Scripture Reading: Luke 23:50–56
Luke chapter 23. You want to read verses 50 through 56. The Lord Jesus has undergone a trial, two trials really, has been condemned to death, has died upon the cross, And we pick up the context, having noted his death, what then? Verses 50 through 56.
And as I read these verses, I want you to notice with me, in the context of the sermon this evening, the burial of the Lord Jesus Christ. or perhaps a title a little more clever, perhaps, than just the burial, a tomb for a testimony. The point of all of this is, why was Jesus buried? We know that He died. What's the significance, if any, of the burial of Jesus Christ?
Hear then this word of the Lord. And behold, a man named Joseph who was a counselor, a good and righteous man. He had not consented to their counsel and deed. A man of Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was looking for the kingdom of God.
This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. He took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid him in a tomb that was hewn in stone where never man had yet lain. And it was the day of the preparation and the Sabbath drew on. And the women who had come with him out of Galilee followed after and beheld the tomb and how his body was laid.
And they returned and prepared spices and ointments, thus far the reading of God's Word.
Introduction
Well, again, why was Jesus buried? All four gospel writers record something along the lines of what we read here, that subsequent to the death of the Lord Jesus, that there were these attempts and successful attempts to actually bury Him. You read a text like this and it almost looks like it's a throwaway comment. It's filler.
It needs to be there. I mean, what do you do with a dead body? You put it in the grave. We know something of the importance and the significance of the death of Jesus Christ, the death of Christ for sinners, the life and the death of Jesus Christ, His mediation for us.
And we certainly know something of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And even as we sang one of the hymns that we did tonight, even subsequently the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, all of these events All of these activities, if you will, all of these things that occurred with regard to the Lord Jesus have significance and have eternal weighty and saving meaning. But what about the burial of Jesus Christ? Well, again, we might think of it as just a throwaway kind of statement.
I mean, after all, what do you do with a dead body? Well, you placed it in a grave. And we might be inclined to think that that's the case. It's rather obvious, isn't it?
He's died. He has to be buried. And, of course, the real significance is attached to the death of Christ and then to the resurrection of Christ and, of course, even beyond that. And yet again, it's important to notice that all four of the Gospel writers make mention of the burial of Jesus Christ.
Paul also in his sermon at Antioch of Pisidia makes mention of the burial of Jesus Christ. And in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 4 where Paul says, I make known unto you the gospel which I also received, also includes a reference to the burial of Jesus Christ. So biblically, it would seem that this is important and some significance is attached to it, and it's not just or far more than a kind of throwaway statement, a kind of completed statement, well, after all, what do you do with a dead body? But it's interesting to note as well that the Apostles' Creed also makes reference to the burial of Jesus Christ.
And the Apostles' Creed, as you know, as creeds go, is an economy of words. It's very brief. Every word counts in that Trinitarian creed that we know as the Apostles' Creed. We are told in the Apostles' Creed that he was crucified, dead, and buried, and the third day he rose again.
Isn't it enough to say that he was crucified, dead, and he rose again on the third day? Well, we might also be inclined to think, well, here it is. It's in the text. And therefore, it's important at some level, we don't really know why it's important, but it's possible that we look at a text like this and we might draw the wrong conclusion.
That is, that we might look at it and see it little more than marked by sentimentality. The burial of Jesus Christ is all about grief. The disciples are grief-stricken. The women who had followed Jesus from Galilee are filled with grief.
And here's a statement that's all about personal loss. And so there might be a tendency for us to focus, I think wrongly, on those sorts of things. It is true that it represents and reflects loss, but it must mean something more than that. Or we might look at this particular text and say, well, it's all about Joseph of Arimathea.
It's all about human personality. It's all about believing personality. Here is a man who's brave, and along with Nicodemus, who was a wealthy man and had resources, We are able to do something for the dead Jesus. Everything is in disarray.
The disciples are all about to be dispersed. Their leader, their teacher, their Lord is gone. Will someone do something? Well, Joseph of Arimathea steps up to the plate. and he does something.
We might be inclined to look at it that way. Or, thirdly, we might say, well, this is something about testimony. It's testimony about those disciples who were hidden disciples and never really came forward during the life and especially during the last moments of our Lord's earthly life. And so, once again, it's about people and especially about the disciples, those hidden disciples.
And then there are those, of course, who might place a feminist spin about on this and draw attention to the importance of the women. It's all about the women and certainly they're to be commended. And yet in chapter 23 and verse 49, there's little to commend them as they stand far removed at some distance from the cross as well. So gender isn't the issue.
And I would submit to you that none of those things are really what this text is all about. The orientation, I submit to you, is still about Jesus. It's not about Joseph, though he figures prominently. It's not about the women, though they certainly figure prominently.
It's not about Nicodemus. It's not about anyone else, really, and at the end of the day, we still continue with the incarnational narrative. Jesus Dead, buried, and physically will rise from the dead. I submit to you as well that the burial of Jesus Christ is then a realistic and historic apologetic for the Christian faith.
A realistic and historic apologetic for the Christian faith. How so? Well, let's look at it, this text, under a number of headings.
Conviction and the Burial of Jesus
First of all, notice the matter of conviction and the burial of Jesus. Or to put it differently, who was it that buried Jesus? Again, keeping in mind that at the end of the day, this is still really about the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll notice that the text begins with this word, behold, or pay attention.
It's translated differently depending upon our translations. But the idea is pay attention to this. Even this is important. Even this is significant.
That even the burial of Jesus Christ has real meaning. At the eleventh hour, Joseph was not afraid to show himself a friend of the Lord Jesus. When the disciples stood at a distance, and the women too, he stepped forward to do something. It's Joseph who goes to Pilate and asks for the body of Jesus.
Now, we don't know anything about him. And that's all we know. We know his name, and we know that he was from a particular place called Arimathea, but we don't even know where that was. Traditionally, the place is Ramah, the birthplace of Samuel, but there's even some question as to whether it might not be some other place.
But he'd come to live in Jerusalem. and had come to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus. He's a member of the Sanhedrin. He's a member of the Council of Bishops, if you will, to make it a bit more contemporary. He was a good man, we're told.
He was a righteous man. He had not participated in the decision to put Jesus to death, which means that he probably wasn't present for that meeting since the decision to put him to death was unanimous by the Sanhedrin or the religious leaders. He is marked by opposition then, at least finally, and he's also marked by anticipation this language that is used here to describe him, looking for the kingdom of God, is code for the ministry of Jesus. Again, he was a disciple of the Lord Jesus.
Matthew records that as such, John chapter 19 as well, a secret disciple for fear of the Jews. The point is that he continued to hope Despite the disorder, despite the disappointment, despite now the death of Jesus Christ, this had not rocked his faith to the extent that he now abandoned Jesus or abandoned faith. So, you see, the focus remains upon Christ. Christ is at the center, and here is a man who, though a secret disciple for a time, comes forward and registers himself as one who truly follows Christ because his hopes remained upon Him, in Him.
He hoped for and was looking for the kingdom of God. Calvin says, he is likewise praised, no doubt for righteousness, but this waiting for the kingdom of God was the root and the source of his righteousness. So again, even though there is this focus upon a particular individual who acts in a particular way, The focus remains not so much upon this man's individuality or his character, except that it's rooted in waiting for the kingdom of God. Jesus is dead, but he still continues to hope.
Confrontation and the Burial of Jesus
Secondly, notice what we might call confrontation and the burial of Jesus. What did this man do? Verse 52. It was a brave strategy.
Pilate was the one who had killed Jesus, or at least he was the one who had condemned Him to the cross. It was rather dangerous. Here was a man who had condemned Jesus, now here is a man who goes to the very man who did that and requests the body of Jesus. He'd been a secret disciple, as I mentioned, but now the time arrived when he needed to do something.
And isn't that the way it is with you and with me? We may be secret disciples in the sense that we're fearful to do something, perhaps even as Pastor Cam was talking to others about Christ and about their end if they die outside of Christ. Perhaps we're hesitant and we're reticent to do that, but the day comes when we have to do something. And the day may come when we have to do that very thing and talk to perhaps a family member who's been rather antagonistic to the gospel, or someone that we work with, or someone else.
There comes a time in all of our lives when we have to stand up and do something. Can't be secret disciples forever. We can't just sit back and do nothing. And here is a man who, because of his hope, because of his belief, because of his conviction, he would not remain silent forever.
He'd do something. And it was a very dangerous thing to do. Pilate responds with amazement. It often took days for someone to die.
And here is a man that has died within a matter of hours. And according to Mark chapter 15, he actually sends a centurion to go back and to check to see if Jesus is really dead. Can this possibly be true that he's already dead? Pilate had authority.
Pilate had authority to turn Joseph away. Pilate had authority to comply with that request. In fact, it's interesting that those who were guilty of treason were denied a burial by their family. It was customary to just let them rot upon the cross, and the birds of the air come to feed upon their flesh.
But he asked for the body of Jesus, and how can you ask for the body of Jesus unless Jesus is actually dead? I'm leading up to something, but do you see this? You cannot ask for the body of Jesus unless he's dead, and Pilate certifies that Jesus is actually dead by sending an official, a centurion, and Pilate is satisfied. Again, coming back to the strategy and the bravery of Joseph, Luther said, but what moved Joseph to risk this so openly?
Quite simply, that he was waiting for the kingdom of God. You see how we come back to that again? He's waiting for the kingdom of God. That is, he still had hope that although Christ had been hung and had died so miserably on the cross, the kingdom of God would not fail to appear, but would indeed come.
He still hoped that God would accomplish and fulfill everything through this Christ, even though He was dead. That promise, or that which had been promised through the prophets about the Messiah and His kingdom. How strong was his faith? Well,
Contribution and the Burial of Jesus
it's interesting, thirdly then, to notice this man's contribution and the burial of Jesus Christ. How did he go about it? Or perhaps differently, what did it cost him to ask for the body of Jesus? Notice several things that he sacrificed.
First of all, he sacrificed his standing, his reputation, He took the body down. Now, here's someone like Nicodemus, who is a man of some significance, a man of some authority. He's a member of the council. He's a member of the Sanhedrin.
He's highly respected, and yet he gets his hands dirty, literally, by removing a dead body from the cross. Perhaps he had help. Nevertheless, this was something truly humbling and reflects his faith in the one whom he still believed would bring about the kingdom of God. Secondly, he sacrificed his safety.
Consider the hostility and the opposition of the Jews, let alone Pilate, the ones who had cried out for the death of Jesus. He sacrificed his resources, his money. He's the one who purchased the particular things that were needed and gave up his own tomb. He sacrificed his perspective.
He was waiting for the kingdom of God, still hoped that Jesus would fulfill those promises, yet he purchased the strips of cloth by which they would wrap the body of Jesus. wrap his body with spices. It was his purchase that the women would have used to apply these extra spices. He sacrificed his solitude. Everyone would know this.
He became a very public person, no more secrecy, no more being a secret disciple. He sacrificed his own burial place, his own grave, one in which never a man had ever lain in. It was an expensive piece of real estate because usually in that day, tombs were used and reused again and again. And he sacrificed his own schedule.
This had to be done now. It had to be done now because of the laws of the Jews. Burial had to take place between a certain period of time. This involves a tremendous amount of sacrifice.
We see it in the life of this man.
Influence and the Burial of Jesus
Fourthly, what influence did it have? Notice the kind of influence that his action actually had. We need to consider the influence that all of this had upon both the women and upon Joseph of Arimathea. Notice the women who followed Jesus had a regard for and respected the place of the tomb and the placement of Jesus.
They recognized where he was to be buried, and they made plans to come back again. They did just that. The women who followed Jesus returned to the tomb, the very tomb that Joseph had purchased after preparing spices for burial. And notice also, interestingly enough, as a kind of an aside, the women who followed Jesus reverenced the Sabbath day.
I know that men and women and young people would reverence the Sabbath. They kept it holy. It was not more important to anoint the body of Jesus than it was to observe the Sabbath. I find that interesting.
They waited a day. And, of course, the reason for applying the spices was because of the decay of the body and the smell that would result from all of that. But they waited a day. And they waited a day because of their reverence for the Old Covenant Sabbath.
Good intention and sympathy do not cancel out the law of God. How rare today that women, or men for that matter, have convictions regarding the Lord's Day Sabbath. What we do for Jesus must, like them, what we do for Jesus must conform to the law of God. Well, all of that prepares us for the
Why Was Jesus Buried?
fifth and the final point in the outline, and that is, why was Jesus buried? We began the sermon that way. There are all of these particulars about Joseph's faith, faith despite what had occurred. What is it that the burial actually confesses or asserts or acknowledges?
I think there are at least four things.
Proof of the Incarnation
First of all, notice with me that the burial of Jesus Christ is important and significant because it is a proof of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. He could die because He was born. rather obvious, is it not? He could die because He was born. Here was a real man.
Now we often focus upon the deity of Jesus Christ because the deity of Jesus Christ in the last maybe 200 years or so, has been largely assailed. But we need to remember that Jesus was also a man. He was a real man with a true human body and a reasonable soul, as the Confession says. He was a real man.
He was God, yes, and He was man. God cannot die. Jesus died. And we need to remember that this was a very real death, and we know that it was a real death because only dead men are placed in the ground, and Jesus was placed in a tomb.
Picture of Christ's Humiliation
I think the burial of Jesus Christ also testifies to the humiliation and to the depth of humiliation of Jesus Christ. It illustrates the depth of our Lord's humiliation. Here is the lowest point of the son's humiliation. He dies as a real man.
He takes upon himself the wrath of his own father, and he's placed in a tomb, and he remains in the tomb for three days. How much lower can he go? The last part of his humiliation was attained in the burial of Jesus Christ. Genesis chapter 3 and verse 19 reminds us of the curse, that out of the ground, out of the dust of the earth we came and to the dust we will return.
The
Prerequisite for the Resurrection
burial of Jesus Christ is the necessary prerequisite for the resurrection. The resurrection was physical, it was bodily, it was a real body that returned to life, not just spiritual. In other words, it isn't a ghost that came back to life. The resurrection is not a metaphor for something, but it's real.
The resurrection was no apparition, and in anticipation of the resurrection, Jesus was buried. It proved that He had overcome death. The hope of the resurrection depends upon this gospel fact that He actually died and was buried, and it is certified in the burial that He actually die and therefore it's a real body that returns from the grave. Calvin writes, although at that time the weakness of the flesh was still visible and the divine power of the spirit was not clearly seen before his resurrection, yet God determined by this as a sort of preparation to shadow out what He was shortly afterwards to do that He might exalt gloriously above the heavens His Son, the conqueror of death.
Proof of the incarnation, picture of His humiliation, a prerequisite for the resurrection, and then fourthly and finally the
Attestation of Real Death
burial of Jesus Christ testifies to the fact that it was a real death. It exists or it occurred for the purpose of attestation. It was a proof that he really did die. Jesus died.
And how do we know he died? He was buried. And what's the significance of his death? His mediation for us is dependent upon a very real death.
The details here of Joseph and the women and all of the rest show the reality of his death. The sepulcher, the linen, the request from Pilate, all of it points in the direction of Jesus and of a real death that he died. It is a fact beyond dispute. It is a matter of historic record.
Or Sinus in the Heidelberg Catechism says, he would be buried for the confirmation of his death. The promise to Adam was that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, if he transgressed God's commandment, if he sinned, in that day he would die. But Jesus committed no sin, and yet he died. did not die for himself, but he died for us. He died in full payment for our sins to satisfy the just demands of a holy God.
And how do we know that happened? He was buried. As J.C. Ryle wrote, the great sacrifice was really offered.
And how do we know that? Because he was buried. Again, then and now, the death of Jesus Christ has been denied. But if He did not die, there is no forgiveness of sin.
There are all of these suggestions. Someone else was crucified by mistake. He merely swooned upon the cross. He was given a calmative, a sedative to tranquilize him.
He was drugged and really didn't die. And then, of course, there are those who say the body of Jesus was stolen. How do we know that all of that is false? The gospel record, all four of them, the book of Acts, and 1 Corinthians, he was buried.
He was buried in a tomb, a tomb belonging to a particular Again, the Heidelberg Catechism, why was he also buried? And the answer, thereby to prove that he was really dead. And Calvin again says, true indeed, God determined for another reason that Christ should be buried, that it might be more fully attested that he suffered real death on our account. J.C.
Ryle wrote, the penalty threatened to the first Adam was eternal death in hell. If the second Adam had not really and actually died in our stead as well as taught us truth, the original penalty would have continued in full force against Adam and all his children. It was the lifeblood of Christ which was to save our souls. I think that's the real emphasis in the Scriptures in the New Testament.
While all of the other things are true, here is the real focus to attest to the fact that Jesus really died, and therefore, it is a means to us who believe, a means of assurance, of the assurance of our salvation. How do you know? that you may have life eternal. Jesus died. And how do you know that Jesus died?
Because he was placed in a tomb. And he remained in the tomb for three days. And what does that do for us? But it certifies beyond any shadow of a doubt that here was a real death.
Now, I think by extension that does something that is truly encouraging at another level. And that is the death or rather the burial of Jesus Christ is mentioned in the scriptures for the principle of sanctification. What do I mean by that?
Burial Sanctifies Our Graves
His burial sanctifies our graves as well. Lest we be terrified of death, we have the promise of resurrection, resurrection-related and as a result of Christ's resurrection. And so He died, and He died uniquely, and He was buried, and He remained in the grave, and then He was raised from the dead. And as a result of our union with Jesus Christ, though we will die, we too will be buried, but that burial, our burial, is not the last chapter.
We too will be raised from the dead. And so your grave and my grave is but a resting place until the resurrection. resurrection. As one writer has said, that they may be chambers and resting places until the resurrection. Jesus Christ identifies with us in all of the experiences of life, even death and burial.
Brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have no reason to fear the grave. No reason at all to fear the grave. Follow Jesus, as it were, boldly into death and even into the tomb. It's not the last chapter.
It certifies for us principally His death, and it sanctifies for us our own grave.
Application
So two things I would leave you with this evening. First of all, and once again, you and I as believers in Jesus Christ may have full assurance and be not afraid. For our salvation is rooted in the death of Jesus Christ. And again, how do we know that He really did die?
He was buried. And again, there's the significance. There's the significance of His death. The penalty due to sin has been discharged.
We have hope. He died and He remained dead for three days as an apologetic for the satisfaction for our sins. You have no reason to doubt. You have no reason to be afraid.
You can face life and death with full assurance. that your sins have been paid for through the merits of Jesus Christ. Even the burial, which seems on the surface to be a throwaway, barely worth mentioning. Well, what else do you do with a body? You put it in the grave.
Oh, brothers and sisters, it's far more than that. It certifies to us the reality of His death and therefore the fact that the penalty for our sins have been taken away. And then secondly, as I said moments ago, Jesus sanctifies the grave for us. Burial is important because it honors the body.
The body is significant. The body is important. And this really could very well introduce another sermon, and we obviously aren't going to do that this evening, but the body is important. And we need to reject every form of asceticism.
Your future is not a disembodied future. Your final future is not sitting on a cloud with angelic wings in a kind of spiritual body in the sense that it's something like a ghost. You know, resurrection is in your future. And just as Jesus' body was raised from the dead, so your body will be raised from the dead, and our salvation includes the body.
Let us not demonize what God has made good. Let us not deify the body, and yet at the same time, let us not demonize the body. We don't deify it, neither must we despise it. Our future is not that of disembodied spirits, but a reunion of body and soul in the new heaven and the new earth.
All of that is to say that just as Jesus' body was respected and it was laid in the tomb, so the bodies of dear loved ones ought to be respected as well as they too are laid in the ground, laying it to rest until the resurrection even as Jesus rose from the grave. Another way of saying all of that is that you and I never need to be afraid to go where Jesus went. You see the point that I'm trying to make? You don't need to be afraid.
Jesus died, died uniquely. Jesus was buried. you and I will undoubtedly die unless the Lord Jesus returns and our bodies will be placed in the tomb. And we need not fear that. We need not fear to go anywhere that Jesus himself went.
Well, there's something to the burial of Jesus Christ. Far more than a throwaway comment, far more than just a sort of interlude between the death and the resurrection, but it has real significance. Real significance for our salvation, real significance for the human frame and for the human body. And while it may sound strange to say this, we ought to rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus was actually placed in the tomb. in the ground for us and for our salvation.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, it certifies and attests to the fact that Jesus really did die. and really did die for us and for our salvation. And if you're here this evening, and you question this, and you have reservations, and you wonder about this whole matter of salvation, and how do we know, and how can you be certain, here is an element of certitude. Here is one, and it's a matter of history. It's historic.
Jesus did die, and He was buried. and he remained in the tomb for three days certifying that you and I might truly know that his death was real. And if his death was real, then we can come to appreciate that promise, the promise of salvation through the death of Jesus Christ.
Closing Prayer
Father in heaven, we do thank you for the word of truth and for this particular portion of your word that seems on the surface to have so little relevance, and what relevance it does have perhaps has relevance, has something to do with Joseph or with Pilate or with the women. And yet, as we've come to see, the relevance is all about Jesus and all about His work. and all about the certainty of that work. We thank you for even this element, this portion of your word which gives to us sure and certain hope of our salvation, satisfaction for all of our sins, pardon for all that we have committed against Your holy law, a perfect righteousness imputed to us through the life and the death of Jesus Christ. We pray these things in Jesus' name, asking once again that You might work in the hearts of those in particular who may still be outside of gospel promise.
Bless them, we pray, with saving faith, in Jesus' name. Amen.