Jesus is Burried

Good morning everyone, it is so good to see all of you here in person, and it is my honor to welcome those of you joining us online. I want to just make sure we are all up to speed as to how things are going here at LRBC and I so I have a couple of things that I want to let you all know about. Next week is Easter, and we are encouraging people to participate in Easter Sunday and I know that many of you are looking to Easter as the week to return to in person worship. I think that is amazing. As a church we have been monitoring Covid in our area and we feel it is time to push forward towards our full discipleship opportunities. Now, that is a big scary word for alot of people, but basically we feel it is time to restart all of our classes and Bible Studies. So, next week on Easter Sunday we will be bringing back many of our chairs here in the Sanctuary, however, we will have some areas that will still allow for some social distancing, or even young families that maybe need a little more room with kiddos. Then on the following Sunday April 11, we will be celebrating 20 years in this facility that God has blessed us with. Can you believe that it was more than 20 years ago that the church building here burned down and God blessed us with this amazing facility. So, we will be having turkey and ham, and whatever else you all bring to make for an amazing celebration here at LRBC.

Well, following that on April 18 we will be starting up our Kids church happening during our services and I know you guys will all be really blessed by that happening. Then on April 24th we will start our full slate of all of our adult and kids Bible studies happening immediately following the services every single week. We will also be having some new member classes happening very soon, so if you are new to LRBC or are thinking about making LRBC your spiritual home then I want to encourage you to message me and let’s get a class scheduled at a time that will work with your schedule. So, we have a very busy April here at LRBC and we would love to have you join us as we continue to move forwards as a church that is making an impact on the community around us.

But, for now, today is Palm Sunday, and traditionally this is a Sunday that we would talk about Jesus entering into Jerusalem in a mighty way. We would talk about how Jesus entered in on a donkey and then he would work through Jerusalem teaching and investing in people for the last week of his life. However, we’ve already talked about that a few weeks ago. As a matter of fact, as you know we are in our third installment of the book of Mark and we are looking to finish the series next week on Easter Sunday as we discuss the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This third installment of Mark is the section that has taken us into the darker chapters of this book. We have looked at Jesus telling his disciples that they would abandon him. They responded that they would soon die than to betray and abandon him. Then you will remember later that very night they did in fact abandon Jesus. Starting in the Garden of Gethsemane, or the Garden of pressing and then from there scattering as Jesus is arrested and tried first by the Sanhedrin and later by the Roman officials. We saw Jesus being beaten and crucified, and then last week we looked at Jesus’ actual death.

So that brings us up to speed with where we are in the book. Let’s take a moment and I want to share something with you this morning. As we begin to think about Christ burial and the significance that holds, we should also think about our own witness and how others see us as believers. Well, I read something this week that really hit me. It hit me, becuase I can really relate to what is said, and so I wanted to share it with you this morning and maybe you can relate as well. There was a young preacher, named Robert Murray M’Cheyne in Scotland from 1835 -1843. This man began leading the church of Scotland at the age of 22 and died at the age of 30, just 9 days after his final sermon. He was once congratulated for his saintliness, he replied sharply: “Madame, if you could see into my heart, you would spit in my face.” Ouch! I mean thats kind of rough for sure…but, also…is there any truth to that statement for all of us? I mean, just think about your own heart and be honest with yourself about what is there.

You know, I love hearing about and thinking about people in history and some of the impact that they have made, or the impact that they wish they had made. So many times we read about people in history, and then think, I wish I had the courage to do that, or maybe, I would’ve done that a little differently if I were in that position. I mean, come on, how many times have you thought about something that the Israelites said or did and think to your self, “I would have never done that, what is wrong with them.” I mean really, that is a pretty common reaction to have to be honest. It’s also a pretty common reaction to wish you would have done better in some particular situation. Well, this morning we are going to look at a man that stepped up boldly and made an impact after he spent some time flying under the radar. The person we are going to be talking about this morning is Joseph of Arimathea…so....

Who is Joseph of Arimathea? (42-43)

Well, let’s start off answering this question by reading...

Mark 15:42–43 ESV

And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

So this person Joseph of Arimathea is the guy who buried Jesus. What do we know about him though?

First we know that Joseph was a member of the council. Well, it might make a little more sense if you know what the council is. You see the Council is the Sanhedrin. You remember the group that met together and offered Judas silver to betray Jesus. Then they met again and interrogated Jesus and handed him over to Pilate to be sentenced to death. After that they went into the crowd of people and started yelling to crucify Jesus. Yeah, that is what the council really is. So does that mean that Joseph of Arimathea changed him mind about Jesus at some point? Well, that would make sense, I mean last week we saw how the Centurion realized who Jesus was and acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God.

We also know that Joseph was a disciple. Now, this is where things are a little bit tricky becuase how can someone be both a disciple and a member of the council? Well, what we know is that Joseph was a secret disciple becuase he was afraid of what the Jews would do to him. First we see it right here that Joseph was looking for the Kingdom of God. However, turn over to

John 19:38 ESV

After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was 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 away his body.

You see right here John reveals to us that Joseph was secretly following Jesus. So that bring a huge question to mind. How can you secretly follow Jesus? I mean, is that even a thing that can happen? It seems to me that as we have studied all of the things through Mark, that discipleship is all about serving others, and acknowledging Christ. So, how can this guy secretly do those things?

Well, honestly that is what makes me say that I think Joseph realized what was going on and decided that he needed to step up and boldly and publically follow Jesus after-all. We know that he was a good and righteous man, and that he didn’t consent to what the council did becuase we read that in

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.

However, it is still true that he did not publically follow Jesus. When he didn’t consent, did he acknowledge why he did not consent? I would guess he did not tell them that he would vote against the arrest and death of Christ becuase he is a follower. No, he more likely simply abstained from voting.

However, something happened here and Joseph decided that it was time to stand up publicly and not be afraid or ashamed of who Jesus is. Now, he did this without the for-sight of knowing that Jesus would be coming back at all. No, he knew what everyone else knew. At this point…

Jesus is dead… (vs. 44-45)

Let’s keep reading this story this morning.

Mark 15:44–45 ESV

Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph.

So, Joseph went to Pilate and asked for the dead body of Jesus. This was a big deal becuase typically what would happen is families were unable to retrieve the bodies of those that died a traitor. Treason is the crime that Jesus was executed for. Many times the bodies would be left for the birds to eat, or they would be thrown aside for the dogs to tear apart. However, what was more of a big deal is that Jesus was already actually dead. You see, again, it typically would 2-3 days for a person to die on the cross, so someone dying the same day they were put up is a pretty unusual event. Now, again we think about why Pilate would allow Jesus’ body to be taken. Well according to James Brooks, the idea that Pilate was willing to release Jesus’ body after he was executed for treason indicates that potentially Pilate did not believe his guilt. IN additional to recognizing Jesus’ innocence, it is very likely that he would not have wanted to offend the Jews by leaving a body on the cross, especially overnight the night of Passover. The fact that Pilate asked the centurion is evidence that Jesus really did die at that time.

Why do we need to see evidence of Jesus’ death? Well, the reality is that people all through time have tried to disprove the death of Jesus. This has happened in modern times as well as ancient times. Mark, as an author knew this would be the case. He wrote these things specifically so that the reader would be able to acknowledge the true and physical death of Jesus, the Christ. James Edwards says this,

“The testimony of the centurion before Pilate and the subsequent burial description assure readers that Jesus truly died. Exegetes have occasionally suggested that Jesus did not actually die but only swooned on the cross and later revived in the cool tomb. Mark’s account renders such a hypothesis dead wrong. Three witnesses—Joseph (v. 43), Pilate (v. 44), and the centurion (v. 45)—testify that Jesus was dead, two of whom (Joseph and the centurion) had actual contact with the corpse. The body is also referred to brusquely as a “corpse” (v. 45, Gk. to ptōma; NIV, “body”).” — James Edwards

You know, besides the witness accounts of Jesus’ death, it is important to note that the Romans crucified thousands of people over their many centuries of power. There is not a record of one single person ever surviving the torture of the cross. As a matter of fact, the Romans became experts at death. So if anyone was ever going to mistake someone that simply lost consciousness, it would not be a roman centurion that oversaw crucifixions.

Jesus actually did die. We can talk about all of the evidence of Jesus’ death, however, that is not as much Mark’s purpose here. You see, there is something that is very important to realize that Jesus not only died, but that...

Jesus was buried! (46-47)

This is an incredibly important truth becuase without Jesus being legitimately buried then it would be possible for Jesus’ body to be stolen, or abused, or any other number of things. Also, if Jesus were not buried, then Jesus would not be the Son of God. The reason I say that is becuase of there are multiple prophecies that point to Jesus’ life and his death. However, there are also prophecies that speak to Jesus’ burial. Look with me at

Isaiah 53:9 ESV

And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

It is really interesting here because Joseph and Nicodemus, Also, Nicodemus is another pharisee that spoke with Jesus during the night, but has now publically aligned himself with Jesus. Anyway, these two men didn’t know it, but their actions of burying Jesus they way and location that they did, actually fulfilled this prophecy. You see, their choice to put Jesus in Joseph’s tomb fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy spoken hundreds of years before Jesus’ death: “He was assigned a grave with the wicked (you will recall he was crucified with 2 thieves…two men that were...wicked), and with the rich in his death (Joseph of Arimathea was a very rich man)”. This is one of the many prophecies that have confirmed Jesus’ identity as the Messiah and Son of God.

As we continue to think about Jesus’ burial let’s take a look at this section

Mark 15:46–47 ESV

And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

Ok, here’s the thing…it should really be understood here that burial locations were not exactly cheap. Caves were used for entire families, actually families didn’t mix burial caves. That is why, if you remember, Abraham had to purchase a new and unused cave for Sarah, his wife. Typically the family custom was to return home to be buried in the family burial cave. We saw that with Joseph being carried back home to be buried with Israel his father. This is becuase the Jewish customs of not mixing elements. This idea existed at least as far back as Abraham, however we are able to see it further in the Leviticus laws. These laws in Leviticus laws talking about not mixing various fabrics, and foods, and it extends practically to family burial plots. So, it makes sense to think about burial caves not mixing families as well. So this act by Joseph of using his burial cave to place Jesus meant that he was giving up his own families burial spot. He would have to purchase again, and carve out and create the space to have a burial location for his family moving forward. That is a significant financial investment for Joseph. However, he made the decision to publicly align with Jesus and that meant that he would not hold back. He offered an act of worship that was financially costly to him and his family.

Now, I would like to ask you to remember when this is all happening. You see, this is evening before Passover. This is considered the Day of Preparation becuase this is the day that you get all of your work done for the Sabbath. The fact that it is evening means that there is not much time to do things properly yet. Jospeh bought a cloth to wrap Jesus in, however, they did not have time to fulfill all of the burial customs yet. That is why the two women named Mary (one of which is Jesus’ mother) followed Joseph, so that they could see where Jesus is being placed, and they can return to Jesus on Sunday, after Sabbath.

All of this information works together to get us ready for next week as we read about Jesus’ resurrection, so you will not want to miss that. However, for now, we have looked at this man Joseph of Arimathea and see that he was a man that publically did not acknowledge Jesus, even though he secretly was seeking the Kingdom of God. We see that Joseph was a man that made a decision to boldly go to Pilate and request the body of Jesus who has been executed for treason. This decision could have led to him being arrested and executed himself. As we think about who Joseph was and what he did, the question we really should ask ourselves this morning is...

Who am I?

Am I a Christian that is attempting to fly under the radar so that my coworkers and neighbors don’t really know who I am? Am I a Christian that attends church sometimes but can’t really attend very often due to other things coming up that seem to be more important? As I a Christian that quietly believes in Jesus and has accepted Jesus, but am not really able to sacrifice for him financially, or socially?

Here’s the thing...If my Christian witness ever endangers my reputation, well, I need to remember Joseph. Today he is remembered with admiration but how many other members of the Jewish Sanhedrin can you name? How many others that were a part of the ruling class of that time do you recall publically aligning themselves with Jesus? Sure, there are some pharisees like Nicodemus, some other leaders, but this is the only one from the Sanhedrin that I can recall that choose to publically align with Christ. Now, there has been speculation about what Joseph did after this encounter. While there is no Biblical evidence of what Joseph did, there is some extra biblical legends that claim Joseph traveled due to business, and that he continued these business trips and used them as opportunities to share about Jesus and more specifically about Jesus rising from the dead.

We also know that Joseph had no idea what would occur from his courageous act of worship. He had no idea that Jesus was rise from that very grave and walk on this Earth, or that he will one day come back again. What he did know, was that his time of secretly following Jesus was done. You know, the same is true for us today. We have no idea what will come from our courageous act of loving worship. Actually, Paul Tripp says that, “Our Lord is able to take ordinary responses of faith and do extraordinary things with them”. We don’t know what will happen with our obedience, but we do know that we are called to obedience. I will leave us this morning with this passage from John, and this is Jesus speaking here...

John 15:14 ESV

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

So who are you this morning? Are you a secret follower, or a public follower? Are you obedient, or do you ignore what Scripture teaches? Do we desire to please God, or please sin?

— Prayer —