of thorns on his head, beating him with a reed. Mocking him saying verse 29, hail king of the jews. The ones who are spitting on him. Cursing him. That's our first witnesses. That’s WHO.

The second amazement is: Why? Why are they making this confession? Simply put. It's because they see the power At work. Last week, we talked about jesus death accompanied by these miracles. This showed sort of all creation, even understood the weight of what's going on. So these centurions are sitting there. And all of a sudden there's darkness all over the land. They're sitting there, keeping watch over jesus. They probably couldn't see --Undoubtedly could not see the temple being or the curtain of the temple being torn. But they could see the earthquake. Maybe they saw the buildings. Maybe the cross jesus is hanging on as they're watching Begins to shake. That doesn't happen. They feel the earth quaking under their feet. Maybe they see the rocks being split. They themselves then, the word the esv uses, they're filled with awe.

When we say the fearful centurion here, this awe, is starting to encapsulate it. It's reverent. Holy fear. It's a fear understanding that this person who was on the cross is just a little bit different. The one we just killed. The dead guy on the cross... Something was different about him. So who is confessing his strange, why we see the miracles at play here but then the most important amazement What are they confessing?

Truly. This was The son of god. First, we can note. This WAS!

They are witnesses to the death of jesus. Jesus was here. Now, he's gone. But what's incredible here is Even these roman centurions understand. Something different has happened. Jesus dying who he was coupled together with the miracles that are occurring around them. Show that this was not just some other man. He had a special relationship to God. And the pharisees couldn't see. The Scribes and elders. Couldn't see it. The crowds walking by couldn't see it. That thieves on the cross around him couldn't see it. But here. Some roman centurion. He could. One of the commentators says this, this is a rather long quote, but it gets to the weight and understanding the depth of who, this, this fearful centurion was He said:

“Whatever the solders themselves meant by it, for Matthew’s readers this declaration is a climatic theological moment. God has twice declared that Jesus is his son (Mt 3:17; 17:5); demons have recognized him as such (Mt 4:3,6; 8:29); Jesus has said so himself (Mt 11:25-27; 24:36), has frequently referred to God as his “Father” and has even on two occasions hinted publically that he is God’s “Son” (Mt 21:37-39; 22:42-45); the disciples have hailed him as “God’s Son” in a moment of crises (Mt 14:33, a declaration very similar to this one), and Peter has included this title in his considered estimate of Jesus (Mt 16:16). But right up to the time of Jesus’ trial no human observer outside the disciple group has used such language of Jesus… Now, however, people outside the community of faith have recognized and declared the truth, and so reversed the mockery, and the fact that they are not even Jews reinforces Matthew’s message that the new ekklesia is not to be restricted to the children of Abraham.

Not only does his roman centurion prove, That jesus was dead. It's part of the historical purpose. Matthew uses them. In this bold proclamation of who jesus is after his death. To show that the people of god. All those who will call upon the name of jesus is a much larger group. Then some might assume.

It's strange -- spurgeon writes — that these men would confess what the chief priests and scribes and elders deny. But we can notice that even since their day, it's often happened. The most abandoned, the most profane. The most wretched have acknowledged jesus as a son of god. While the religious rulers. Have sought to deny. His divinity.

Truly, this was the son of god. These centurions are witnesses, not just to jesus death but also his power. And his might. And truly who he was. But the story then quickly flows. From the roman centurion in the proclamation. Truly, this was the son of god. We moved to. The following women.

The FOLLOWING women

These are the women who followed jesus.

Matthew 27:55–56 ESV

There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Here. It's important to note a few things. First. The strangeness of matthew. Including women. As witnesses. Culturally -- contextually. Their testimony. Would carry just a little bit less weight. To the culture. To context. Not to god.

By including these women. They serve -- This is the beauty -- They will be not just the main witnesses to his death and burial, they will be the first witnesses. To his resurrection. Against the background. Of the failure of all the male disciples of jesus, these women, their courage, their love for their savior shines through. There's a few things we could note. Verse 55, there were also many women. Versus the none. Of the disciples. All of the disciples have been gone since earlier in chapter 26. Then all the disciples left him. But here. In his dire moments in his last moments. There are many women.

We shouldn't read too much that they're off at a distance. It may not have been safe. One commentator writes for them to get too close. It might not have been proper for them to be too close. It's also may be the fact that they didn't want to be associated — We read of this last week -- Everyone around him was mocking him. Maybe they were physically removing themselves from those mocking. Whatever reason it is, they kept their distance, they remained there to the end. They demonstrated by their very presence, their continuing loyalty to their crucified. Lord. These women. Become for us. An example. Of what it means. To follow jesus.

We've read. We're used to reading throughout all of matthew that jesus is ministering to people. He's healing performing miracles, he's teaching. Well here. Not only were these women witnesses. They themselves ministered to jesus. They served. This idea of them. Ministering to him. They probably provided for them. They cooked meals and brought them to jesus in his disciples. They took care of his needs, they? They offered all sorts of things to him. They are. The example. What the other disciple should have been.

Not only were they here looking on from a distance, witnessing the crucifixion. They stayed throughout the whole process. They show up here, but they also show up the end, verse 61 mary magdalene, and the other mary. The mother of james and joseph. They were there. As the great stone is rolled over. They were there as he's placed into the hillside. They were there to witness these things. Sitting opposite the tomb.

We must. Be like, These women.

Again Spurgeon says this better than I ever could: “Can we cling to christ? When the cause seems to be dead and buried. When truth has fallen in the streets. Or is even buried in the supplier of skepticism. Can we still believe it? Can we still look forward? To its resurrection.”

Really he is asking, and I am asking: Can we? Have the same heart. As these women.

We finally turn our attention. To the third witness. The faithful disciple.

The FAITHFUL Disciple

Joseph of Arimathea. A man who we have not heard of before and will not hear of afterwards is tasked with one of the most important duties of any disciple.

Here's this rich disciple. We can already note that should sound strange to us. It's easier for A camel to pass through the eye of the needle, then for a rich man to enter into heaven. But here is a rich man. A rich disciple of jesus. A rich faithful. Disciple of jesus.

By pointing out that Joseph is rich. There's a few things that Matthew's doing.

one. He had to be rich to be able to forward this tomb that he could set aside for only jesus to use. We think of sort of burial plots where you get one casket for one person that's not how they did it back here. You had sort of a whole catacomb for your whole family. But since jesus was crucified as a criminal, Joseph gave him this new tomb and no one else could be buried there. So he gives up what was likely a very costly expense. To bury jesus. So part of mentioning that he's rich means he can do this. but there's something else.

Again, we should remeber the rich people that have come before in matthew. It was a rich young ruler. Who refuse to give up his stuff to follow jesus? Here, joseph gives up his stuff for the crucified. Jesus. The rich disciple, the one who should bask in his humiliation. Is serving whereas the the other disciples the 12. Are nowhere to be found. Joseph. Is a wonderful testimony. To serving jesus. No matter what it looks like.

We can sort of imagine The terror. The uncertainty the sorrow that's overwhelming? This disciple. The one who bravely. If we just read this story, Jesus has been convicted of some crime. That's a little shady. What exactly it is. But it was enough to to get him crucified. Joseph has the guts to go before pilot. So, can i have his body? There's a chance. Pilot says something like: wait. You follow him? You're going to be like him. Joseph goes. Can i have his body? And Pilot gives it to him.

He then with care and patience. Wraps it in a clean linen. Shroud prepares it. When he should be preparing himself for the Passover. When he should be concerned about his own uncleanness. Or his own preparations for the holiday meal... Here he is. Caring for jesus. Because Jesus is MOST important.

that's a lesson in itself. But There is one more place I would like to go. Because Something else to note about Joseph here is that he is Being faced with the reality of death.

And so Matthew Henry is he sort of envisions Joseph of Arimathea? Going through those emotions. and he goes to a place that is sadly familiar for all of us, to a funeral, not just here the funeral of Jesu, but any funeral. and Mtthew Henry writes this:

And although to the eye of man the beholding a funeral may cause terror, yet if we remember how Christ by his burial has changed the nature of the grave to believers, it should make us rejoice. And we are ever to imitate Christ’s burial in being continually occupied in the spiritual burial of our sins.

Joseph, the faithful disciple is a witness to the burial of jesus. And what we are then called to do, is what john Owen would call. The mortification of sin. We are to bury our old self like Joseph burried jesus, This is what it is called to be a faithful disciple is to serve and know, and love jesus. To be conformed into his image evermore. This is why when we baptize people we say buried in the likeness of his death and raised in the likeness of his glorious resurrection. Joseph is a witness to the death of jesus. But he's also a witness to us. Of what it means to be a disciple. Of what it means to serve and follow the lord. It'll take courage. Let's take work, it'll take devotion. Maybe we love him all the more.

Lets Pray