Sadder Days

Introduction

This past week, I have been teaching my students about the power of image. Images can change our feelings and therefore change our perceptions and thoughts. One of the days, we were looking at photos from World War II; we moved on to the Vietnam War. Finally, we looked at photos from September 11, 2001. I taught three classes that day and in each one I was fine with the the photos from WWII and Vietnam. When I got to the photos from September 11, however, I would tear up a bit. I would sort of relive the experience that I had on that day. The others were just photos, but the 9/11 ones were memories—experiences. I was telling the students that on that day I wasn’t angry. I was shocked. I was sad. I was confused. I was devastated. It wasn’t until later that anger entered my thoughts and feelings. September 11 was a horrible day. It was a day when the world stood still and then came crashing down. If you were alive that day, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

And you now probably have a right idea of what Good Friday and Holy Saturday felt like for Jesus’s disciples. It was a day when the world crashed in around them—shocking, confusing, devastating, saddening. What would they do on these—the saddest days they’d know? What ought we do on our Sadder Days? In the text we are looking at this morning, I do see three ways we can combat the sadder days, so that we are not consumed, but can still live in hope. It’s not that these will take away all the sadness or pain, but give us light in our darkness, hope in our despair. The first way to combat Sadder Days is to Anticipate the Kingdom. The second way is to Attend the King. Finally, we must Abide the Commandment.

Anticipate the Kingdom

Attend the King

Abide the Commandment

Luke 23:50–56 ESV

Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Anticipate the Kingdom

The first way that we can combat Sadder Days—those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, the days that seem like we’re stuck between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday—is to anticipate the kingdom. Generally speaking, we are a pretty forgetful people. We forget that we are living as sojourners in this world and that our true home is God’s kingdom.

In this passage, we see that Joseph of Arimathea was a man anticipating the kingdom.

Luke 23:50–51 ESV

Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God.

Keeping in mind that Luke was writing to Theophilus, whether a real person with the name, or a pseudonym for someone or a group of people, here he was giving testimony to the fact that Joseph was not in line with most of the religious leaders. Whereas the religious leaders were selfish and jealous and bitter, Joseph was good and righteous. On top of that, as part of the Sanhedrin Council, he had not given consent to what they were doing. Most likely, he was not even there when the decision was made. It may have been that the some of the council has their suspicions that he was sympathetic to Jesus, or he may have been detained elsewhere not knowing what was happening. We know that all the council present gave their consent, but here is Joseph who had not. And then Luke tells Theophilus—the lover of God—that Joseph was looking for the kingdom of God.

It is clear by this text that Joseph was a man who was well-off financially. He had a brand new tomb already hewed out of stone. It was not just a cave somewhere. It was cut out by hand. It would have taken a considerable amount of money to do that. The reason I bring this up now is because of Luke’s constant point of exalting the status of the poor.

Remember in the Sermon on the Plain that Luke recorded Jesus not as having said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God.” Rather he said, “Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God.” Throughout the account, Luke is constantly elevating those who are on the fringe of society—the poor, the hurting, the rejected, the lepers, the widows, etc. But here is a man of considerable wealth—in other words, not poor—anticipating the kingdom of God. Perhaps you remember at the end of the passage dealing with the rich, young ruler, Peter asked Jesus if the rich cannot get into heaven, who can. And Jesus’s response was: what is impossible with man is possible with God. And we see that God has done a work in Joseph’s heart that he sought his kingdom; he anticipated its coming.

This is the same language that Luke used for two others; only this time, they appeared at the beginning of his account. You may remember two elderly people that were in the temple when Jesus was dedicated as a baby: Simeon and Anna. Both are said to be waiting—anticipating, accepting—the consolation of Israel, the redemption of Jerusalem, or to put it another way: the kingdom of God. The word that is used in all three instances is the word prosdechomai; it is a combination of two Greek words that comes to mean to receive something or to await something. In the sense that one awaits something—that something is assured. You’ve ordered something off of Amazon. It’s been bought and it’s yours, but you have not yet received the package. You await it, assured of its coming.

Simeon, Anna, and now Joseph of Arimathea were awaiting something that they were so sure was coming. Simeon and Anna there was a divine promise. But with Joseph, it seems to be have been faith in Jesus and his teachings. The kingdom of God was at hand. It wasn’t a blind-faith; it was a faith that had seen miracles that no one had done before. It was a faith that had heard words that were spoken with such authority like no one before had done. He was looking for the kingdom of God. That word looking—waiting, anticipating—is written in the imperfect tense. That means that it was a waiting that had started at some point in the past and was continuously going. There was no stopping point—there was no completion of that waiting. In other words, when Jesus died and Joseph saw his king dead on the cross, he never stopped anticipating the coming kingdom.

Church family, it is easy to lose sight of the kingdom in our dark days. It is almost as if a black veil is lowered over our eyes so that we cannot detect what God is doing in his kingdom. It’s one thing to wait for the kingdom when everything is going according to our plans. Isn’t that nice—when our plans and God’s plans match up? That’s nice. Would that every day was that way. But for the disciples—this was not that day. But for Joseph—he seems unswayed by the events. He was still in a state of waiting and anticipating the kingdom. Beloved, on our sadder days—those dark, distressing, dismal days—we must remind ourselves and one another that the kingdom still stands. This is in part why God has given us one another.

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Attend the King

But as we Anticipate the Kingdom, let us also Attend the King. That’s the second way we combat Sadder Days. This fight might actually be more difficult than anticipating the kingdom.

Luke 23:52–53 ESV

This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid.

As part of the Sanhedrin—the ruling class of the Jews—he would have had at least some clout or way in with Pilate. I’m sure his wealthy status didn’t hurt matters. But notice here that there no longer was a covertness to Joseph’s anticipation. There was no more hiding his being a follower of Jesus. Even if he had gone to Pilate in secret, word would have gotten out that it was he who took Jesus down from the cross and wrapped him up and laid him in his own tomb. While Luke leaves out the detail that it was his own tomb, Matthew informs us of such.

But here we read of Joseph attending Jesus’s body. He takes care of all that is needed. He secures the body from Pilate. Usually, criminals were just thrown into Gehenna. Jesus often used Gehenna as a symbol of hell. Joseph would take action to save Jesus from such an ending. Instead, he brought him down from the cross—a feat in itself—and then provided the shroud that would cover him. As John points out, linen strips of cloth were also used. Think more swaddling a baby than mummifying a man.

From here, Joseph gave his own tomb, one that had never been used before, as a place for burial. Back during this time, tombs were used for entire families often times. There would be a main resting place within the tomb and then smaller holes. The body would be laid upon a table in the resting place and a stone would be rolled in front. After a year, the flesh would have decayed and the family would take the bones, place them in a little box called an ossuary (kind of looking like a stone treasure chest) and then placed in one of the little holes. This was Joseph’s family tomb, but no one had yet died, and Jesus became the first to be placed in the resting area.

In the midst of the saddest day, Joseph did what no one else could or would do: he attended the King of the kingdom he awaited. Let that sink in. The King was dead. There’s only one King for this Kingdom and he was dead. No King, no Kingdom. Talk about a hopeless situation! Yet Joseph attended the King; he had not given up just because he could not understand.

Brothers and sisters, what we do on Sadder Days matters. I know technically this was still on Friday, but the sabbath was close at hand. And it is imperative that we do not forget that even in our darkness, we are servants of the King. We are here to serve him, even when our souls are crushed. I cannot help but remember Nehemiah who mourned over Jerusalem. He was so distressed that he could not hide it from anyone, including the king. Even in the midst of his sadness, he continued serving, as that was what he was called to do. It is what we are called to do.

Matthew Henry pointed out that though Joseph had been quiet about his faith before this, in the midst of this heartache, he did what only he could do. “There are many who are hearty in Christ’s interests, how, though they do not make any show in their outward profession of it, yet will be more ready to do him a piece of real service, when there is occasion, than others who make a greater figure and noise.” Beloved, we must be ready to attend the king when he calls us to do so and when the opportunities arise. Those opportunities may be great or small. They may take a ton of effort or influence or little. But let us not lose sight of our service in the darkness of our distress.

Abide the Commandment

But it is not only Anticipating the Kingdom or Attending the King that helps us combat our Sadder Days. It is also Abiding the Commandment. And this act may sound counter-intuitive or even contradictory to what I just said, but it is still true nonetheless.

Luke 23:54–56 ESV

It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Luke was being a good historian, as always. It was as if he could tell that there would be those who argued that the women had the wrong tomb. They knew exactly which tomb was Joseph/Jesus’s tomb. They had followed them there. They saw Joseph lay his body in there. Then they went home and prepared their spices and ointments.

Isn’t that a great set-up? We know the end of the story. We know that when they get there on Sunday, Jesus has already resurrected. He’s alive. They don’t know that is going to happen yet. So they do what they can do. Again, they look to attend the king when the time is right. They’ve prepared their ministry to Jesus—one last act of love and service for their King. But then notice what they did.

They rested. They rested.

It was too late to do the work of anointing Jesus’s body. The Sabbath had come and it required rest. The women would abide in the commandment. They would do as it required; they would rest.

After all, Jesus wasn’t going anywhere! His body would be there when the Sabbath was over! Right?! I’m sure that’s what they were thinking. They had no idea that he’d be gone when they got there, so they prepared the spices and ointments and then rested. And one can ask: doesn’t that show a lack of faith? And the answer is: no; it shows a lack of understanding. Had Jesus told his disciples that he’d rise again? Yes. But they had no capacity to even understand what that could mean. Certainly one could speak of the resurrection of the last days, but to predict one’s own resurrection as an individual was too great to comprehend.

I know that in our day, we always understand what God is doing, but that wasn’t the case back then. That’s sarcasm in case you missed it. They were no different than us. There was a fundamental lack of understanding as to how God would act, when God would act, or even if God would act. That’s how it was with them and how it is with us.

Beloved, we need to prepare ourselves to be used of God even if he doesn’t use us in the way we’ve prepared. We ought to take what we can/do understand and then prepare ourselves for the day and time in which God will work through us. God may not employ us in the way we have prepared but that doesn’t make our preparation worthless. It doesn’t make our time of preparation pointless. That time was a time spent in faith, believing that God could and would apply what we have readied.

These ladies prepared to anoint the remains of Jesus, but instead they were used to announce the resurrection of Jesus. Their preparation was not a waste. Sometimes our preparations to serve Jesus is more about preparing us than serving him. As a friend of mine said, it shows our hungering and thirsting for righteousness.

But again, the main idea here is that they rested. They abided the commandment to rest. They trusted God’s Word to be good and so they rested, even in the midst of their pain, confusion, and loneliness. They abided the commandment.

That’s hard to do. When we’ve prepared to serve, we want to jump in and serve when God sometimes calls us to simply rest. See, it sounds counter-intuitive or contradictory to the last point of attending the King. But there is a time and place for everything. “For everything there is a season, a time for every matter under heaven.”

Why is it that God gave us the sabbath? There are two reasons that God gives for providing the sabbath for us. The first is that we would imitate him. In Exodus we see that he says we are to keep the sabbath for in six days he created heaven and earth and on the seventh he rested. He ceased from his labor and enjoyed all he had created. Our sabbath is a time to enjoy the previous six days and imitate God while doing so. The other reason is given in Deuteronomy when we are told that God commanded the sabbath because it reminds us of his mighty work in our lives. We are not God. We trust him to take care of things (just like the Israelites needed to trust him for sabbath manna) while we rest. So it is a matter of resembling God and relying on God.

On the cross, Jesus entrusted the Father with his spirit. In the tomb, the women entrusted him with his body.

Some of you may be in a sabbath season. You’ve prepared, but now you’re called to forbear. But that is not a bad season to be in. I know we get antsy when we wait, but waiting is good for us. Waiting teaches us to trust. Waiting teaches us to forbear hardships. That is a great place to live—to abide. It is where the women were called to abide, where we are called to abide—abide in the commandment of rest. Spend those sleepless nights in prayer and study. Take time during your lunch break to sit in silence and meditate on something you’ve read from God’s Word. Spend time with fellow believers in corporate study, prayer, and worship. You’re waiting does not have to be inactive; it just needs to be patient.

Conclusion

As we finish up this second to last chapter of Luke, we are left with Jesus in the grave. The saddest of Saturdays and Sadder Days. But we are also left with ways we can fight against the gloom of these kinds of days in our lives. First, we anticipate the kingdom. We realize that there are times when from our vantage point, it looks as if the kingdom has stalled. Yet, we know that from what has been revealed, that the kingdom never retreats, never stalls, but always advances. So we anticipate the day it is delivered in all its glory and fullness.

We attend the king. Sadder Days—days that we’d describe as the worst days, the hardest days, the most distressing or depressing of days—are days when we do not keep our faith silent. They are days when we must proclaim our fellowship with Christ. They are days when we do him a service no one else may be able or willing to do. We seek ways to attend the king.

We abide the commandment. We prepare to serve when called, and we rest in God’s timing and movement. It may or may not be in the way we expect or have prepared, but God will be sure to use us rightly. Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

If you do not know Jesus as your Lord—if you do not follow him as a disciple—today can be the day that you surrender all that you are, all that you have, and follow him. That doesn’t mean that you sell all your possessions and give them to the church or even to the poor. It means that you realize that all that you are and have are at the disposal of the King for his Kingdom and you willing hand them over as you follow. Today can by your day if you turn from following your own path, put your trust in him for this life and the life after death, and follow after him. Romans 10:9-13

Romans 10:9–13 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”