Hidden Away

Introduction:

Have you ever experienced an event in your life that left you completely unable to do anything except sit there and replay what happened over and over again?

Perhaps the shock left you immobile and you could not see life going on as usual ever again.

For some of you that may be the loss of a close family member or child.

The followers of Jesus have just lost the One that their entire hope for the future had been placed in.

Jesus did not just die a tragic death. It wasn’t like He was involved in an automobile accident and died from a random accident.

Jesus has been tried and convicted in a sham trial and treated as a treasonous criminal. He has been beaten beyond human semblance, crucified with two traitorous criminals, and to make matters more interesting, the heavens have shown miraculous signs as the sky grew dark for 3 hours and the earth quaked and the temple veil has been torn in two. Even dead saints have come back to life and appeared to many.

All of these things that took place, did not occur in a vacuum. The stories of these things are circulating through the city.

Meanwhile the disciples are hiding for fear of their own lives.

It is safe to say that their entire world has been rocked and they are in shock and don’t know what to do. They are paralyzed by fear and have no hope for the future.

The last thing that they are expecting is that this nightmare is going to be over in a few days.

For the Disciples, this is a nightmare that simply will not end.

As they are hidden away behind closed doors, Jesus Himself is also being hidden away in a tomb. Let’s read Matthew’s account and see that even in Jesus’s death, He is still fulfilling prophecies about Him as the Suffering Servant and the Messiah that was promised.

Matthew 27:57–66 ESV

57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 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. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. 62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Pray

According to the internet (Copilot)

Emotional shock feels like a sudden, overwhelming flood of emotions and physical sensations that can leave you numb, disoriented, and temporarily unable to process reality.

Emotional and Cognitive Experience

Emotional shock often begins with a sense of fear or panic, as if life has suddenly become unpredictable or dangerous. You may feel numb, detached, or unreal, sometimes observing yourself from a distance, as if disconnected from your own body or actions psychologyfor.com.

Thoughts can become confused or foggy, making it difficult to think clearly, make decisions, or focus on everyday tasks. Some people experience denial or disbelief, struggling to accept what has happened.

Would you agree that this description adequately describes what Jesus’s followers are going through as He has been slain on the cross?

Add to this the reality that this is one of the greatest spiritual battles that has ever taken place in the history of mankind.

While God has sent the darkness that had covered the earth when Jesus died on the cross, it is also symbolic of the fact that it seems that all the forces of hell are celebrating because Jesus has died.

You see they know that Jesus is the only hope of mankind. They also know that if Jesus lives, they are doomed.

We often focus on the crucifixion of Jesus and the resurrection, and rarely do we think about the time in between when Jesus was hidden away in the tomb. Is this part of the story simply filler to get from point A to point B?

There are some theological implications for the burial of Jesus that we need to consider today and a few applications for us as we consider what happened.

1. Jesus Was Truly Dead (v.57-58)

Matthew 27:57–58 ESV

57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.

Here is the first time we are introduced to one of the highest ranking followers of Jesus - a man named Joseph of Arimathea.

He is wealthy

He is a member of the Council

He had not approved of the decision to crucify Jesus (Luke 23:51)

He was looking for the kingdom - or, as Matthew words it, was a disciple of Jesus

The burial of Jesus is the defining moment that clarifies that Jesus is truly dead. All hope seems lost at this moment.

Pilate was surprised that Jesus had already died

Mark 15:44 ESV

44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead.

Some have tried to argue that this is evidence that Jesus did not really die and might have resuscitated in the tomb and simply appeared to have risen from the dead.

Jesus’s death has been confirmed by the spear in his side

This is a grasping at straws argument and is simply foolish to believe

Jesus is dead. The story seems finished.

2. Jesus Was Hidden Away (vv. 59-61)

Matthew 27:59–61 ESV

59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 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. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

Joseph asks for the body of Jesus

He wants to bury him in his new private family tomb that has been cut from the rock and is in a garden nearby

The body has to be buried soon so as not to defile the land

Joseph wraps the body and buries it with around 75 pounds of spices

A great stone is rolled in front of the entrance

Mary and the other women mark the spot

Theologically, the burial of Jesus is also symbolic of sin being hidden away

Consider what we do with a corpse

We burry it to keep from polluting the land

We hide away the body to keep from looking on death over and over again

It bothers our conscience to look on death

3. Jesus Body Was Being Guarded (vv.62-66)

Matthew 27:62–66 ESV

62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Interestingly Jesus’s opponents are the ones who are worried about a potential “resurrection” rather than His own followers

They are still in shock and fear

A guard is placed in front of the tomb

A seal is placed on the tomb

The place is made secure

Application:

1. We Must Risk Everything to Follow Jesus

2. We Must Be Willing to Identify With Jesus

Conclusion

As we consider the burial of Jesus, we must recognize that God has called us to identify with Jesus.

The baptism formula that is often recited as a candidate is being baptized is “buried with Christ, and raised to walk in newness of life.”

Have you been buried with Christ this morning?

The old you must die and you must be hidden away with Christ. That means your sins must be put to death. The old nature must die and the new life in Christ must be lived out in you.

Have you identified with Christ this morning?

If you are trying to save your reputation and play it safe, you cannot be a follower of Jesus.

You must risk it all and confess Jesus before man if you want Jesus to confess you before the Father as one of His own.

At the end of the day, because Jesus was hidden away, so is our sin.

We must die with Christ if we ever hope to live with Him.