Mark 15:42-47 "The Burial of Jesus Christ"

Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Well… it’s been three weeks since I preached last…

Thank you again… John and Ty for covering for during my travels to Peru, South America…

And, what a conference! Dr. J.B. Hixson was fantastic… and I hope you were blessed by his message last Sunday.

He texted me Monday thanking us for the wonderful weekend and blessing.... which it was.

Well… now after this three week break from Mark… let’s continue our chapter and verse study finishing Mark 15. Mark 15:42-47 today.

The last few times I preached, we looked at…

The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

The Thief on the Cross

The Death of Jesus Christ… as well as the supernatural events surrounding His death… the darkness… the massive veil of the Temple torn in two from top to bottom…

And, prophecies fulfilled.

The most difficult events of Jesus’ passion are behind us… not only in our reading of Mark’s Gospel… but also in the reality of our lives…

Because He suffered… we don’t have to…

Because He took on the darkness… anyone who places their faith in Him… will never experience that darkness.

He loves you and I so much, that He died physically… so we may live spiritually.

Last time we looked at Jesus’ death… and today we will examine “The Burial of Jesus Christ”… our message title today…

And we will look at those present who honored Him in death.

And, next week we behold the resurrection… the proof that all He said and did was true… that the Father accepted His sacrifice… and He had victory over the grave… and so too will we.

It will be like an Easter service in September!

Well… let’s pray… and then enter the word!

In reverence for God’s word… please stand as I read our passage.

Mark 15:42-47 “Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. 45 So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.”

Praise God for His word. Please be seated.

Mark 15 closes with the burial of Jesus Christ.

V42 says this was the Preparation Day… the day prior to Sabbath (which is Saturday).

What we call “Good Friday.”

In Jewish reckoning the new day begins at Sundown… so for us… it is now late Friday afternoon… probably around 4 pm.

Preparation Day demands additional work… in preparation for Sabbath… since work was forbidden on the day of rest.

Which was a law… and a big deal in Judaism.

Exo 20:10 reads, “… the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your GOD. In it you shall do no work...”

Exo 31:14 adds “… whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.”

Thus, Preparation Day. Get your work done on Friday people… because work ceases on Saturday… just as God created the heavens and earth in six days and rested on the seventh.

Of course they went to far with this… creating unnecessary burdens on the people.

I praise God that we are not under the law and TRUE REST is found in Jesus…

The writer of Hebrews assures us that our rest is not from ceasing from works, but in entering His rest.

Heb 4:9-10 declares, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”

You need not work for your salvation… your rest in not found is a Sabbath DAY…

But, through faith in Jesus Christ… you have rest… you freely receive rest… eternal rest… not earned… but a gift.

And, praise God for this age of grace in which we live.

Looking back to Jesus death… we read last time that His life ended NOT at the hands of the Roman soldiers who broke the legs of the two thieves to expedite their deaths…

Matthew records He “yielded up His spirit.”

Luke wrote Jesus said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” And then breathed His last.

I read in a commentary that many saints since uttered these same words as they exited this life.

Lord willing, I hope to utter the same should I depart… prior to the rapture.

For those who witnessed Jesus’ death… they were deeply impacted…

The Roman Centurion… no doubt moved by the supernatural events… and Jesus’ words… glorified God and said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”

We read in V44 that Pilate marveled when he heard that Jesus died so soon after being crucified… Jesus died in hours when it normally took days.

Of the Jewish onlookers… Luke wrote, “… the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.”

No longer were they shouting, “Crucify Him,” NOW they were mourning and went away sorrowful.

Many of Jesus’ women disciples… were present… unable to intervene, but no doubt a comforting presence to the Lord as He exited this lifetime.

And there were two Jewish men of high significance in the circles of Judaism.

Men… who when all this was over… would honor the Lord in His burial…

Mark only records Joseph of Arimathea…

John 19:39 records that Nicodemus… “who first came to Jesus at night” was also present.

It’s worth taking a moment to understand who these men were… especially since their bold acts may serve as inspiration and a model for us… should dark days shroud the future of our country… where Christian liberty is restricted.

First, Nicodemus…

Nicodemus had three appearances in the Gospels…

John’s note that Nicodemus “first came to Jesus at night”… points back to that amazing encounter with Jesus at night in John 3… the “Nick at Night” encounter you could call it.

Our younger audience has NO IDEA what “Nick at Night” is.

Parents you can explain later.

But John 3 is one of the most rich encounters recorded in Scripture… a secret conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus…where Jesus speaks about being “born again” and shares that famous verse John 3:16 “For God so loved the world.”

Nicodemus… could not grasp this spiritual idea of being “born twice” and asked Jesus, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?’

Nicodemus was “the teacher of Israel”… a prominent and influential teacher over the nation…

And, he wrestled with grasping the idea of the new spiritual birth…

This was the first encounter recorded between Jesus and Nicodemus…

And, no doubt Nicodemus was searching… likely lost in religion like so many people are…

I met several former Catholics and former church attenders in Peru that were angry by the hypocrisy… and the lies that they witnessed.

They were dry wells… desperate for truth… who only knew religion, and never encountered the living water… found through simply walking with Jesus.

What did Nicodemus experience in Judaism?

Did he desperately thirst for truth witnessing the same hypocrisy that Jesus called out… “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.”

The fact that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night testifies that he came at great risk.

The strict religious sect that he was a member of was unforgiven IF they felt betrayed. And, an allegiance with Jesus was certainly perceived as betrayal.

You may recall the mother and father… in John 9… who would not answer for their son who had been healed of Jesus… “because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed… that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.”

And Nicodemus was no common man… he was not a mere fisherman…

He sat on the council… he was “the teacher of Israel”… and his career and reputation would be at risk if he were discovered to be a disciple of Jesus.

We know he sat on the Council… the High Council of Judaism know as the “Sanhedrin”, for in John 3:1, he was described as “a man of the Pharisees… a ruler of the Jews.”

He was a man of influence… as a Pharisee he was well studied in the scriptures…

As a ruler… by def. an official… he had a seat on the council of the Sanhedrin

Besides John 3:1 stating Nicodemus was a “ruler”… in his second appearance in the Gospels… He is seen defending Jesus before the Jewish High Council of the Sanhedrin.

In our second encounter with Nicodemus… Jesus had caused quite the stir… quite the controversy… and the Sanhedrin gathered to discuss all that happened…

You may recall the scene where in Jerusalem at feast time… Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “If anyone thirsts, let him com to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit who would come to in dwell those who believe in Jesus.

This caused Israel to divide over who Jesus was… was He a Prophet? Or, the Christ? The Messiah?

The Sanhedrin attempted to have Jesus arrested, but the Jewish officers came back empty handed and when asked why… said, “No one ever spoke like this Man!”

Imagine… you send your best police officers… the Temple Guard… to arrest Jesus… and upon hearing His words…

They determine they cannot arrest Him… because “No one ever spoke like this Man!”

Truth is powerful…

And, we have those same words of Jesus… it’s why we study the Bible chapter by chapter and verse by verse…

So that when you are out in the world… and someone asks you about the hope inside you… or about some theological topic…

Such as my tour guide in Peru… when he found out I was a Pastor and ask me, “So what do you think… will the church go through the tribulation or be raptured?”

As you study and prepare… as you pour into yourself… you’ll be able to pour out…

I had a lot to say… I was able to share some perspectives he never heard… and he was studied… it was a good conversation.

However, it was NOT a good conversation between the Sanhedrin and their Temple Guard… when the leaders heard the response of their Guard… who heard words of life from Jesus… they accused the guard of being deceived…

They were also concerned rulers and Pharisees might believe in Jesus… and said the general people who does not know the law is accursed…

Implying faith in Jesus Christ violated the law.... and their faith in Him would damn them.

Which brings us back to Nicodemus. It’s here… in this moment… that Nicodemus steps up and asks the council, “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”

Bold move by Nicodemus… ever step in to the midst of someone else’s disagreement?

Usually doesn’t go well…

And, it didn’t for Nicodemus…

The council scorned him saying, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.”

And, I do wonder… in this bold exchange… if the other members of the council were onto Nicodemus… did they start to wonder about him… did they mark him at this point?

Like Roz did to Mike in Monsters Inc.... “I’m watching you Wazowski...”

She reminds me of the Pharisees. Grumpy… watching for one misstep.

And, I do wonder if Nicodemus at this point an undercover believer in Christ?

We can’t say for sure, but certainly he was soft to Jesus.

And if anyone suspected Nicodemus… NOW at the cross… his allegiance to Christ would be confirmed.

Nicodemus and Joseph care for the body of Jesus… Nicodemus even brought a large quantity… about a hundred Roman pounds… of myrrh and aloes… for Jesus’ body in the grave.

Nicodemus who formerly met with Jesus secretly at night… now before everyone will bury the Lord… and honor His body with expensive perfumes.

One might say that a seed was planted in John 3… which now has matured…

Now Nicodemus is openly following the Lord.

And, what’s so interesting is that historically, neither Nicodemus… Nor Joseph of Arimathea appear in Jewish writings… some think them only as legend.

Which makes total sense… because if they had been regarded as traitors to Judaism… because of their faith in Christ… custom was their names would be erased from Jewish records…

And, I find their absence in record… as one additional evidence they indeed were men of faith.

And, I find this challenging as well… if you knew faith in Christ would cost you your career… would cost you your reputation… would erase you completely from secular history…

Would you still follow Him?

These men might have disappeared from secular history…

They may have been scorned and tossed out of the council… maybe they had to move out of Jerusalem…

But… forever they are recorded in the eternal word of God… great is their treasure in heaven for taking up their cross and following Him.

I don’t know what lies ahead… will our world so darken… or will we have a reprieve?

We know Jesus wins in the end… but before that?

In our culture… and in our country… where spiritual forces are battling for the souls of men…

Where the rulers of the darkness of this age… are making headway into the culture?

Will we come to a point where true sacrifice is required to be a Christian?

I encourage you to remember the sacrifice of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea… whatever that may have been.

At great cost they exposed their faith… and buried the Lord.

What would you do for the Lord as well?

Joseph of Arimathea…

In Mark’s Gospel… he is titled a “prominent council member.”

He was also a member of the 70 member Sanhedrin.

Luke calls him a “good and just man.”

It’s written he was “waiting for the kingdom of God.”

Sounds like a guy seeking truth… living a life in anticipation of the Messiah… as we all should be.

In his character of justice, Luke 23:51 records, “He had not consented to their decision and deed.”

He did not agree with… in fact he spoke against the council’s condemnation of and evil acts against Jesus.

Like Nicodemus… he was speaking out boldly.

In Matthew 27, and John 19… more explicitly… Joseph was titled a “disciple of Jesus.”

John wrote.. John 19:38 “Joseph of Arimathea, being 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 the body of Jesus.”

Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus… living in fear of persecution…

These men should be good examples… and an encouragement to any righteous person serving in a government system that is overwhelmed by enemies of Christ.

They were outnumbered… they moved for a season behind the scenes… they influenced decisions by taking a stand against evil…

You can imagine the pressure and difficulties he experienced sitting in council meetings where they plotted against Jesus.

Many time he remained silent … he bit his tongue… his light was hid under a bushel…

How this must have eaten at him… wanting to share truth, but the consequences were overwhelming.

But on this day… with Jesus now dead… Joseph takes courage and boldly goes with Nicodemus to take the Lord’s body down off the cross for a proper burial.

On the day of our Lord’s death… Joseph was not going to stand by and watch the body of the Lord be dishonored… and tossed into some ditch.

So, he mustered up the courage to ask Pilate for the body of Jesus.

V43 of Mark 15 described this act of going to Pilate as “taking courage”…

Some translations read he “took a risk” or he “went boldly”…

This act was ALL of those things.

And, I imagine he was greatly anxious…

Obviously fearful of what might befall him as a prominent council member… and a disciple of Jesus.

Another good example for us of rising above the most difficult of human emotions to do what is right for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You may experience very difficult emotions to defend Jesus… anxiety and fear… which often paralyze a person…

Remember Joseph of Arimathea… who risked all his standing in Judaism… and rose above his emotion in boldness and exemplified courage… to honor the Lord.

VV 44-45 of Mark 15 tell us “Pilate marveled” to hear the news that Jesus was already dead…

He summoned the centurion to confirm Jesus’ death and upon confirmation… V45 Pilate approved Joseph of Arimathea’s request.

Crucifixion was perfected by the Roman’s to inflict maximum pain and embarrassment to the the worst of Rome’s offenders…

As they painfully hung from a cross naked… and would do so for several days typically.

They learned how to extend… to stretch the pain and shame over the course of days…

Sending a message to all onlookers… sending a warning to not cross Rome… or you will hang on a cross.

So, Pilate marveled when he found out… that Jesus was dead… after only SIX hours on the cross…

Mark 15:25 states “it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.”

The third hour… in Jewish reckoning of time from Sunrise to sunset… the third hour was 9am.

Matt 27:45 and Luke 23:44 tell us darkness was over the land from the sixth to ninth hours… from noon until 3pm…

And afterwards Jesus would cry out with a loud voice “Father, into Your hand I commit My spirit.”

So, from the third hour (9am) until the the ninth hour (3pm)… 6 hours… Jesus hung on the cross…

Until He… “yielded up His spirit” (according to Matt 27:50)…

No one TOOK His life… Jesus was in control and voluntarily gave His life for you and I…

And, the brevity of time… the 6 hours on the cross… led Pilate to marvel… and led the centurion who observed the earthquake and the darkness and the brevity of Jesus’ death… the centurion proclaimed, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

In Mark 15:44-45… this same centurion was summoned to Pilate… and I wonder how much of this account he shared with Pilate.

Interesting how the Temple Guard… and now the Centurion… witnessed power in Jesus’ speech… and in His death…

And, they were moved and impacted and would go back to their superiors to testify of Jesus.

Don’t dismiss your position at work or in society…

You may be several rungs down on the ladder… but you still have a voice.

And, God may call you one day to open your mouth to testify of the power and the truth of Jesus to those in positions above you.

Be faithful in this.

V46 is a verse that should be read slowly and somberly… it’s a verse where we should pause and take it slowly… “Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.”

What was it like to remove the body?

The physical difficulty…

To pry the crucifixion spikes away from the cross and release the body…

The emotion of their bodies covered in blood of Christ… impossible not to get blood on your hands…

His "blood of the new covenant… shed for many for the remission of sins.”

They take the body and prepare it in a traditional Jewish manner for burial… where they washed the body and anointed it with aromatic oils or spices.

Which is confirmed in John 19:39-40 where Nicodemus brought “… a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they [Joseph and Nicodemus] took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.”

Burying the dead was a sacred duty… to remain unburied was associated with sin and divine judgment in the OT… and in the book of Revelation…

Think on the passages speaking about birds of the air and beast of the earth eating the carcasses of the dead…

It was also commanded in Mosaic Law to bury the dead in order to not defile the land…

Deut 21:22-23 speaks specifically about an accursed man who is hung on a tree… and still his body should be buried that day to not defile the land.

Paul would later cite that passage in Gal 3:13 to support the doctrine of Christ’s penal substitutionary death for sinners.

I wonder if the Sanhedrin would have conveniently forgotten this law.

I don’t get the sense they had any inclination to bury the body of Jesus.

And it was good that Joseph and Nicodemus had each other to perform this task… for this certainly was a two person job. Moving a recently dead body of any grown man would be very difficult…

The term “dead weight” applies… because the body would still be flaccid or unfirm so shortly after death…

Most of us don’t have the experience of moving a dead body, but many of us understand the difficulty and awkwardness of lifting an unconscious person…

… because the body adjusts and absorbs the attempts to lift it as a single unit.

So… what a practical blessing Joseph and Nicodemus had one another in this moment…

For physical support… and of course… emotional support…

Mark only tells us they “… laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock...” [which I have a slide example of].

Gordon’s Calvary… also called “The Garden Tomb”… next to the skull like rock face… is an example of one such tomb…

For Joseph laying Jesus in this tomb was very personal… for Joseph gave up his own tomb…

Matt 27:60 states Joseph laid the body of Jesus, “… in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock...”

Joseph had a tomb hewn or cut out of a rock face… which would have been very expensive to contract out.

The tomb was intended for himself, but given to the Lord.

Which is just another beautiful act of worship and cheerful giving… and God loves a cheerful giver.

Is there anything we have that we are not willing to give to the Lord?

Joseph stands as a model… as does Nicodemus bringing the hundred pounds of spices…

These men stand as a model of open handedness to the Lord… of giving cheerfully to the Lord.

And, beyond the generosity and honor to the Lord…

Joseph’s act fulfilled the prophecy of Isa 53:9 “And they made His grave with the wicked- [as Jesus hung between two thieves] But with the rich at His death…”

Written some 700 years prior to Jesus’ death… and literally fulfilled.

Prophecy is so exact. Isa 53 is a passage that speaks so clearly of the coming Messiah… and predicts exactly where He would be laid in death…

… in a rich man’s tomb.

Prophecy is one of many proofs that you can trust your Bible.

Jesus even said to Jews who sought to kill Him for healing on the Sabbath....

“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40)

Scripture stands as one of several witnesses that Jesus is the Messiah…

And, one must have a hard heart and their head in the sand to deny the many fulfilled prophecies in the life and death of Jesus Christ.

So… around 3pm… Jesus yields His spirit and dies.... He breathed His last and committed His spirit to the Father’s hands…

And, the Sabbath quickly approached…

Joseph and Nicodemus had only a few hours… prior to sunset… prior to the beginning of the Sabbath when work needed to cease…

Talk about pressure… they needed to go to and gain permission from Pilate, take down Jesus’ body… prepare the body for burial… place the body in the tomb… and probably clean themselves up… all in the space of about three hours…

All while in deep grief over the loss of Jesus… and in fear of the Jews…

I’m sure they were physically and emotionally exhausted after this whole ordeal…

Not that it even compares… but I remember the day we left California to depart for the Philippines…

It was a jam packed day of vacating our rental… having a home inspection… getting the rest of our belongings to our friends house… buying last minute things to take with us… getting over to LAX… returning the rental car… getting twelve totes checked in… being escorted by staff and running through the airport with little kids… almost leaving our laptops in a bin at the security gate… and as soon as we sat down on the plane… we took off.

I remember feeling like I could finally breath once we were on the plane, but not until then.

Ever had a day like that where the clock is ticking… and there is a list of things that must get done…

And, somehow… the Lord sustains you to get through the daunting tasks ahead.

Joseph and Nicodemus were sustained to accomplish the highly difficult task of burying the Lord.

At the end of those three hours… and all they had to do… the immense spiritual weight of it all… I imagine Joseph and Nicodemus just sunk into exhaustion.

And, I can only imagine how this experience forever knit their hearts together.

No one else… for all eternity… will ever fully know the tremendous weight they experienced at this time.

I would suggest… in heaven… that you seek these men out… and hear first hand of their account of this day.

What’s fascinating to me is burial was typically the duty of family, but there is no record that Jesus’ brothers attempted to bury Him.

And, Jesus had at least six siblings… different Father, but same mother.

In Mark 6, when Jesus was rejected at His hometown of Nazareth… the locals were baffled by Jesus’ teachings and mighty works…

And in Mark 6:3, they commented, “Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?”

Four brothers… and at least 2 sisters… if not more.

And, there are a few scenes where they try to bring Jesus home or mock His ministry… they think He lost His mind.

But, eventually… we know at least two of them… sometime after His resurrection… would come to know Jesus not just as a physical brother, but would accept Him as their Lord.

James and Jude… the authors of their respective Epistles.

I wonder if these brothers carried any regret… having not buried their brother.

How did this effect James and Jude later when they believed?

No doubt they would be forgiven, but they could never go back to this moment.

So, others were raised up… Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus… they performed the duty of the family…

And, sometimes that’s how it is in this Christian life.

Sometimes the bond we hold with other Christian brothers and sisters exceeds that of even the bond of blood.

My family… we get along, but the deeper connection of spiritual life in Jesus Christ… there’s a disparity there…

Blessed are you… if your family has a bond in Christ.

Sometimes the faithfulness… and kindness… and grace… and even the duties… that we experience in the fellowship… the koinōnia… with other believers in Christ…

… it surpasses that of even blood born relatives.

I thank God… for believers in this fellowship and previous fellowships… who have been there for my family.

I know many of you can say the same… if you can’t… if you don’t know that fellowship… let people in… get involved… build relationships.

What a blessing to Jesus… when His family did not step up…

… how these men… Joseph and Nicodemus… born again of the spirit… not blood born family… stepped up and fulfilled the duty of family.

And, upon laying Jesus in the tomb… they “rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.”

I have another slide of a tomb… and you can see that they would cut a large round stone and put it in a groove… that sloped downward… making it easy to seal the door, but very difficult to reopen.

Rolling the stone back up would take the strength of several men… thus the dilemma of the women resurrection morning… “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?”

And, Mark 15 concludes highlighting some of these faithful women… in V47 “And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.”

So the women… present at the crucifixion when the disciples, save John, had all but fled.

First to the tomb resurrection morning. The blessed women disciples of Jesus Christ.

I’m sure in Jesus’ ministry… as we see in ours… women served in key roles to keep ministry functioning

Mary Magdalene whom Jesus cast out seven demons…

And Mary the mother of Joses… or Joseph… and James the Less or James the Younger…

There are at least 6 Mary’s recorded in the NT… as this name is derived from Hebrew Miriam… same as the sister of Moses.

Mary the mother of Joses is NOT the mother of James the Greater and John… Zebedee’s sons.

This Mary is the wife of Clopas… and this scene of her… a witness at the cross and the burial of Jesus Christ is how she is best known.

I’m sure there is a deeper story that we will learn of in eternity…

Regardless… if all that was ever said of me was that I was a witness of Jesus Christ… would that not be enough?

For Paul… this was enough for he wrote to the Corinthians,  “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (1 Cor 2:2)

To know the person and the work of Jesus Christ is sufficient.

And, Mary was a witness to both…

These Mary’s who would be first to the tomb resurrection morning…

They knew where to go as they observed Joseph and Nicodemus burying the Lord.

Luke 23:56 records this of the women, “Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.”

Which I find to be a fascinating contrast to the chief priests and Pharisees… who should have rested on sabbath, but they worked…

Turn over to Matt 27…

They plotted… they held meetings with Gentiles…

Oh the hypocrisy!

Quickly… let’s read Matt 27:62-66 “On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, [so on Sabbath… the day to cease from work] the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore command that the tomb 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.” [insinuating a resurrection report would be worse than Jesus’ claim He was Messiah and Son of God, when both were truth.] 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; [Pilate grants them a guard of soldiers] go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.”

A painting titled “The Watch Over the Tomb” by James Tissot features this scene of the tomb sealed…

… likely with ropes and wax seals with a threatening warning against tampering.

The religious leaders… remembering Jesus’ promise that He would rise from the dead after three days…

… employ the power of Rome… their enemy… on Sabbath mind you… lot’s of hypocrisy here…

Connection with Gentiles… working on the Sabbath…

… compromising their values in what will be a failed attempt to prevent any claim to the resurrection.

Men have… and will try again to stop the work of God…

But the God factor will prevail…

The Jews have trained Roman Soldiers… elite guards who would be themselves put to death for failure of duty…

They are guarding the tomb… a massive and weighty stone seals the entry…

They seal it with an official “keep out” seal.

It’s as secure as they know how.

But they could NOT prepare for what would happen resurrection morning…

Matt 28:2-4 reads, “And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.”

You cannot stop God. You cannot prepare for and fight against the hand of God.

Struck by the awesome might of the angel… the guards apparently faint… overwhelmed by fear.

Elite guards… unable to stand against one angel.

There are many fools in this world right now who plot against God… and they have no more strength then these Roman Guards…

When Jesus returns… they come out to battle Him… and Rev 19 records He just speaks and they are destroyed.

The antichrist and false prophet are thrown in the lake of fire…

And an unnamed angel binds Satan for a thousand years… and then he too goes into the Lake of Fire.

It’s all foretold and it will be.

The scholar Unger wrote, “The precautions His enemies took to “make the sepulchre sure, sealing it and stationing a guard,” only resulted in God’s overruling the plans of the wicked and offering indisputable proof of the King’s resurrection.”

Indisputable proof. They sealed the grave the best they knew how… but Jesus said He would rise three days later…

And His word cannot be broken. The Bible cannot be broken.

Prophecy will be fulfilled.

On Resurrection morning, after the angel rolls the stone away and Jesus appears to the women…

The same Roman guard eventually come to… and they don’t run back to Pilate.

They know death would await them for their failure of duty to secure the tomb.

So, Matt 28:11-15 records what they do… “… behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. [they seek asylum] 12 When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

The chief priests are so hard hearted that instead of yielding to the miraculous… instead of accepting Jesus as Messiah…

They double down and bribe the guards to lie… and spread a false rumor that the disciples stole the body…

Because that’s a likely story… a group of fishermen overtake Roman Soldiers…

Then and today… there is a spiritual blindness that veils the eyes of wicked men who will not yield to God.

But, we have indisputable proof of the truth of Christ and it’s in the word of God…and it’s in our testimonies… and it’s in our witness that we love not our lives even to death.

It’s in the blood of the Lamb… it’s in the Gospel… “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes...”

We have the key to the kingdom of heaven…

Let it loose.

Worship team come.

Read ahead… Next week… Victory over the Grave… the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our hope and promise for life to come.

Let’s Pray and then worship the Lord!

As you go into your week ahead… keep in mind the bold witnesses of those present in our scenes today.

Joseph of Arimathea…

Nicodemus…

Both Mary’s…

Boldly present at the cross… and willing to pay the cost to honor His body in death.

Be bold in the week ahead. God bless you as you go.