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Matthew chapter 27, our focus 
tonight will be on the burial of Jesus in verses 57 to 66, 
but I want to read beginning in verse 32. Now as they came 
out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled 
to bear his cross. And when they had come to a place 
called Golgotha, that is to say, place of a skull, they gave him 
sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when he had tasted 
it, he would not drink. Then they crucified him and divided 
his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was 
spoken by the prophet. They divided my garments among 
them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Sitting down they 
kept watch over him there. And they put up over his head 
the accusation written against him, This is Jesus, the king 
of the Jews. Then two robbers were crucified 
with him, one on the right and another on the left. And those 
who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, 
you who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save 
yourself. If you are the son of God, come 
down from the cross. Likewise, the chief priests also, 
mocking with the scribes and elders said, he saved others, 
himself he cannot save. If he is the king of Israel, 
let him now come down from the cross and we will believe him. 
He trusted in God, let him deliver him now if he will have him. 
For he said, I am the son of God. Even the robbers who were 
crucified with him reviled him with the same thing. Now 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 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. Then 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 gracious God and Holy Father, 
we thank you for this account of our Lord Jesus Christ. We 
thank you for that life of perfect obedience. We thank you for that 
death which was substitutionary, which was sacrificial in our 
stead. And we thank you for that burial 
and ultimately the resurrection from the dead. For we know in 
this gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have eternal life. 
We know our life is not predicated on our good works. It's not predicated 
on our obedience to the law. but it's all about the active 
and the passive obedience of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. 
So God, guide us now by your Holy Spirit, cause us to see 
this passage, to see its apologetic value, as well to see its theological 
value, and may we be encouraged at what our Savior did on behalf 
of guilty, vile, and helpless sinners. Forgive us now, we pray, 
in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, we have seen the 
passion narrative and ultimately the death of our Lord Jesus Christ 
in the last time we gathered for the supper. 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. theological reasons why we need 
to pay attention to the burial of our Lord. And we'll see that 
at the end of the message tonight. But I want to look at two things. 
First, the burial of Jesus in verses 57 to 61. And then secondly, 
the security at the tomb of Jesus in verses 62 to 66. Now this 
security at the tomb of Jesus is only indicated in Matthew. 
because Matthew writes to Jews and this particular explanation 
circulated among the Jews that persons had stolen the body of 
our Lord Jesus. Turn over to chapter 28 at verse 
11. It says, now while they were 
going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported 
to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When 
they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they 
gave a large sum of money to the soldiers saying, tell them 
his disciples came at night and stole him away while we slept. 
And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and 
make you secure." So they took the money and did as they were 
instructed. And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews 
until this day. There's a contrast between that 
statement and the Great Commission. Christ commissions his church 
to go therefore and make known to all nations everywhere the 
life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. But these 
godless Jews circulate this false report that the body of Jesus 
was actually stolen. So you will not find this in 
the parallel accounts in Mark, Luke, and John. That doesn't 
mean it's not true. It simply means that each of 
the gospel writers are doing theology from their vantage points. You've got the burial of Jesus, 
and you've got the security at the tomb of Jesus. First, let's 
look at the burial of Jesus. Notice the request of Joseph 
of Arimathea. The timeframe is given in verse 
57. Now, when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea 
named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. So this is on the Friday afternoon, 
the day obviously before the Sabbath day. And this Joseph 
of Arimathea, I'll just sort of piece together a biography 
of him from the gospel records. He came from Arimathea, but he 
now lives in Jerusalem. He obviously does live there. 
He buys a tomb in Jerusalem. He was, in fact, a rich man. 
And this jives with and accords with the prophet Isaiah 53.9. 
We saw that when we read that passage at the outset of scripture. In Isaiah 53 at verse 9, 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. 
So that prophecy of Isaiah, even down to the burial plot of the 
rich, is brought to fruition here. He had been a secret disciple 
of Jesus because he feared the Jews, John 19.38. Sometimes you 
see things like that in the Bible and it gives us a bit of cause 
to reflect and wonder, well, is he truly a believer? Yes, 
the Bible says that he is. Not every believer is an Elijah. Not every believer will go up 
to Mount Carmel and there challenge the prophets of Baal. Not every 
believer is going to be a John Knox hanging over his pulpit 
and pointing at the Queen of England. Not every believer has 
that kind of boldness and earnestness, and we're not to conclude, therefore, 
they're not believers. Scripture tells us that Joseph 
of Arimathea was, but he did fear the Jews. There was great 
animosity to Jesus and to his followers, and so Joseph understood 
that. He took courage ultimately and 
approached Pontius Pilate to ask for the body so that he could 
give it a proper burial. He also was a member of the Jewish 
council, the Sanhedrin. He was part of that body of elders, 
that body of religious figures that was made up of 71 persons. 
He was a member of the Jewish council, but he had not consented 
to their decision to murder Jesus. So in Luke 23, 51, it shows us 
or demonstrates that Joseph was not down with the execution of 
our Lord Jesus. He is described by Mark and Luke 
as a man who was waiting on the kingdom of God. Typically that 
means he had a messianic expectation, he understood the prophets, he 
knew there was a champion coming in accordance with Genesis 3.15, 
and the farther steps after that that would indicate that Jesus 
was in fact the Messiah of God. He was, as our text says, specifically 
in verse 57, a disciple of Jesus. He was assisted by Nicodemus 
in the burial of our Lord. So in John's gospel, chapter 
19 at verse 39, we see Nicodemus, the one who comes to Jesus by 
night in John 3, to sort of put Jesus on the horns of a dilemma, 
nevertheless comes to Christ and serves alongside of Joseph 
to give the body of Jesus a proper burial. And as well, we see that 
he lavished honor and respect upon Jesus after his death. So in John 19, 39 to 40, being 
a man of means, being a man of resources, being a man who had 
money, he was able to splurge and able to do good things for 
the body of our Lord. Now there's an obvious contrast 
with him, member of the Sanhedrin, versus the others that are indicated 
here in verses 62 to 66, that were so intent on guarding the 
tomb so that they could indeed protect the idea that Jesus rose 
from the dead. And as I said, this jives with 
Isaiah 53, 9. So what Joseph wants to do, according 
to verse 58, he comes to Pilate and he asks for the body of Jesus. R.T. France explains, and in 
the background is Deuteronomy 21, 21, 22, and 23. It 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. 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." And that is fulfilled preeminently in the death of 
our Lord Jesus. Galatians 3, 13, the Apostle 
Paul tells us that Christ became a curse for us. been hanged on 
the tree. So France explains, the bodies 
of those who had died by crucifixion were often not given a proper 
burial, but left on crosses to disintegrate or thrown on the 
ground to be disposed of by scavengers and natural decay. But Jewish 
piety objected to any body being left unburied, Deuteronomy 21. 
And so there was a provision there for the burial of those 
executed in a common burial plot rather than in a family tomb. So that's the stage, that's the 
scene, that's what's happening. And notice what Pilate responds 
according to verse 58. Then Pilate commanded the body 
to be given to him. This underscores that Pilate 
knew that Jesus was dead. Remember, there are those who 
question the whole passion narrative. Muslims, for instance, imbibe 
what's called the swoon theory. They say that Jesus didn't die 
on the cross. He was very much injured, he 
was very much destitute, but he was ultimately spirited away, 
and he was nursed back to health, and then it was given, or the 
testimony was given or conveyed, that he'd been raised from the 
dead. So with reference to this, the apologetic nuggets that you 
find in the passion narratives are very valuable in combating 
the assaults upon Christianity at the level of the historicity 
of the sacred texts. And intriguingly, these Jews 
do what the psalmist says in Psalm 76 10. It says, even the 
wrath of man shall praise you. They take pains to secure the 
tomb. They take pains to secure it 
in such a way that the integrity of the tomb is maintained. Such 
that when the disciples arrive at the empty tomb and Christ 
is risen from the dead, it's obvious. They had put everything 
into place to try to debunk the idea that Christ would rise from 
the dead. But they actually make it even 
more believable by the way that they conduct themselves in terms 
of security for the tomb. So Pilate grants permission for 
Joseph of Arimathea, along with Nicodemus, to bury the body of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that. The Old Covenant, 
the Old Testament, the children of Israel buried their dead. Typically, the pagans burned 
their dead. It was the children of Israel 
that buried. And we see burial here, dignified 
by our Savior going into the grave. So that's his request. 
Let's look secondly, under the burial of Jesus, at the burial 
of Jesus proper. Notice the preparation of the 
body in verse 59. When Joseph had taken the body, 
he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. Now as we move through 
this particular section, it's parallel to what we find in Matthew 
chapter 26 in terms of that woman who lavishly poured out oil upon 
our Savior. Turn back to chapter 26, specifically 
chapter 26 at the very beginning in verse 6, the anointing at 
Bethany. And when Jesus was in Bethany 
at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him having an 
alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured 
it on his head as he sat at the table. But when his disciples 
saw it, they were indignant, saying, Why this waste? For this 
fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the 
poor. But when Jesus was aware of it, he said to them, why do 
you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work 
for me. In the parallel in Mark, he says 
to them, leave her alone. She did what she could. She did 
what she could. I always love that statement. 
She couldn't go preach at the Areopagus. She certainly couldn't 
go stop the pilots of the world. But what she could do, she did. 
And Jesus honors that act of devotion on her part. Verse 11, 
he says, Well, we see the... The same sort of emphasis now 
with reference to Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph used his riches. He was 
a man of means. Now we know it's not many wise, 
not many noble, it's not the rich of the world that ultimately 
secure favor with God, but there are some. And this particular 
fellow had means, and with that means, what does he do with it? 
He lavishes praise upon the Savior. He does what he can as well. Now notice with reference to 
the burial in chapter 27 at verse 60. It says, And he laid it in 
his new tomb, the body, which he had hewn out of the rock, 
and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb and departed. The tomb was a new tomb. Why do you think Matthew and 
the gospel writers tell us that? So that there's no mistaken identity. It's not the case that they would 
have gone to a particular tomb and found perhaps a different 
body. This was a new tomb. Nobody had ever been laying in 
it. This was in fact the real deal. There was no mistaken identity. France says the point is significant 
for apologetics and 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. It had been placed there by Joseph 
and Nicodemus and had been raised by the power of God Most High. 
So we're not dealing with a used tomb. We're not dealing with 
possible identities. We're dealing with the self-same 
tomb that the Savior went into, the Savior departs from. And 
then notice as well that the women are there. Verse 61. Go back for just a moment to 
chapter 26 at verse 56. 56b, then all the disciples forsook 
him and fled. And yet when it comes time for 
the crucifixion, the women are there. When it comes time for 
the burial, the women are there. And when it comes time for the 
resurrection, the women are there. Now I'm not suggesting that women 
are superior, that women are somehow better, but women are 
portrayed in a very positive light in the gospel records. 
While all the male disciples departed from him and forsook 
him, The women are there at the cross, the women are there at 
the tomb, and the women are there at the empty tomb. So they are 
witnesses for this particular situation. And it does evidence 
or does declare or demonstrate their devotion to Jesus. Their 
devotion to Jesus. They're at the cross. They're 
at the tomb, they're at the empty tomb. Listen to Spurgeon. He 
says, and think about it in terms of the burial of Christ. So you've 
been with Jesus now for three years. You've seen Jesus feed 
the poor by miraculously multiplying fish and loaves of bread. You've 
seen Jesus, you know, heal blind people. You've seen Jesus cure 
lepers. You've seen Jesus actually raise 
the dead. You've seen Jesus stand toe to 
toe with the religious leaders of his age and call them or denounce 
them as hypocrites and as broods of vipers. So you've lost this 
particular man, this significant man in your life. You've witnessed 
him now be placed into this tomb by Joseph of Arimathea and by 
Nicodemus, and nevertheless, They are present. Nevertheless, 
they're there. Spurgeon says, can we cling to 
Christ when His cause seems to be dead and buried? In other 
words, are we simply fair-weather fans? We'll preach the gospel, 
we'll live the Christian life, we'll do the Christian thing, 
insofar as it is advantageous to us. But when it becomes difficult, 
or when it becomes a hardship, or when it does seem as if there's 
nothing really in it for me, do we then fade away? So he asks 
the question, can we cling to Christ when His cause seems to 
be dead and buried? When truth is 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? That's a good spiritualizing 
point. Can we with the women maintain 
our fidelity even at the full tomb in light of and with an 
expectation of an empty tomb? So the devotion and the worship 
and the praise and the adoration of these ladies is demonstrable 
in the gospel narratives. So for those who say that the 
Bible is against women, or the Bible is chauvinistic, or God 
has an ex, that is absolute garbage. It is not consistent with the 
data, it is not consistent with the facts, it is not consistent 
with what scripture teaches. Now notice in the second place, 
the security at the tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in 
the first place, the request of the religious leaders. So 
verse 62 gives us the setting. It says, "...on the next day, 
which followed the day of preparation." If you're paying attention, you'll 
know that this is indeed the Sabbath. So on the Sabbath, these 
fastidious wretches, who wanted to murder Jesus concerning his 
Sabbath ethics in Matthew chapter 12, go to the pagan governor, 
make a deal with the pagan governor, and then put a Roman soldier 
on the tomb to guard Jesus. Remember, on the day of preparation, 
on the Friday morning, when they sought audience with Pontius 
Pilate, they wouldn't go into the praetoria. Why? Because they 
would have been rendered ceremonially unclean. They didn't want to 
defile themselves, and they didn't want to bring any disrepute upon 
themselves so that they could participate in the Passover feast. 
This is typical with hypocrites. This is typical with the fastidious 
among us. This is typical with those who 
engage in a majoring on the minors, all the while swallowing camels. They'll strain out gnats, We 
can't go into the praetorium because Pilate and his paganism 
will infect us. But on the Sabbath day, they'll 
go to that self-same Pilate and they'll say, we want a guard 
for the tomb. All of that completely inconsistent 
with any sort of logic or any sort of rationality, but absolutely 
consistent in the topsy-turvy world of the self-righteous Pharisee. As far as they are concerned, 
as long as you strain out the gnat, you can go ahead and swallow 
a few camels along the way. So that's the kind of persons 
that are being dealt with in this particular text. Now notice 
in their motivation in verse 63. So on the next day, verse 
62, 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. they too confirm his death, right? No swoon theory, no possibly, 
you know, mostly dead. He's actually dead and Pontius 
Pilate, the soldiers confirm it. And even these wretches who 
are opposed to Jesus affirm the same thing. Notice the wickedness 
of their words. Sir, we remember while he was 
still alive, how that deceiver said, That's rich, isn't it? 
These guys, all they do is lie. All they do is speak falsehood. 
It's sort of like in Orwell's 1984. You've got the ministry 
of truth. Well, if you've read 1984, you'll 
know what the ministry of truth was. It was about propaganda. It was about falsehood. It was 
about deceit. It was about lies. It was about 
calling white black and black white. It was talking about double 
thing. and all those sorts of things, 
the same thing here. We remember that while he was 
still alive, that deceiver, what did he ever deceive on? What 
were his lies? What were his falsehoods? What 
did he say during his earthly ministry that does not bear up 
under the scrutiny of 2000 years since? If Christ lied in the 
gospel records, somebody somewhere by this time should be able to 
furnish the evidence of that allegation. The fact that they 
can't underscores the reality that it was them that were the 
deceivers and not our blessed Savior. So notice, Sir, we remember 
while he was still alive how that deceiver said, after three 
days I will rise. Now that's curious. How would 
they know of the announcement made by our Lord Jesus Christ 
concerning his resurrection? On three instances, the Lord 
Jesus prophesied or promised to his disciples that he would 
go to Jerusalem, that there he would be tried, there he would 
be crucified, and there he would be raised again. He does that 
in Matthew 16. He does that in Matthew 17. He 
does that in Matthew 20. Well, he speaks that to his disciples. 
So how could these wretches from the Sanhedrin ever have known 
that? Perhaps Judas told them. Judas 
had truck with those men and Judas could have said, oh, by 
the way, he actually claims that he's going to be raised again 
from the dead. Or they could have known his 
meaning in John 2.19. That comes up in the Sanhedrin 
trial in Matthew chapter 26. Remember, Jesus said, destroy 
this temple and in three days I will raise it up. And John 
the Apostle tells us he's talking not about the physical temple, 
but about the temple of his body. Which if they did understand 
that, it only underscores their wickedness even more, because 
at the Sanhedrin trial, they had false witnesses allege that 
Jesus basically said he was going to destroy the physical temple. 
Or it could have been that they remembered the sign of John the 
prophet. Turn back to Matthew chapter 
12. Matthew chapter 12, Jesus says this not just to his disciples, 
he says it to these wretches. Matthew 12 at verse 38, then 
some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, Teacher, we 
want to see a sign from you. But 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. As I've said, In the prophet 
Jonah, many commentators lean toward the direction that Jonah 
was actually dead in the belly of the great fish, and that he 
was raised again by the power of God, and then the fish vomits 
him out on dry land. So the type would be similar 
to the anti-type. The typology pointing forward 
to the actual act would indeed be consistent. Notice in verse 
41, the men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this 
generation and condemn it because they repented at the preaching 
of Jonah and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen 
of the south will rise up in judgment with this generation 
and condemn it for she came from the ends of the earth to hear 
the wisdom of Solomon and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. 
See what Jesus is saying? We know and we ascribe to the 
Lord Jesus threefold office. He is prophet, priest, and king. 
But he's a greater prophet than Jonah. He's a greater king than 
Solomon. He's also a greater priest than 
the actual temple itself, as he says previously in Matthew 
chapter 12. So perhaps these religious leaders are reflecting 
upon that, and this is why they say, we know or we remember, 
while he was still alive, how that deceiver said, after three 
days, I will rise. Either way, they understand that 
He has made the declaration that He will be raised again from 
the dead and that the tomb will be empty. So now they want to 
take pains to make sure that no one could ever come up with 
that interpretation. They want to make sure that they 
stack the debt. Notice, they call Jesus a deceiver. They call Jesus a problem. It's similar to when Ahab and 
Elijah come together, and Ahab says to Elijah, oh, the troubler 
of Israel is here. Really? Elijah co-opted Baal 
worship? Really? Elijah built a temple 
to Baal in the northern kingdom? Really? Elijah led all of Israel 
astray? No, it was Ahab that was the 
troubler of Israel, just like it's these men that are the deceivers 
of Israel and not the Lord Jesus Christ. They are vile, reprehensible, 
godless men, and they are seeking to stack the deck in such a way 
that they can advance their own agenda that Jesus was a fake. So notice the specific request 
in verse 64. 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 the request for security at the tomb 
with the specific focus, lest his disciples come by night and 
steal him away. France again says, the authorities' 
fears focus, explicitly at least, not on the possibility that Jesus 
might actually rise from death. That's not what they're doing. 
They don't actually think that this man is going to rise from 
the dead. They've called him a deceiver. 
They've put him to death. They've seen him as a messianic 
pretender, not as the real deal. So it says, the authorities' 
fears focus not on the possibility that Jesus might actually rise 
from death, but on the opportunity for his disciples to cash in 
on such language to stake a fake resurrection. an explanation 
which they will continue to uphold even after the event, chapter 
28, 13-15. He says 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. They get a real 
conundrum if it can be maintained that Jesus rose from the dead. 
If the disciples come by stealth and steal the body and fabricate 
a story that he was raised from the dead, that will present these 
religious leaders with a big problem that they will then have 
to solve. But interestingly, and we've 
already reflected upon it when we contrasted the disciples with 
the women, what did the disciples do at the cross? They forsook 
Him. They fled from Him. The thought 
that they would return at night and move a big rock and fetch 
a dead body out of the tomb does not seem consistent with what 
we know of the men selected by Jesus in Matthew chapter 10 to 
function as the apostles. They forsook Him and fled when 
the pressure increased and the heat was on. They're gonna, you 
know, paint their face in camo and put knives in their mouths 
and wear their tactical vests and shimmy over walls and gather 
together and fabricate a lever and move that stone and fetch 
the dead body and take it where and then fabricate the story. 
It makes no sense, but again, godlessness makes no sense. And that is precisely what we 
are dealing with in this passage. John Gill comments here. He says, 
but of this there was no danger, the thought of the disciples 
stealing his body. They were too fearful and timorous 
to do such an action, had they been ever so much inclined to 
it. 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, 
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." So that concept or construct or that idea is 
absolutely ludicrous. But then notice in terms of their 
argument for their case. Therefore, verse 64, command 
that the tomb be made secure, until the third day, lest his 
disciples come by night and steal him away and save the people." 
Notice, he is risen from the dead. So the last deception will 
be worse than the first. What was the first deception 
in their minds concerning our Lord Jesus Christ? It was his 
claim to messiahship. It was his claim to being the 
man that the prophet spoke of. It was his claim in Luke chapter 
4 when he reads Isaiah 63 and he closes the scroll and he hands 
it back to the attendant and he says to the entire synagogue, 
today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. As 
far as these men were concerned, the first deception was the messianic 
claim of the Savior, to be the man that Isaiah wrote about, 
to be the man that Moses wrote about. When Jesus says in John 
5, 39, you search the scriptures, in them you think you have eternal 
life, but these are they which testify of me, they didn't believe 
that. They thought he was a joke. They 
thought he was a liar. They thought he was a deceiver 
as they manifest right before Pontius Pilate. And so they say, 
so the last deception will be worse than the first. The first 
being Jesus teaching that He was the Messiah, the last being 
that He was raised from the dead. Now the irony of this is simple. that this proverb actually applies 
to them. Their last deception, denying 
the resurrection in the face of overwhelming facts, is worse 
than their first, rejecting Jesus and teaching others to reject 
him also. They have it exactly backwards. 
And again, typical of the godless, that they're that foolish. Now 
notice finally the security provided for the tomb in verses 65 and 
66. Pilate gives permission. There's 
some question concerning the tense used in the verb, whether 
it's an indicative or whether it's a command. The indicative 
is you have already have a guard go your way. The imperative, 
you may take a guard go your way. The second is likely considering 
chapter 28 11 to 15. So essentially what we have, 
Pilate says to them, you have a guard, go your way, make it 
as secure as you know how. And then they seal it with a 
stone and they set a guard. Verse 66. I think that most of 
you were here when we've covered Elijah on Mount Carmel and 1 
Kings chapter 18. Remember that contest? Elijah 
meets them on their home turf. Elijah goes to Baal country. 
Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal on their home turf. It's 
their grass. It's their dirt. They've got 
the home field advantage. And then Elijah proposes a simple 
contest. We'll each offer up a sacrifice 
to our God. And whichever God answers by 
fire, that's the true and the living God, right? Simple contest. It's a God contest at Mount Carmel. Of course, after he throws down 
the challenge, how long will you falter between two opinions? 
If God is God, then serve him. If Baal is God, then serve him. Don't try to marry the two together 
or don't give yourself to Baal worship. And then when it comes 
time for their sacrifice, again, he doesn't put a time limit on 
it. He doesn't say, well, you've got, you know, five or 10 minutes 
or even, you know, an hour. Put up your fire or put up your 
sacrifice rather, and, you know, you've got an hour for Baal to 
respond. I mean, it seems like a pretty 
typical, easy thing for a god to do, right? throw out some 
meat, let the God send the fire, consume it, shouldn't take an 
hour, shouldn't take five minutes, but he gives them that time. 
So much so that they dance around, they cut themselves, they're 
bleeding all over, they've engaged in complete frenzy as they call 
upon Baal. They are pleading with Baal. 
Now when Elijah comes up to the plate, what does he do? He sets 
up his sacrifice and he douses it in water. It is the case that 
Elijah stacks the deck, but it's stacked against him, not him, 
but Yahweh. He is making it so obvious that 
even a dullard will be able to see and interpret that this was 
divine in terms of origin. When that fire comes down out 
of heaven and consumes Elijah's sacrifice, then all the world 
will know there is a God in Israel. So he douses that, he draws or 
he makes a moat around it and fills it with water. And for 
those of you who say, well, it was a time of famine. I don't 
think we should have been wasting water like that. They were right 
near the Mediterranean Sea. It was likely seawater that he 
was dousing the sacrifice with. So he stacks the deck against 
Yahweh so that when Yahweh does what Yahweh does, no one can 
question it. It's the same thing here in verse 
65. Look at what these fools do. 
So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and 
setting the guard. France 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. John Chrysostom, they called 
him the silver-tongued preacher in the early church, he said, 
behold, both a seal, a stone, and a watch, and they were not 
able to hold him. And 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. So these men actually 
paved the way for a strong apologetic element in the gospel records. In other words, it wasn't the 
case that there was no fastidiousness taken with reference to securing 
the tomb. Oh yeah, it was. Such that when 
the angel appears, such that when the Lord leaves that tomb, 
it is a glorious expression of the triumph of our blessed Savior. Now, in terms of some thoughts 
with reference to practical application, we ought to see the folly of 
the religious leaders. The folly of the religious leaders. In the first place, they impugn 
the entire ministry of Christ. They refer to him as that deceiver. They refer to his last deception 
and his first deception. These are not soft words. This isn't a bit of difference 
in terms of theological debate. This isn't even getting a little 
bit fired up on Facebook and, you know, maybe saying something 
you later regret. These are horrific accusations 
brought against the only one ever that walked this earth who 
could be described in the language of Hebrews 7 as wholly harmless 
and undefiled. As well, they impugned the character 
of the disciples, 1st century disciples, and as well, 21st 
century disciples. The thought that we worship and 
serve and glorify a man, a God-man, who was, who lived for us, who 
died for us, and was raised again, that makes us, in many places, 
the object of scorn and ridicule. Not that I'm suggesting we care 
about that one bit, but simply highlighting the folly of the 
religious leaders. And then they unwillingly help 
confirm the resurrection. As I said, Psalm 7610, surely 
the wrath of man shall praise you. This is the category of 
a Luke 15. In Luke 15, all the tax collectors 
and the sinners draw near to Jesus to hear Him. And it's in that context that 
Jesus, or rather that the religious leaders say, this man receives 
sinners and eats with them. Yeah, exactly. Genius. That's the whole purpose behind 
the gospel. It's that he receives sinners. 
So while they're castigating, while they're insulting, while 
they're wagging their heads, while they're looking down their 
noses, they are actually declaring the truth of the Holy Gospel. 
That's what I mean. The wrath of man shall praise 
thee. Notice what J.C. Ryle says here. They were actually 
making it impossible to prove that there was any deception 
or imposition. 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 instruments 
to show forth God's glory. So take the pains and the efforts 
and the instruments that you want to try to rewrite the narrative. Jesus' resurrection will shatter 
that. Secondly, we see the faithfulness 
of the disciples. We have the two men involved 
in the burial. We have this man, Joseph of Arimathea, 
and we have the man, Nicodemus. And again, Nicodemus doesn't 
start off well. Shows us and displays for us 
the grace of God Most High in the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Jesus didn't hold that personal 
animosity. Well, that fellow came to me 
in John chapter 3, and I didn't quite like his attitude, and 
he was there at the behest of the Sanhedrin to try to show 
me out to be... He doesn't do that! There's mercy 
to be had with our God. There is forgiveness to be had 
with our God. There's the grace of God in the 
life of a Nicodemus, the man who questioned the new birth, 
the man who said, who had the arrogance to say, can a man be 
born when he is old? Can he enter into his mother's 
womb a second time? Well, let us know how that all 
goes, Nicodemus, when you've been regenerated by the sovereign 
spirit of God Almighty. Again, it's like describing color 
to a blind man. They really don't get it until 
they get it. And that's what happens in the 
life of this man, Nicodemus, and of course, Joseph of Arimathea. We don't know as much about his 
background. C.H. Spurgeon again. It says, 
Joseph and Nicodemus are types of many more who have been emboldened 
by the cross of Christ to do what without that mighty magnet 
they would have never attempted. When night comes, the stars appear. 
So in the night of Christ's death, these two bright stars shone 
forth with the blessed radiance. Some flowers bloom only at night. Such a blossom was the courage 
of Joseph and Nicodemus. It's a great testimony to these 
faithful men who showed care, concern, and regard for the body 
of our Lord Jesus. So you've got the faithfulness 
of those two men, and of course you've got the faithfulness of 
the women at the cross, at the full tomb, and at the empty tomb. 
And then, thirdly, the apologetic emphasis of the burial. I'm just 
going to read through these. Pilate, first of all, confirms 
with his centurion that Jesus was, in fact, dead. This comes 
out more in Mark 15. Mark 15. You may meet people 
that say, oh, the swoon theory. James Cameron popular... popularized 
this in the last several years. He's some Hollywood guy, but 
he was a big proponent of the swoon theory, and I think he 
made a documentary or something, and people watch things like 
that on A&E, and they feel like they're biblical scholars afterwards, 
because, I mean, James Cameron said so, and he's such an authority, 
and he's really done his research. Yeah, but the 2,000 years of 
Christ preachers, they haven't done any research. I mean, they're 
just hacks that fall off turnip trucks and get up in the pulpits 
and say, duh, and, you know, mumble on for a while. It's amazing. I remember working with a fellow, 
he'd come into work and he'd watch something on you know, 
on A&E or Discovery, and I'm not saying don't watch A&E or 
Discovery, but it'd be some Bible thing, and he'd come in loaded 
for bear, ready to throw down. Oh, yeah, I watched this thing 
about Samson. He was a wretch. He was a horrible 
guy. You know, this stuff, because 
his TV documentary, written by God-haters, put Samson in a negative 
light. I wanted to say, guess what, 
pal? Everybody in the church thinks you're right, too. Everybody 
has this wrong view of Samson. Anyways, look at 1544. 1544, 
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. That's not 
afterthought material. There's no wiggle room there. 
There's no, well, you know, he wasn't quite sure. He confirmed 
it with a centurion. A centurion whose job was to 
make sure that people were not mostly dead, but wholly and absolutely 
dead. That was the purpose. That's 
what these guys did. What do you do for work? I kill 
people. I make sure they're dead. That 
was their job. That would be a pretty bad guy 
if he put a living human being into a tomb. That would be atrocious, 
and no doubt he would be fired. Secondly, the religious leaders 
confirmed that Jesus was, in fact, dead. 2763. Sir, we remember, 
while he was still alive. What does that imply? It means 
he's presently dead. Third, the tomb was new, one 
in which no one had ever lain, so there was no mistaken identity. Four, the tomb was secured with 
a large stone. Five, the large stone was sealed 
so that tampering would have been evident. And six, the tomb 
was guarded by a Roman soldier. Brethren, you couldn't have made 
it more difficult. The deck was stacked against 
Jesus. And yet, like Yahweh, sending 
fire out of heaven to consume Elijah's sacrifice wasn't hard, 
wasn't difficult. They don't need an hour to do 
those sorts of things. Davies and Allison say the tomb 
that is filled here is emptied there in chapter 28. The stone 
that is here rolled across the door of the tomb is there rolled 
back. The guard that here secures the 
sepulcher there proves ineffective. The leaders who hear worry that 
the disciples will come and steal Jesus' body, there put out the 
lie that just such a thing happened. And the women who hear see all 
become witnesses there to the empty tomb. So the apologetic 
emphasis of the gospel writers leave us in a blessed predicament 
that we have the tools necessary and the resources available to 
withstand atheistical and agnostic thought. Why is it that believers 
capitulate on such clear things? It's not the case that we're 
left wanting for information. The information has been supplied. 
Oftentimes I think we're lacking or wanting the backbone to stand 
in the face of the unbeliever and tell him the truth as it 
is in Jesus. And then in terms of the theology, 
and I'm leaning on her sinus here in his commentary on the 
Heidelberg Catechism, with reference to the theology behind the burial. Remember, it makes it into the 
creeds and the confessions, this idea that he was buried. What 
is the theological significance? Well, in the first place, it 
confirms his Death. Again, you don't bury living 
people, you bury dead people. Heidelberg Catechism 41, why 
was he also buried? Thereby to prove that he was 
really dead. See, if we're gonna hang our 
soul, our life, our eternal destiny on the life, death, and resurrection 
of our Lord, each of those ingredients need to be true. Each of those 
things need to prove faithful. Each of those things are absolutely 
crucial to the reality behind Romans 4.25. He was delivered 
up because of our offenses and he was raised for our justification. But if he wasn't raised, then 
we have no justification. So it confirms his death. Secondly, 
it is the last part of his humiliation that was attained. Remember the 
language of God to Adam. Genesis 319, for dust you are, 
and to dust you shall return. Christ, the last Adam, even takes 
that for us. He even goes to the tomb. He 
even goes to burial on our behalf. Thirdly, it is the demonstration 
of his overcoming death. So he's buried and then he's 
resurrected. And in our confession, it says 
on the third day, he arose from the dead with the same body in 
which he suffered. This goes back to the quote I 
gave at the outset, when 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. And then fourthly, 
the removal of the fear of the grave for his people. You can 
turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. That Christ was buried. That Christ died and that Christ 
was buried. And that Christ was raised again 
serves as a great encouragement to the people of God not to have 
an unbiblical and an irrational fear of death. Now, I'm not suggesting 
we go out and welcome it. I'm not suggesting you walk down 
Wellington Avenue in light of a big truck and just take your 
chances. No, I'm not suggesting that at 
all. But this unbiblical and irrational and, dare I say, paralyzing 
fear of death? The believers shouldn't have 
that. Again, brethren, I'm not a fool. I don't mind dying. I 
just don't want to be there when it happens, right? This whole 
idea of pain and suffering and hurting and injury, that's not 
pleasant, but living in a sin-cursed world, we need to come to grips 
with it. We need to come to grips with 
the reality that we have car crashes, with the reality that 
there is cancer, with the reality that there are viruses, with 
the reality that there are other sicknesses, with the reality 
that there are injuries and all kinds of things that obtain in 
a sin-cursed world. This idea where we have an unbiblical 
and irrational fear of death is not consistent with what we 
find in Holy Scripture. Look at what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 
15 at verse 50. He says, Now this I say, brethren, 
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does 
corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. 
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, 
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet 
will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we 
shall be changed. For this corruptible must put 
on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has 
put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, 
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death 
is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your sting? 
Oh, Hades, where is your victory? The apostle Paul, as it were, 
is taunting the grave. You do not have a binding, lasting 
influence upon the people of Jesus, because Jesus lived for 
them, Jesus died for them, Jesus was buried for them, and Jesus 
was raised again the third day. He has taken the fangs out of 
the tomb for all of God's people. And finally, the confirmation 
of the hope of the resurrection of the dead for his people. Ursinus 
says, Christ our head has opened up the way for us from the grave 
to glory. And I think that is great theology 
necessary for the people of God as they consider the blessed 
Savior. Yes, life, but also death, and death, including burial, 
and then resurrection from the dead. And a burial, by the way, 
that was set up in such a way as to stack the deck against 
him. And nevertheless, he comes forth in splendor and in glory 
and in majesty. And thus he demonstrates for 
us that same trajectory. We will die. We will enter into 
the grave and we will ultimately ascend into glory. That in term 
of the general resurrection. If we drop dead right now, the 
spirit departs and is present with the Lord. They put our bodies 
into the tomb and it's worm food until that great day when God 
will raise us from the dead and reunite body and soul and bring 
us back into the presence or bring us into the presence, body 
and soul into the presence of God Almighty. So the burial of 
Jesus is significant. the burial of Jesus is glorious, 
and what we find in terms of the disciples attending him serve 
as great models for our devotion to our blessed Savior. This rich 
man lavished what he had upon Jesus in his death. We ought 
to lavish what we have upon Jesus in his life. We ought to serve 
him with our time, talents, and our energy, and we ought to praise 
him and thank him that he went to these lengths for us men and 
for our salvation. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for the beauty and 
the clarity that we find in the Gospel narratives concerning 
our Lord Jesus Christ. We see the consistency with the 
prophetic announcement in the Old Testament, and we see the 
blessedness of realization and fulfillment, such that the Apostle 
Paul can say that all the promises of God our yea and amen in our 
Lord Jesus Christ. God, we thank you and we praise 
you for so great a gospel and for so great a salvation. And 
we pray in Jesus' name, amen.