- Jesus’ burial in the tomb of a rich man was foretold by the Prophet Isaiah.
Prophesied: ISA 53:8-9 Fulfilled: MAT 27:57-60
Isa 53:8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
Isa 53:9His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
Hebrews 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Rom 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
1 Co 2:15,16 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM?
But we have the mind of Christ.
Repent = metanoeō (met-an-o-eh'-o) = to think differently or reconsider
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Isa 53:8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
The Servant of the LORD, the Messiah, suffers, but not for Himself, but for the “transgressions of my people.”
Isa 53:9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
Jesus was being assigned to die with wicked men on Cavalry, by the “false” conviction.
The executioners want to,
“Throw him to the dogs”
Jesus always showed care and love towards everyone, even His enemies. 1 Ti 1:14, Joh13:1
1 Timothy 1:14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.
John 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
“No deceit was in His mouth”
Jesus spoke Truth because He is Truth.
Exo 34:6 Psa 25:5, 31:5, 40:11 Pro 12:19 Dan 9:13
John 1:14,17, 8:45,46, 14:6, 17:17
Luke 20:21 Gal 4:16 Eph 1:13, 4:21
1Ti 2:4, 15 Jam 1:18 2Jo 1:4
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth;
Your word is truth.
Psalm 109:2 For they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
Isa 53 prophecy we are seeing today,
“Yet He was with a rich man in His Death.
Mat 27:57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.
Mat 27:58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
Mat 27:59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
Mat 27:60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.
- Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man. Mat 27:57.
- Joseph of Arimathea was a prominent member of the Council of Sanhedrin, Mat 27:57, Luke 23:50.
Luke 23:50 And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man.
Luke 23:51 (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God;
- Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Jesus, Mat 27:57, John 19:38.
John 19:38a After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus,
but a secret one for fear of the Jews,
Joseph was a secret disciple.
Why was it not known that He was a disciple?
– “for fear of the Jews”.
Fear is lack of thinking under pressure and certainly these leaders have Joseph under its thumb at this time.
Fear can have a way of making us act out of character, shrinking in shame or it can motivate and challenge us to make a stand.
John 7: 13 Yet no one was speaking openly of Him (Jesus) for fear of the Jews.
John 9:22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. 23 For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
John 12:42 Nevertheless many, even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;
John 12:43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
Luke 23:51 (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God;
Listed in all four Gospels – Mat 10:39, 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24, 17:33; John 12:25
Mark 8:34 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.
John 12:25 He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
- Joseph of Arimathea was waiting for the Kingdom of God. Mark 15:43, Luke 23:51
Luke 18:25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Mat 27:58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
God the Father had a plan to take care of His Son’s body.
Burying the dead is not proper work, either for a day of rest or for a day of rejoicing, which the Sabbath is.
Joseph is now going to do the only thing he can for Jesus, the right way, without regard for what might happen to him. An exercise in faith.
Joseph musters up the courage to approach Pilate and asked for permission to take the body away.
Etes aiteō = eetes-ahee-teh'-o
root is to ask (in generally): - beg for, call for, to plea for with desire.
Middle voice – He asked for himself, personally.
“In Joseph's petition, and Pilate's ready grant of it, honor was accomplished for Christ, and a testimony borne to Joseph’s integrity “. – M. Henry
Mat 27:59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
John 19:38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So, he came and took away His body.
John 19:39 Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.
John19:40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
John 19:41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
John 19:42 Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
John 3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
John 3:2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Jesus should be seen, as the assigned title above His head read, King of the Jews, the Messiah
Deu 21:22 “If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
Deu 21:23 his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.
Gal 13:3 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”
Mat 27:59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
Mat 27:60 and laid it (Jesus’ body) in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.
Isa 55:8,9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.
God’s perfect plan!
God’s perfect plan – Faithful, Just and Righteous!
The ground about Jerusalem was generally rocky and God the Father ordered it that Christ's tomb should be in a solid entire rock.
A great stone was rolled to the door of His tomb, this also was according to the custom of the Jews in burying their dead, John 11:38
John 11:38 So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
The stone was rolled closed against the tomb, it was signifying that those who are dead, are separated and “cut off from all the living”
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were prepared to give Jesus Christ a proper burial.
The burial of a KING! 2 Chronicles 16: 13-14.
2 Ch 16:13 So Asa slept with his fathers, having died in the forty-first year of his reign.
2 Ch 16:14 They buried him in his own tomb which he had cut out for himself in the city of David, and they laid him in the resting place which he had filled with spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers’ art; and they made a very great fire for him.
Can you picture this scene, it must have been a mournful, but dignified privilege that came over Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus as they wrapped the Body of Jesus Christ in those fine linens and applied the proper spices and place it in the new unused tomb, in which no body was laid. It was supposed to be for Joseph but now he was giving it to the Lord. And Nicodemus was able to be a part of the process.
The Jews designed that Jesus should have made his grave with the wicked men,
He should have been buried with the thieves with whom He was crucified,
but God over-ruled it, so as that
Jesus should make it fulfilled, “Yet He was with the rich man in his death”, as written some 700 years before the Isa 53:9 fulfillment.
Fear is lack of thinking under pressure and that is a general problem in life.
2 Corinthians 7:10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
MAT 6:34: Therefore, do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
For the believer, fear is failure to learn and apply Bible doctrine to the problems of life; and failure to learn and utilize the Problem-Solving Devices, (Divine Intervention)
You need to Rebound and Recover from those things that hinder you,, hand them over to God, who is in the Supreme Court of Heaven! 1Pe 2:21-25
1 Pe 2:21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
1Pe 2:22 WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;
1Pe 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
1Pe 2:25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
Our Lord wants us to remember to Trust in Him! Pro 3:5,6
Therefore, your Hope and Faith in Him is so important. Heb 3:6, 1 Th 1:3.
God will never desert you and will never forsake you! Heb 13:5 Never forget that!
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Are we going to stand up for what we believe or just have the “everyone is doing it” attitude, go along with the herd?
The way you choose, determines your heart for God. And Jesus taught this very principle:
Just like us, sometimes we must overcome the giants or petty things in life and “rise above” (Samantha I listen closely to the words coming from this pulpit) all the noise and static per say. Joseph of Arimathea will do this in time.
I’m not putting any blame on Joseph here, I would have probably done the same or failed all together, but we see another fantastic example that the Holy Spirit records for us here.
Joseph believed in Jesus and His claim to be the Messiah the Christ, for the scriptures say that,
Which is why He was following the teaching of Jesus and became a disciple, be it one in secret. Joseph struggled in this area, as we all have at sometimes I’m sure, (running from God), but He will change his way of thinking as we will see. This was a personal battle that only the Lord could help him with. For it is said,
Joseph of Arimathea had a heart for Jesus Christ. Even as The apostles had all fled, and none of them appeared to show this respect to their Lord and Master like we are seeing in Joseph when He acted.
So, Continuing in the fulfillment Mat 27:58,
Now at this time, right after Jesus gave up His Spirit and they knew He had died. Those around the Cross looked from a distance, they were bewildered not moving or knowing what to do. The women, who had gathered, did not move in, they just mourned.
I think this is when Joseph was stirred up by God.
After witnessing the piercing in the side from the Roman soldier’s spear to Christ body, blood and water gushed from His side, no other person touched Him.
When it was evening, meaning after 3p, the same evening that He died, before sunset – 6p, and that is when the Sabbath was to start. It was not deferred till the next day, because it was the Sabbath; because,
Finally with the death of Jesus, Joseph went to Pilate, now He is courageous in showing a change of mind.
Possibly overcoming the previous shame of not being able to persuade the leaders in righteousness. Joseph now approaches the leader of the Roman occupied City.
Pilate was the person in power to grant the release of the body.
“Asked” here Mat 27:58 is the word,
Only someone that cares or loves someone that much would do it in this manner, He was requiring a purpose. That is just what Joseph had intended to do.
Matthew Henry writes, “Pilate was willing to give the body to one that would remove it decently, that he might do something towards atoning for the guilt his conscience charged him with in condemning an innocent person.
Please turn to John 19:38-42.
Here is the only issue – but one that has a solution. Joseph might have been able to take down the body on his own, but highly unlikely. He would need assistance with the body and to make the proper preparation that were to be made for burial.
Enter Nicodemus, let’s read John’s account which explains this. John 19 starting in verse 38.
Nicodemus, we remember was also a secret follower of Jesus. He had met with Him on more than one occasion, but at night (in secret). On one of these nights, the famous question that baffled him during one of Jesus’ messages to him, John chapter 3.
We also see here that Nicodemus, like Joseph, struggled with full believe and conviction. He calls him Teacher and of God, but does not acknowledge His deity. Jesus knowing of his struggle tries to help him find his way however Nicodemus remains perplexed at the teaching as Jesus lovingly rebukes him.
Nicodemus at some point also, knowing of His death, then came to terms with his believe.
Nicodemus helped carry, wrap, and place the body, even gathering the spices to Joseph’s empty tomb, where no one had ever been laid.
The touching and removal of the body shows the honor and respect they had for Jesus. No one would want to touch or remove a body of one that had been put to death as such a criminal. Especially, ones of ranking officials in the Council.
But they were feeling that,
and these 2 characters sought it an honor to give Him proper burial. Not just following the Law, which Jesus Christ came and fulfilled, but the law of freedom for their very own faith. They also sought to remove the curse placed upon them if they did not take any action.
However, Jesus was the one to remove the curse, not one of a man or land from hanging on a tree,
Back to the verses in the fulfillment reads,
The wrapping was to be as is customary in Jewish burials. The body was entirely swathed in long fine linen strips, not covered with only a shroud. A single sheet wrapping for a corpse to conceal the body.
Some care had to be taken in moving the body around to completely prepare and cover it.
There is question as to why, Joseph had dug a tomb out of rock near Jerusalem, but He had prepared it for Himself. It does seem strange that he would not have one in his hometown, but divine viewpoint,
Some identify it to the rock tomb of Gordon’s Calvary. Which is located north of the city in contrast to the Westerly position of traditional Calvary. Archeologists are still searching for more evidence to this day, as both have similar findings.
No matter which proves to be the actual site, it still existed and happened as we have it recorded in Scripture and backed by many historical records.
He was laid in a new tomb, which Joseph, it is likely, designed for himself, and because of the lack of time before the sabbath began, they used this one as it was close to the spot of the crucified body.
This way that no room might be left to suspect his disciples had access to it by some underground passage, or broke through the back wall of it, to steal the body; for there was no access to it but by the door, which was watched and sealed.
as appears by the description of the grave of Lazarus.
This in tradition, when
giving us a conclusion to the Isa 53:8 prophecy explanation.
Nicodemus along with Joseph are 2 examples of those that wanted to believe … maybe coming right up to the edge but required something extra to cause their faith to be challenged and strengthened, then they were able to act.
By the Father’s will and submission to this act of burial, they might be considered friends of Jesus, at least that is how they saw it meeting him in secret and following his teachings, either way loving friends took the body down from the Cross, wrapped it in new fine linen clothes, and with the spices, placed His body in the new tomb.
yet another Scripture fulfilled exactly to prove He was the Son of God, The long-awaited Messiah, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In Closing ---- as we see there is application of this lesson to our Christian life…
Every day when something goes wrong -- you have the opportunity, to “rise above” that which is going wrong in your life. There are always different ways to look at situations, just like we have seen with these prophecies. Don’t let fear take you down or away from what God has in store for you.
You can stay down there with the details of life,
you can complain, you can murmur,
you can pace the floor, you can toss back and forth late at night losing sleep; because your worried and concerned and you don’t know how things are going to work out … -- and that is because you’re living under the circumstances of life,
Don’t let fear or pettiness get in your way of serving, loving the Lord … that is directly an insult to our Lord and Savior who suffered for your sake and mine also – Really, can we even compare the oppression that they went through at the time of Christ’s crucifixion (pause) to let the little problems in life drag us down after all He went through.
I am here to encourage you, Be Courageous like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus an honor Our Lord, becoming a useful vessel. But don’t delay or wait, take advantage of your opportunities for you know not what tomorrow brings (probably more trouble).
The Christian life is meant to be lived one day at a time. Every day is a Grace Gift Given to you by God, as part of your allotted time. The fact that God gives you another day on the earth is a sign that He has a job for you to do. Never forget that!
(separate yourself from those things that make your heart faint or sick and)
Christ Is Our Example please turn to 1 Pe
Every day is a special day, that the Lord has made.
If you live in the moment and only deal with each day as it happens, you will begin to master the Christian way of life.
Life is very fragile, and Life is too short. As children of God, we should not succumb to the perils of Fear of this world or pettiness of minute things.
If you have stepped away for any reason, there is always a way back and Our Lord welcomes you,
For only one … He would have gone through all of it, every aspect of the Cross that we have learned, that is Our loving God and does not wish that any should perish.
We usually open up service with this, but today I will close today service with this reminder.
A Reading from 1 John 1:1-9, you can go there if you want to , but at least give the Words a hearing.
1 John 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—
2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—
3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.