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From the sixth hour until the 
ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. And about 
the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "'Eli, 
Eli, lama sabachthani?' That is, my God, my God, why have 
you forsaken me?' Some of those who stood there, when they heard 
that, said, "'This man is calling for Elijah.' Immediately one 
of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and 
put it on a reed, and offered it to him to drink. The rest 
said, let him alone. Let us see if Elijah will come 
to save him. And Jesus cried out again with 
a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. Then behold, the veil 
of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth 
quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened, and 
many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 
And coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they 
went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion 
and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and 
the things that had happened, they feared greatly saying, truly 
this was the Son of God. And many women who followed Jesus 
from Galilee, ministering to him, were there looking on from 
afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and 
Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. Now when evening had come, 
there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself had 
also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked 
for the body of Jesus. And Pilate commanded the body 
to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, 
he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his new 
tomb, which he had hewn out of the rock. And he rolled a large 
stone against the door of the tomb and departed. And Mary Magdalene 
was there and the other Mary sitting opposite the tomb. On 
the next day, which followed the day of preparation, the chief 
priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, Sir, 
we remember, while he was still alive, how that deceiver said, 
after three days I will rise. Therefore, command that the tomb 
be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come 
by night and steal him away and say to the people, he has risen 
from the dead. So the last deception will be 
worse than the first. Pilate said to them, you have 
a guard, go your way, make it as secure as you know how. So 
they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting 
the guard. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank you for the written word. We pray again for 
the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that you would guide us and direct 
us and lead us now. to consider this burial of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, how we thank you that He came down for us 
men and for our salvation, that He lived, He died, He was raised 
the third day. We thank you that He's stationed 
at the right hand of the majesty on high and that He will come 
again in glory to judge the living and the dead. May we all be found 
clothed in His righteousness. May we all be found ready to 
meet Him on that day. Young and old, all who attend 
this local body, we pray that you would save by grace through 
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Do this for your glory. Do this 
for your honor. Do this for our everlasting well-being. And we pray these things through 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, the last time we 
were in Matthew's gospel, we considered at length the crucifixion 
account, the fact that our Lord Jesus died on the cross. We saw 
that this was indeed the way he accomplishes the purpose specified 
in Matthew chapter 1. Remember, the angel says, you 
shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people. from 
their sins. That's the purpose for which 
the Savior came. Yes, it was to engage in good 
religious teaching, it was indeed to engage in good works and kind-hearted 
deeds to others, but the primary focus of Christ's life was his 
life, his death, and his resurrection for sinners. So we considered 
that at length. we will soon consider the empty 
tomb, the resurrection of our Lord in Matthew 28. Well, there's 
a transition between his death and his resurrection, and that 
is found here in verses 57 to 66. The burial of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I believe that this section, 
though obscure and though perhaps not given as much attention as 
the previous section and as the following section, is nevertheless 
very instructive for us and holds out not only theological lessons 
and apologetics lessons, but it teaches us something concerning 
our comfort that we have in the Lord Jesus. As John Calvin says, 
the burial of Christ is now added. as an intermediate transition 
from the ignominy of the cross to the glory of the resurrection. So we're going to look at verses 
57 to 61 under the heading, The Burial of Jesus, and then verses 
62 to 66 under the heading, The Security at the Tomb of Jesus. But note in the first place, 
with reference to the burial, the request of Joseph of Arimathea 
in verses 57 It says that when evening had come, now this is 
the evening of Friday, it's more likely late afternoon because 
the Sabbath began at dusk or it began when the sun went down. And so, no doubt, Joseph of Arimathea 
comes before that time. It would have taken considerable 
time to get the body or receive the body of Jesus and to prepare 
it for burial. So the evening there doesn't 
probably mean eight or nine o'clock at night, it's prior to when 
the Sabbath was instituted. We'll see a marked contrast between 
Joseph of Arimathea, who was a council member, and these other 
council members that come to our Lord. Joseph has honorable 
intentions with reference to the body of Jesus, the others 
dishonorable. But we also see something of 
their revere for the Sabbath. It is intriguing that Joseph 
wants to do all this prior to the institution of the Sabbath 
because he doesn't want to be working on the Sabbath. But these 
fastidious wretches that debated with Jesus in Matthew chapter 
12 have no problem whatsoever on the Sabbath to go to Pilate, 
who's a heathen, to then actually seal a tomb and then post a Roman 
soldier to guard that tomb. There's a marked contrast between 
the two groups that represent the one Sanhedrin. But notice, 
we meet this man Joseph of Arimathea, verse 57. Now, when evening had 
come, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph. Now, there are several things 
taught us concerning this Joseph of Arimathea in the gospel narratives. Matthew is sparse in terms of 
who he was, but the other gospels indicate some more information. 
So he hails from, or he comes from, Arimathea. He now resides 
in Jerusalem. In fact, his tomb, the family 
tomb that he purchased, was very near to Jerusalem. Again, a rich 
man could do this. A rich man of some worth and 
value was able to do that. It tells us, or Matthew does 
tell us, that he was a rich man. I think we appreciate what Jesus 
taught in Matthew chapter 19. He says it's easier for a camel 
to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter 
the kingdom of God. But Jesus continues and says, 
but with God all things are possible. And it's intriguing as well that 
this rich man did good things with his riches. There's just 
sort of this communistic assumption among some of the people of God 
that to have riches is bad. No, it's what we do with those 
riches. Isn't that Paul's point in 1 
Timothy chapter 6? Command those who are rich in 
this present age to get rid of it all. No, they need to function 
with it according to God's will. and word. Riches, in the cause 
of the service of Jesus Christ, is a blessed and wonderful thing. 
We ought not to fault the Arimathean man because he was a rich man. 
He used his riches for a noble purpose. So the problem isn't 
riches. The problem is, what do we do 
with it? And we ought to appreciate that, 
I think, captures the biblical doctrine concerning money. Now, 
John tells us in John 19, 38, that Joseph had been a secret 
disciple of Jesus because he feared the Jews. Now, there's 
probably a couple of ways that we approach this. So while he 
was a secret disciple, we're not supposed to be secret disciples. But look at what this secret 
disciple had been emboldened to do. He didn't always remain 
a secret disciple. We sometimes hear these accounts 
of persons in countries where they're persecuted and severely 
vexed. And we say, well, they should go out on the street and 
witness for Jesus. We don't do that in our free 
country. We don't open our mouths when 
there is no military threat against us. It's easy to Monday morning 
quarterback those people in other countries. Well, you need to 
own Jesus in the midst of jihad. We don't do it in the midst of 
the liberty and freedom that we have. So let's not be so hard 
on Joseph being a secret disciple. But let's appreciate what Joseph 
faced with reference to the Jews. He was too afraid to even mention 
that he wanted to follow Jesus. Why is it? Because the Jews, 
specifically the Sanhedrin or the religious leaders, and many 
of the people in Israel that followed them, were wretched 
to the people of God in the first century. You know who the first 
powerful enemy of the church is in the book of Acts? It's 
not the Roman Empire. It's not Nero, that beastly figure. Rather, it is the unbelieving 
Jews. They had animosity against the 
people of of the Nazarene. They had animosity against Jesus 
and his followers. And so Joseph was afraid of these 
Jews. We see them in John's gospel 
with that man who had been born blind. They were putting people 
out of the synagogue if they had identified with the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Again, it's easy for us to say, 
oh, you just need to own Jesus even in the midst of all that. 
Yeah, but brethren, their lives were at stake. We don't own Jesus 
when our lives are not at stake. It's a very difficult thing for 
us to be Monday morning quarterbacks of other persons. As well, according 
to Mark's gospel, he took courage and he approached Pilate in Mark 
15, 43. He might have been a secret disciple, 
but he then took courage and he approaches Pilate. Again, 
I think that probably his wealth, his notoriety, the fact that 
he was a position holder on the Sanhedrin, all of this probably 
paved the way for easy or at least an easier access into Pilate's 
court. And then as well, he was a member 
of the Jewish council, but Luke highlights for us that he had 
not consented to their decision to murder Jesus. He did not. Luke specifies that very clearly, 
that Joseph did not consent in their deed to deliver up the 
Son of God and to crucify Him. It tells us in Mark and in Luke 
that he was waiting on the kingdom of God. It's a good sign. It's 
a blessed statement. One who is waiting on the kingdom 
of God sees the Messiah come and believes on him, as both 
Matthew and John tell us, he was a disciple of Jesus. Now, 
he was also assisted by Nicodemus in John chapter 19. There's no 
way that one man could have done everything that is said here. 
When it says that he himself hewn out this tomb, he didn't 
do that. He paid people. That's one of 
the benefits. People say, well, money isn't 
everything. Yeah, but it can help you pay people to dig out tombs. There's some benefit to it, at 
least. He is represented here as the man that comes. But Nicodemus 
helped him. John chapter 19, very specifically. Now remember, Nicodemus was a 
man, according to John 3, that also came to Jesus by night. Why would he come by night? Probably 
for the same reason that Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple. The animosity of the Jews. The antagonism of the Jews. They didn't want to face that. 
They didn't want to broach that. So then we see, according to 
John's gospel, that both Joseph and Nicodemus lavish honor and 
respect upon Jesus after his death. They lavish honor and 
respect upon Jesus after his death. The contrast with the 
other council members is stark. When we see the Pharisees and 
the chief priests go to Pilate, structurally it's the same sort 
of thing. Man from Sanhedrin goes to Pilate. Man from Sanhedrin 
makes a request. Pilate then grants permission 
in the particular thing. It's a stark contrast between 
Joseph of Arimathea and these men from the Sanhedrin that come 
to try and twist. Many see in this a connection 
to Isaiah 53.9, which is very obvious, or very hopefully evident 
to us, as so much of Isaiah's prophecy is in the background 
of Matthew's Gospel. Isaiah 53.9 says, "...and they 
made his grave with the wicked, but the rich at his death, because 
he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth." 
What Joseph does here specifically is he asks for the body of Jesus. He wants to give it a proper 
burial. That's not typically how the Romans rolled. You know 
how the Romans dealt with those who were executed on the cross? 
They left them up on the cross to disintegrate. Eventually they'd 
probably fall off of the cross and there would be sort of ravaged 
by scavengers or any sort of unmentionable things. They would 
just leave the body. Why would they do that? As a 
deterrent to others. You kill a gopher, you hang him 
up in your yard so that all the other gophers see and fear and 
take heed, right? That's the way the Romans did 
this. They didn't have any regard for an executed criminal. They 
didn't tend to the body. They didn't show respect and 
esteem. No, they left it to rot. Now the Jews, however, had a 
different approach. Deuteronomy 21, 22 to 23 says, 
if a man has committed a sin deserving of death and he is 
put to death and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not 
remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him 
that day. So that you do not defile the 
land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, 
for he who is hanged is accursed of God." You see, this is a different 
sort of way of approach. When it was an executed criminal 
and they still did give a burial to that person, the Jews, they 
didn't do it in a family tomb. They didn't do it in one right 
next to Jerusalem that had been purchased with a lot of money. 
They did it in a common grave, a common burial site. And intriguingly, 
you know what Pilate does after this in Mark's gospel? In fact, 
turn there. Turn there for just a moment. I think you need to appreciate 
something at the outset as we consider this passage. It's the 
apologetic angle. Apologetics deals with defending 
the faith. That's what apologetics means, 
defense of the Christian faith. Well, very often, I guess it 
just seems to get recycled and rehashed over and over and over 
again, you'll hear people say, well, Jesus didn't actually die. 
He was sick. He didn't feel well. He, you 
know, he was overcome with the sort of physical pain that he 
had. But he wasn't dead when he went into the grave. That's 
interesting because everybody in the first century situation 
confirmed that he was dead. Every single person in the first 
century context that was connected to it, in fact, these Jews that 
plot with Pilate actually confirmed that he was dead. You see, every 
step of the way they made sure, every step of the way it was 
affirmed, every step of the way it was confirmed. Now notice 
in Mark 15 verse 43, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council 
member who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming 
and taking courage, went into Pilate and asked for the body 
of Jesus. Pilate marveled that he was already dead, and summoning 
the centurion, he asked him if he had been dead for some time. 
So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body 
to Joseph. You see, it's kind of like when 
we studied 1 Kings chapter 18. Everybody's tracking right now, 
aren't they? Yeah, I remember that on a Wednesday 
night. I think you preach it on a Sunday, too. It's a great 
passage. Elijah, the prophets of Baal throwing down on Mount 
Carmel. One of the things I suggested 
in that treatment was how the deck was stacked against Yahweh. In other words, Elijah meets 
them at Carmel, which is the home turf for Baalists. Elijah lets them go first. Elijah gives them hour upon hour 
upon hour upon hour to try and get their God to perform. When 
Elijah steps up to the plate, what does he do? He further stacks 
the deck against himself. He takes water and he pours it 
all over the altar. He pours it all over the sacrifice. 
He digs a trench and he fills it up with water. That's what 
I'm saying. He's stacking the deck. That 
simply means cheating in cards. If you ever play cards, kids, 
Don't cheat, but the way of cheating in cards, I'm telling you don't, 
but here's how if you ever want to. The idea of stacking the 
deck means putting them in the order that most benefits you. When you look at that scene in 
Mount Carmel, the deck was stacked against Elijah, he helped stack 
it, and against Yahweh, so that when the fire descends and consumes 
the sacrifice, it's obviously God. what's happening in this 
transition. Everybody admits that Jesus was 
dead. The Jews, in their brilliance, 
no, their folly nevertheless served the purposes of God. The 
stone, the seal, and the guard. What is that doing? It's stacking 
the deck. There's no way anybody could 
raise from the dead when those three things are put in place. 
The psalmist says that even the wrath of man shall praise you. That's what's happening here. 
All of these efforts by the wicked to try and oppose the sovereign 
God of heaven and earth merely serve to make it that much more 
glorious. I mean, the thought of a man 
raising from the dead is glorious in and of itself. But try that 
when there's a stone rolled in front of the tomb, when that 
stone has been sealed and an armed guard is posted. You see, 
these men, in their folly, think they're keeping down this Messiah. They are just making his resurrection 
that much more beautiful. Imagine meeting these guys. You 
know what you fools did? You made it such that no one 
will possibly believe that it didn't happen. And there's even 
God hating rebels out there. Well, yeah, according to the 
narrative, he raised from the dead. So you got to appreciate 
the apologetics in this particular passage. We see confirmation 
by Pilate that Jesus had, in fact, died. Now go back to Matthew 
27. You see the actual burial in 
verses 59 to 61. I prepare the body. Again, John 
19 fills this out a bit more for us. Pilate commanded the 
body, this is the permission granted by the Roman governor, 
to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, 
he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. This is not the Shroud 
of Turin. It was a fake. You know that 
probably a lot of younger people, the Shroud of what? I mean, growing 
up or later on in life, I don't know when it was, but we heard 
all about this shroud of Turin, didn't we? It wasn't fake or 
it wasn't real. And even if it was, who cares? 
We don't walk by faith, we don't walk by sight, we walk by faith 
and what God's word has to say. You see these men, both Joseph 
of Arimathea and Nicodemus lavish respect upon the body of our 
Lord. It's intriguing because this 
is how the whole passion narrative or one of the ways the whole 
passion narrative starts. What do we find at the beginning 
in Matthew chapter 26? We see that woman come and lavish goods 
upon Jesus. She prepared my body for burial, 
is what Christ says. You see, at the beginning and 
the end, Christ is honored. Beginning and the end, Christ 
is esteemed. Beginning and the end, Christ 
is lavished with the devotion of his disciples. And I would 
just say by way of an aside, this passage does teach us of 
the dignity of the body. Brethren, we are not Gnostics. 
The Gnostic heresy teaches that, you know, it's not the body, 
it's the soul, it's the spirit. That's what really matters, I 
believe, in the resurrection from the dead. The goal of our 
salvation is body and soul presence with God Most High. Brethren, 
there is esteem and respect to be paid upon the body of those 
who depart from us. Notice something else in terms 
of apologetics in verse 16, and laid it in a new tomb, which 
he had hewn out of the rock. It's an interesting statement, 
a new tomb. Luke defines it for us, where 
no one had ever lain before. John tells us in which no one 
had yet been laid. What's the apologetic sort of 
strength of this? There was no mistaken identity 
as to who was or who wasn't or who should have been and who 
should not have been in that particular tomb. There was no 
confusion on the part of the women when they make the discovery. 
There's no confusion on the part of Peter and John when they run 
to the tomb and they investigate. They're not having to look at 
various bodies, which was the way that persons buried in that 
particular time. No one had as yet been laid in 
that tomb. But it had been purchased for 
both Joseph of Arimathea, probably his darling wife who hailed from 
Arimathea, and their kids, and possibly their grandkids, and 
if they were the kind of weirdos that live today, and their dog. 
They would have filled this tomb with all sorts of people. That 
was common. But the fact that this was a 
tomb that was new, the fact that this was a tomb where no one 
was ever laid, cannot be utilized against us. It is to promote 
the reality that the people were not mistaken. I think France 
explains it better than I just attempted. The point is significant 
for apologetics in that it makes it more difficult to explain 
the women's discovery as due to mistaken identity. There was 
only one body in the tomb. couldn't mess that one up. I 
think it was him. He was the only one. It was a 
brand new tomb. No one had ever laid there before. 
There's no mistaken identity. There's no, well, are you sure 
it was him? Of course it was him. And then the final part 
of this sort of apologetic is the women at the tomb. Notice 
in verse 61. I mean, again, the apologetics of the large stone 
against the door of the tomb. But notice in 61, and Mary Magdalene 
was there, and the other Mary, that's the Mary, a mother of 
Joses, sitting opposite the tomb. That's conspicuous in three instances 
in this narrative. They're at the crucifixion, they're 
at the burial, and guess who's at the resurrection? These women 
saw. These women watched. Women are held in high esteem 
in the latter parts of the passion narrative. When we get down to 
the next part, the fear of the other Sanhedrin members, the 
fear of these Jews, well, their disciples, his disciples might 
come and steal him away. The disciples bailed. They departed, 
they left him. They didn't own him in his life. They didn't own him at the crucifixion. Why in the world would they perpetuate 
some sort of a ruse? It just doesn't make sense. The 
women, however, were faithful. The women, however, were devoted. 
The women stood watch. It's intriguing. They sat there. 
It's a sign of grief to be sure, but it's reminiscent of the man 
who sat at the cross, the Roman soldier who was sort of guarding 
the whole scenario. It's almost like these ladies 
are faithful sentinels over the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Spurgeon makes the interesting spiritual application to us in 
the church today. He says, can we cling to Christ 
when His cause seems to be dead and buried? Now think about this. These women loved Jesus. They 
had followed Jesus. They were devoted to Jesus. They 
had just seen Jesus die a horrific death upon the cross. Some would 
say, well, he obviously wasn't the Messiah. He obviously didn't 
have the goods to deliver. Some in the vein of the centurions, 
that truly this was the Son of God, they would have given up. 
They would have said no more. Not these women. These women 
cling to the Savior even when he's in the tomb. These women 
cling to the Savior even when things look like it's a lost 
cause. So Spurgeon says, can we cling 
to Christ when His cause seems to be dead and buried? When truth 
has fallen in the streets or is ever buried in the sepulcher 
of skepticism or superstition, can we still believe in it and 
look forward to its resurrection? I think that's a good spiritual 
application. We go through these seasons or 
periods. When because of superstition, 
because of opposition, because of an undermining of the truth, 
and oftentimes, more often than not, from within the professing 
church itself, can we nevertheless cling to the reality that God 
is triune, that Christ is one glorious person in two natures, 
and that the way of salvation is by grace alone, through faith 
alone, in Christ alone. Should Rome and the Pope and 
all the devils of hell assault that reality, we'll cling to 
it. We'll hold fast to it. While 
everybody else may throw it down in the street and jump up and 
down on it, we're going to stand fast. We're going to be like 
these ladies. We're going to be sentinels over the truth. So that's the burial. Now notice, 
secondly, the security at the tomb of Jesus. Now, only Matthew 
records this section, and only Matthew records what happens 
in Matthew 28, 11 to 15, which makes perfect sense. Remember 
that Matthew writes primarily to a Jewish audience. Where do 
you think this lie circulated, that he didn't really rise from 
the dead, but his disciples came and stole him away? It was a 
Jewish thing. It was a Jewish myth. And so 
certainly the author of a gospel narrative that is directed to 
the Jews is the one that's going to deal with that particular 
situation. In fact, he shows us or tells us how this all originated. So there is a comparison to be 
made between verses 62 to 66 and what you find in chapter 
28, 11 to 15. After the resurrection, the guards 
go to the chief priest and they tell him, they tell him that 
the tomb is empty. That's what these guys do. I'm 
just giving you a little foreshadowing. They bribe the guards. Look at the way truth is opposed. I mean, even in his death, they 
hate Jesus. You remember John Wycliffe, the 
Bible translator, Wycliffe, Wycliffe, however you pronounce that, Y. 
You know what he died of? Martyrdom. No, he died of a stroke. 
Do you know what happened to him about 40 years later? The 
Roman Catholic Church deemed he was a heretic, ordered that 
his body be dug up and that his bones be burned to ash. What was his crime? He translated 
the Bible and he maintained justification by faith alone. Terrible, horrible 
things, right? You see, the truth is hated by 
the enemies of the truth, and that is vividly displayed for 
us in this present passage. Make no mistake about it, brethren. If the world hated Jesus, it's 
going to hate you. They may be favorable for the 
time, but the tides can change. And in fact, if you study the 
world around you, you may actually see those tides turning even 
as we speak. We are seeing opposition to Christ 
as we have perhaps not seen it in our lifetimes in the Western 
world. I'm not saying that so you can 
go out and live in a hut somewhere, but just know that the people 
of God have been targeted for execution throughout the history 
of the church. I mean, if Wycliffe's body was fetched out of the dirt 
40 years later so that his bones could be burned and the ashes 
thrown into a river, why in the world do we get upset if people 
didn't like when we prayed at Tim Hortons? Oh, we're so persecuted, 
aren't we? We're not, at least not at this 
point. Though I think if we're looking 
at the larger scene of things, there is a governmental opposition 
to Christianity that we need to be aware of. At any rate, 
let's go back to the security at the tomb of Jesus. So the request of these leaders, 
verses 62 to 64, on the next day, which followed the day of 
preparation, again, that's the Sabbath day. The commentaries 
spend a lot of time, why does he call it the Sabbath? Why does 
he call it the day of preparation? I don't know, he does. He says 
day after the day of preparation, that means it was Saturday. It 
was the Sabbath day. Again, these fastidious Pharisees 
and religious leaders of the Jews that wanted to upbraid the 
Lord Jesus Christ because his disciples ate on the Sabbath. They wanted to upbraid our Lord 
Jesus Christ because he healed a woman that was bent over for 
18 years. He heals her on the Sabbath. 
The ruler of the synagogue actually has the gall to say, there are 
six days that you shall come and be healed, but the seventh 
is the Sabbath to your God. Imagine that. fastidious observation 
of the minutest points upon the sabbatic calendar and yet they 
go to a heathen and they concoct this particular vile plan. But 
let's see what they say very specifically. Well, John Gill 
says, they were the inveterate and implacable enemies of Christ. This is why we sang Psalm 2, 
because even after Christ's death, these men still plotted a vain 
thing against Yahweh and against His Christ. Notice specifically 
in verse 63, they also confirm that Jesus was dead. So when 
these theories pop up from time to time and say, well, he didn't 
really die. He was just sick or injured or 
hurt, and they sort of put him in the tomb. And because he wasn't 
dead, he was able to come back out of the tomb. Pilate confirmed 
with his centurion that he was dead. Men who killed people for 
a living confirmed that he was dead. I gotta tell you, if I 
met up with a dead body, I might be wrong. I might pronounce it 
not dead or dead, and it could be the absolute opposite. My 
job isn't to kill people. Some of you are saying, you're 
killing me right now, hurry it up. These Roman soldiers at the 
execution of Jesus, that was part of their job. How was work 
today, honey? Great, he died by whatever time. Are you sure he's, they didn't 
get that question from their wives. Were you sure he was dead? 
Of course he was dead, this is my job. But notice what these 
Jews say in verse 63. We remember, wow, he was still 
alive. What do they assume? First century 
context, very much connected to the scene. They assume that 
Jesus is dead. They assume that the body that 
goes into the tomb is dead. They assume the body they had 
seen hung on the cross, whom they railed against, which had 
been executed by the Roman soldiers, they believed he was dead. It's 
incidental. It doesn't say, well, we know 
that he was dead. It's not a confessional statement, 
but it is intriguing. So we remember, while he was 
still alive, while he was still alive means that he is now dead. Now notice what they say, how 
that deceiver said. Isn't that terrible to speak 
of our Lord as a deceiver, as an imposter, as a fake? He wasn't the genuine article. 
These wicked men take upon their lips this sort of a blasphemy 
against the Son of God who came to save his people from their 
sins. But notice what they remember. We remember while he was still 
alive how that deceiver said after three days I will rise. 
It's a bit of a difficulty there. because Jesus announced on three 
separate occasions to the disciples that he would rise the third 
day. He says this in Matthew 16, he says it in Matthew 17, 
he says it in Matthew 20. Now, some suggest that Judas 
told these religious leaders. That's certainly possible. Another 
way to perhaps understand it is that they knew when Jesus 
said, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it 
up, that he wasn't talking about the physical temple. He was talking 
about the temple of his body. There's a possibility that they 
could have known that, which underscores all the more their 
wickedness at the trial before the Sanhedrin, because while 
the false witnesses are testifying, he said this and that, if they 
would have known better and yet they didn't correct that error, 
They allowed a gross breach of misconduct in their courtroom, 
which we saw they did a whole lot. They might be referring 
to the sign of the prophet Jonah. Go back to Matthew 12 for just 
a moment. Matthew chapter 12. The only 
thing here is that Jesus doesn't speak about him raising from 
the dead. That's why I think there's some 
merit to the thought that they knew something about this, destroy 
this temple and I will raise it up in three days, being a 
reference to his body, not to the physical structure. But notice 
in Matthew 12, 39, he answered and said to them, an evil and 
adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given 
to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was 
three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, 
so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the 
heart of the earth. So this is what causes them a 
degree of concern. Now going back to Matthew 27, 
note their request in verse 64. They said, therefore, command 
that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his 
disciples come by night and steal him away and say to the people, 
he has risen from the dead. So the last deception will be 
worse than the first. So they request security. They 
request an armed guard. Some suggest, well, I'm not going 
to get all the some suggest. We'd be here forever. But you 
see what they want. They want an armed guard. You 
see what motivates this is this fear that the disciples are going 
to come, steal the body out of the tomb, perpetuate a myth that 
he is risen from the dead, and then the last deception will 
be greater than the first. Now, as to their request, I just 
want to read France. I think he nails this. He says, 
the authorities' fears focus, explicitly at least, not on the 
possibility that Jesus might actually arise. That's not in 
their wheelhouse. They are not thinking in those 
terms, but on the opportunity for His disciples to cash in 
on such language to stage a fake resurrection, an explanation 
which they will continue to uphold even after the event. I think 
he nails their concern specifically. A Messiah allegedly returned 
to life after being officially executed for blasphemy will, 
they rightly perceive, be far more dangerous to their religious 
authority than Jesus had been while alive. You see, this is 
what's motivating them. If the disciples come or anything 
happens to that body, if they stage this fake resurrection, 
they claim that he is risen, we're really, really going to 
be in a sore state at that point. So they're politically minded 
men bent on securing their religious authority and maintaining control 
over the masses in Israel. Now in terms of the misplaced 
concern, just want to read John Gill. I'm not picking on the 
disciples when I suggest that, you know, they departed from 
Jesus. Matthew tells us in 2656. The 
only one to be found by the cross was John. That scene where Jesus 
looks at the woman, behold your son, he looks at the son, he 
says, behold your mother. John was the only one there. 
So John Gill says, but of this there was no danger, securing 
the body so that the disciples wouldn't steal it. He says, they 
were too fearful and timorous to do such an action, had they 
been ever so much inclined to it. He says, even if they wanted 
to, they didn't have the guts. They didn't have what it took. 
He goes on to say, they all forsook him and fled immediately upon 
his apprehension, nor durst any of them appear at the time of 
his crucifixion but John, and were now shut up for fear of 
the Jews. And besides, that's what John 
tells us, where are they when Jesus comes to them a couple 
days later? They are sealed up for fear of 
the Jews. These aren't guys going out and 
grave robbing so they can perpetuate some idea or some myth and build 
a religion on it. They were shut up for fear of 
the Jews, and besides, they had forgot what Christ said to them 
about His resurrection, though these men remembered it and even 
disbelieved it when it was told them. Remember those instances 
in 16, 17, 20 when Jesus would highlight the fact that he must 
go to Jerusalem, he must be tried, he must be put to death, and 
he must be raised the third day. It's like they didn't even hear 
that part. Raised? None of them ever captivate or 
fixate on that part of it. They never focused in on that. I used the illustration. It's 
like throwing a piece of lettuce to your dog. It just doesn't 
comport. It's just a foreign object. It's 
not something that's for mouths, at least doggy mouths. And that's 
how it was, it seems, for these disciples in terms of the resurrection. 
He would announce his trial. He would announce his persecution. 
He would announce the fact that he's going to die. But he would 
say that he would be raised. And they didn't even, they didn't, 
never once, were you going to be raised? I think Gil's right, 
they forgot all about it. Now notice, the security posted 
at the tomb. Well, let's not pass that last 
statement. So the last deception will be worse than the first. 
That's sort of a proverbial way of saying that if these disciples 
steal his body and perpetuate the idea that he is raised from 
the dead, the last deception, resurrection, will be worse than 
the first, his messianic claims. His miracles, his ministry, his 
going about doing good. Do you know what is very ironic 
is that proverb applies to them. Their last deception, denying 
the empty tomb, denying the resurrection of the Lord, denying the apostolic 
testimony, denying the overwhelming evidence, their last deception 
is even worse than the first, when they rejected Christ as 
Messiah, when they rejected His miracles, when they rejected 
His ministry. They unwittingly pronounce this 
proverb against themselves. Notice finally, the security 
at the tomb. Again, Pilate gives permission. This is where persons have a 
bit of a difficulty. You have a guard. Some suppose 
that Pilate is simply making the observation. You have temple 
police. Use those temple police and station 
them at the tomb. Sort of interpreting Pilate here, 
I think in some sense very reasonably, that he knew this was a mockery. 
He knew that Jesus was innocent. He knew that he was delivered 
up because of the envy and the wretchedness of these religious 
leaders. So some suggest that he says, you have your own guard, 
go deal with it yourself. Others say, no, it's a command. 
Take a guard. Take some of the Roman soldiers 
to that particular tomb. I sort of think it's that way 
because of 11 to 15, because they have to be bribed, because 
they have to be told that they're protected by the religious leaders 
from Pilate. So the way that I would read 
this is, you may take a guard. Go your way. When he says, make 
it as secure as you know how, as secure as you can. Let's go 
ahead, do this, take it, have at it. And then in verse 66, 
so they went and made the tomb secure. Now, remember it had 
already been secure in terms of this large stone that had 
been rolled over it. But then it says they sealed 
the stone and set the guard. They're stacking the deck against 
themselves. That's what they're doing. This is akin to Elijah 
pouring water all over his sacrifice, so that when the fire comes down 
and consumes it, you can't miss the point, God is the God of 
heaven and earth. You can't miss the point. When 
this is rolled away, when the tomb is empty, Christ is risen. Now this sealing the tomb could 
have been with wax, could have been with some sort of a cord, 
same sort of thing with Daniel, Daniel chapter 6 with reference 
to Daniel. Then a stone was brought and 
laid on the mouth of the den and the king sealed it with the 
signets of his lords that the purpose concerning Daniel might 
not be changed. So they seal it and they set 
a guard. Frantz says, the sealing of the 
tomb and the placing of an armed guard, mentioned only by Matthew, 
add to the dramatic triumph of Jesus' resurrection despite every 
human precaution. You see why I say it's like watching 
Elijah gather buckets of water pour it all over the altar, pour 
it all over the sacrifice, pour it all into that ditch that's 
surrounded it. We're watching it saying, does he know that 
that's going to make it so that it's difficult for his sacrifice 
to be consumed? It adds to the drama. It adds 
to the demonstration of God's glory. It adds to the show. This 
last The last thing here, they make the tomb secure, they seal 
the stone, they set the guard. John Chrysostom said, behold, 
a seal, a stone, and a watch. And they were not able to hold 
him. Matthew Henry says, to guard the sepulcher against the poor, 
weak disciples was folly because needless. But to think to guard 
it against the power of God was folly because fruitless and to 
no purpose. You see, the burial of our Lord 
Jesus does function in a way that I hope will never be obscure 
to us again. We will see this transition between 
death on the cross to the resurrection from the tomb, but what happens 
with reference to the laying of Jesus in the tomb. Well, in 
conclusion, I wanna draw out a few lessons. In the first place, 
the falling of the religious leaders. They impugned the entire 
ministry of Christ They call him a deceiver, an imposter, 
a fake. They say that resurrection or 
what they thought the disciples might do would be a greater deception 
than the first, suggesting that everything in his ministry was 
deception. You see, brethren, it's not the 
case that the Jewish religion and the Christian religion just 
coexist side by side. Now, we have to coexist and not 
bomb each other, I get that, but theologically, The God of 
the Old Testament is the triune God. There's no other God. The Babylonian Talmud doesn't 
speak kindly concerning Jesus. You know, again, I'm not suggesting 
we go out there and engage in, you know, physical holy war, 
but we are not to engage in some sort of theological sort of reproachment 
Or, well, they worship the same God we do. No, they don't. Jesus is our God and they didn't 
worship him. They concocted up a whole host 
of things to try and show that he was a fake as well. They impugned the character of 
the disciples. I mean, what a wretched, nasty 
piece of work that is. Well, they're going to come at 
night and roll back a stone, steal a dead body, go bury it 
somewhere else, and then lie to people that he was raised 
from the dead. Boy, let's think the best about 
our neighbors, and then impugn the character of anybody that 
might believe them. Oh, you believe that lie? But 
as I mentioned earlier, Psalm 76 10 says, surely the wrath 
of man shall praise you. They unwittingly help confirm 
the resurrection. They unwittingly help confirm 
it. I think Ryle says this well. They were actually making it 
impossible to prove that there was any deception or imposition. See, that sealing of the stone 
provides evidence of tampering, doesn't it? Wouldn't that be 
a vital piece in their argument or in their polemic against the 
resurrection? Well, there was a seal and it 
was broken. You don't hear that. Their seal, 
their guard, their precautions were all to become witnesses 
in a few hours that Christ had risen. They might as well have 
tried to stop the tides of the sea or to prevent the sun rising 
as to prevent Jesus coming forth from the tomb. They were taken 
in their own craftiness, their own devices became the instruments 
to show forth God's glory. So we see the folly of the religious 
leaders, we see the faithfulness of the disciples. Joseph of Arimathea, 
Nicodemus, and these dear women. Praise God for their faithfulness. Spurgeon makes the observation 
with reference to Joseph and Nicodemus. Joseph and Nicodemus 
are types of many more who have been emboldened by the cross 
to do what? Without that mighty magnet, they 
would never have attempted. When night comes, the stars appear. So in the night of Christ's death, 
these two bright stars shone forth with blessed radiance. 
Some flowers bloom only at night. Such a blossom was the courage 
of Joseph and Nicodemus." Now, don't take John 19.38 and say, 
well, Joseph was a secret disciple. I like that. I'm going to be 
that. No, brethren, be an outspoken disciple of the Lord Jesus. Hold 
forth the word of truth. Be a faithful testimony to the 
Lord God Most High. But be very careful not to judge 
persons like Joseph of Arimathea or like Nicodemus, because these 
men shined brightly after the death of our beloved Lord. We've 
already touched on the apologetic emphasis of the burial. Pilate 
confirmed with the centurion that Jesus was in fact dead. 
The religious leaders confirmed that Jesus was in fact dead. 
The tomb was new, one in which no one had ever lain, so there 
was no mistaken identity. The tomb was secured by a large 
stone. The large stone was sealed so that tampering would be prevented. The large stone that had been 
sealed was then guarded by an armed soldier. All of this indicates 
to us that what we find in Matthew 28 is not some cunningly devised 
fable or some concocted fairy tale. We're not to read the Bible 
in this way, in a land far, far away, where fairies and pixie 
dust surround the woods there lived a man. This is the word 
of the living God most high. This is the truth as it is in 
Jesus. He lived, he died, he was raised. That is the reality of our religion 
and that is what we continue to preach in the face of all 
opposition. Now finally, we ought to consider 
the theological emphasis of the burial. In other words, we know 
that when the authors write history, they're doing theology as well. 
That tomb that had Jesus in it for a time teaches us certain 
things. In the first place, it confirms 
his death. What do you do with a dead body? 
You put it in a tomb. What's one of the reasons for 
the tomb? It testifies that he died. Heidelberg Catechism, number 
41, why was he also buried? Thereby to prove that he was 
really dead. You see, if our salvation hinges 
upon this reality that he died for us, the tomb underscores 
that. The tomb punctuates that. The 
tomb highlights that. Secondly, the last part of his 
humiliation was attained. He is the second Adam. The first 
Adam was told this, for dust you are and to dust you shall 
return. The last aspect of his humiliation 
was being placed into that tomb. One man has made the observation 
because John 19 tells us this tomb was in a garden. Adam the 
first fails in a garden. Adam the second raises from the 
garden. Thirdly, This demonstrates his 
overcoming death. Our confession says on the third 
day he arose from the dead with the same body in which he suffered. The resurrection wasn't an apparition. He was not phantom. He was not 
ethereal. You couldn't sort of put your 
hand through him. It was real. The body that went 
into the tomb comes out of the tomb. What we find here in terms of 
real practical comfort is what Paul highlights, Paul celebrates, 
Paul delights in at the end of 1 Corinthians 15. The tomb of 
Jesus removes the fear of the grave for the people of God. Again, I don't think we need 
to be those kind of weirdos. I can't wait till I die. I can't 
wait to see how it's going to happen. Someone has well said, 
I don't mind dying. I just don't want to be there 
when it happens. Brethren, are you afraid of the 
grave? No, because Jesus went to the 
grave. You might be afraid of a bullet 
in the head or a knife to the belly or some other strange way 
of leaving this world. That's okay. But the fear of 
the grave, Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where 
is your sting? Oh, Hades, where is your victory? Christ took the fangs from the 
grave for his people by going to the grave for his people. And as well, The grave or the 
tomb of our Lord Jesus confirms for us, not only removes the 
fear of the grave for his people, but it confirms to us the hope 
of the resurrection of the dead for his people. It enables us 
to actually sing 599 and mean it. It enables us to see that 
when we pass from this life, we will enter into the presence 
of God Most High. When Jesus returns, he will unite 
our bodies and souls together. He will usher us into his presence, 
and there we will live forever and ever and ever, world without 
end. Amen. Zacharias Ursinus says, 
Christ, our head, has opened up the way for us from the grave 
to glory. That's what the tomb preaches. 
That's what the tomb preaches. And this function in the apostolic 
preaching of the cross, you see it in Acts 13, but one text in 
particular that we close on now is in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul 
the apostle says, moreover, brethren, I declared to you the gospel 
which I preached to you. which also you received and in 
which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast 
that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 
For I delivered to you, first of all, that which I also received, 
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 
and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according 
to the Scriptures. That, my friend, is the gospel. The gospel isn't about my good 
life. The gospel isn't about your good 
life. The gospel isn't about personal 
enrichment or personal esteem. The gospel isn't a feeling. The 
gospel isn't an orientation. The gospel isn't something we 
put on on Sunday. The gospel is the message of 
Christ, Him living, Him dying, Him being raised the third day. 
Christ is the gospel. Christ is the sum and substance. Christ is everything. If you 
have not come to Christ, listen to Paul's message. He says, I 
preach to you that which I received, which also you received and in 
which you stand, by which also you are saved. You see, some 
of you are not saved. That's the issue with the gospel. That's the issue with Jesus. 
You don't come on church on Sunday so that Pastor Butler or your 
parents can manipulate you, guilt manipulate you, make you feel 
bad for coming in late the other night. That's not the issue. The issue is salvation. It's 
the gospel alone that answers to salvation. If you don't believe 
this fact, this truth, this reality, that Christ lived, that Christ 
died, that Christ was buried, and that Christ was raised from 
the dead, you are lost. You are dead. You are eternally 
damned. You are condemned in hell forever. Paul's words should be heard, 
by which also you are saved. If you reject this message, you 
continue to deny this message, you continue to even pat this 
message on the head and say, well, it's quite nice, but it's 
not for me at this point in my life. You will be lost. That's what's at stake. That's 
why it's a big deal. But Paul says in verse 10, for 
I am the least of the apostles who are not worthy to be called 
an apostle because I persecuted the church of God, but by the 
grace of God, I am what I am. So I find that not good news 
the way the gospel, Jesus' life, Jesus' death, Jesus' resurrection, 
but that's certainly good news for sinners like us. Here was 
Paul, the chief of sinners according to 1 Timothy 1.15. Here was Paul 
persecuting the church of God Most High. Here was Paul later 
on in his life saying, I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle 
because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, 
I am what I am. You know what that means? That 
means encouragement. That means hope. That means joy 
unspeakable and full of glory. That means that God saves not 
the respectable, not the Polish, not the upright, but sinners. That's who God saves. That's what Christ is about. 
I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He 
says that the harlots and the publicans are entering into the 
kingdom of heaven, and you religious leaders are denying it. Brethren, 
great news. Sinner, great news. If you are 
not saved, look to Him in faith and you will be saved. Well, 
let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for 
the death and the tomb and the resurrection of our Lord. We 
thank You for His ministry on our behalf. We thank You that 
there is salvation in Him. salvation that is full, salvation 
that is free, salvation that is gracious and effectual, salvation 
from hell and damnation, the curse and the rigors of the law, 
and all things that are against us in this world. I pray for 
people here this morning that have not come to Christ, that 
they would look, that they would live, that they would know the 
joy of being found in Him. God, do this for Your glory. 
Do this to further populate heaven. And Lord, for all of us in Christ, 
increase our confidence. cause us to rejoice in the fact 
that Christ has defanged the grave, that Christ has confirmed 
the resurrection of the dead. And may we look forward to such 
things, and may we see that this is the blessed hope of our Lord's 
returning, where He reunites body and soul and brings us into 
the presence of our God Most High. Go with us now. Help us 
to sanctify the day. Help us to be Joseph of Arimathea 
and not to be these fastidious wretches that focus on things 
that are not significant and they engage in the sorts of things 
that are abjectly wicked. Go with us, we pray, through 
Christ our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation and then be dismissed.