“THE BURIAL”
LUKE 23:50-56

I. Introduction
“If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Billy Sunday was to the first half of the twentieth century what Billy Graham became in the second half. Sunday not only preached the gospel to unbelievers, he also told stories that were designed to admonish and convict believers.

One of those stories was about a professing Christian who got a job in a lumber camp that had the reputation of being a particularly ungodly place to work. A friend, hearing that he would be working there, said to him, “When they find out you’re a Christian, you’re going to be in for a hard time!” The man responded, “I know, but I really need the job.”

A few years later, the man left his job at the lumber camp and came home. He met his friend who asked him, “How was it? Did you have a hard time because of your Christianity?” The man replied, “No. They didn’t give me any trouble at all – they never found out!”

How do you respond to that? Does it make you chuckle? Does it make you wince? Or does it do a little of both? If you’re tempted to say something like, “All right Pastor, now you’ve gone too far. You’ve gone from preaching (which I don’t mind) to meddling (which I do mind). I came here this morning to worship, not to be convicted.” If that’s your response, could it be that stories like the “professing Christian lumberjack” hit a little too close to home?

No one said that living in this lost and dying world would be easy for Christians. No one said that we would be loved by this lost and dying world. In fact, we know that Jesus said the exact opposite.
John 15:18-19; 16:33
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world.”

We know that. We believe that. Yet, too often, when confronted by this world and its ways, we slip. We try to blend in. We try not to identify ourselves as Christians. We worry about our reputation, we worry about our job, and we worry about what unbelievers will think. Sometimes we even worry about what others who claim to be Christians will think. But do we worry about what Jesus will think?

Today we’re going back to the text of Luke’s gospel and look at Jesus’ burial.
In the process, we’re going to focus on two things. The first will be about the Lord Jesus and the fact that He was dead – really dead! That’s very important because if Jesus wasn’t dead, He couldn’t be resurrected from the dead, now could He?

The second thing we’ll focus on this morning is a man who, with the crucifixion of Jesus, had stopped trying to “blend in.” He became a man who was willing to identify himself as a believer, no matter who knew. He was a man who had stopped worrying about his reputa-tion, or his job, or what anyone might think. When Joseph of Arimathea is accused of being a Christian, they will have all the evidence they need to convict him.
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II. Review
We’ve seen Jesus betrayed, arrested, tried, mocked, beaten, tortured, and finally crucified. We’ve heard each one of the seven things He said while He hung on the cross and God’s wrath for your sin and for mine was poured out on Him. When the wrath of God was satis-fied, when the full cost of the price for sin was paid, when the blood of the perfect Lamb was spilled and atonement for our sins was made, Jesus died. He knew that He had finished the work God had given Him to do and He willingly gave Himself over to death.
Luke 23:46
46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” And having said this, He breathed His last.

Jesus was dead! And so, there was nothing left to do but take His body down from the cross, prepare it for burial, and place it in a tomb.
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III. Text
That brings us to this morning’s text.
*Luke 23:50-56 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
50 And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man
51 (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God;
52 this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
53 And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.
54 And it was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
55 Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed after, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid.
56 And they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

At first glance this passage seems to be primarily about Joseph of Arimathea. And it is!
But it is also about some of the faithful women who have been among Jesus’ followers. They are true believers. They have loved Him, and they will do what little they can to care for His body and honor Him. So what they will do doesn’t surprise us. But Joseph – and a friend of his, whom we will meet later – and what he does does surprise us. Like Billy Sun-day’s story of the silent lumberjack, nobody knew Joseph of Arimathea was a Christian.

But first, I want to reiterate the fact that Jesus was dead. You say, “Isn’t that obvious?” Well, the fact is it isn’t obvious to many unbelievers. For the last two thousand years one of their arguments has been that Jesus didn’t die on the cross. That has been one of the major attacks against biblical Christianity. Some say that He survived the crucifixion, the coolness of the tomb revived Him, and His friends took Him away, nursed Him back to health, and He lived out the rest of His life in “retirement” somewhere. That’s quite convenient for unbelievers because, as I said earlier, if Jesus didn’t die, He was not raised from the dead, and if Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead, neither will we be raised from the dead.

There is a second argument that is different than the first, although the outcome is the same. It says that Jesus did die, but His followers stole His body and hid it away. Then they told everyone that He was raised. But, of course, since unbelief rejects miracles, and since the resurrection of the dead would be a miracle, Jesus’ resurrection is rejected out of hand.

Either way, they say that Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead. Therefore, they say, biblical Christianity is a sham. And let’s be clear, if Jesus wasn’t dead, and if He wasn’t raised from the dead, they would be right. And we would be wrong. Even the Bible acknowledges that.
*1 Corinthians 15:12-19
12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised;
14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is vain.
15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we wit-nessed against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised;
16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;
17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; (and) you are still in your sins.
18 Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. (So…)
19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

But Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Ergo, He was dead. And so He was buried. The Jewish leaders who witnessed the crucifixion knew He was dead. They wanted Jesus’ body (and the two criminals) down from the cross because they were concerned with their laws.
And we know what sticklers they were about obeying their laws, don’t we? According to ceremonial law (Deuteronomy 21:22-23) anyone who was hanged from a tree had to be taken down before the end of the day (6:00 pm) so as not to “defile the land.”
*John 19:31-33
31 The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross(es) on the Sabbath (for the Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
32 The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other man who was crucified with (Jesus);
33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs;

Breaking the legs was done by crushing them with a large iron mallet (think sledge-hammer). In addition to the shock the body was already experiencing, the added pain and trauma of such blows would cause a further loss of blood. But the real and more immediate cause of death would be asphyxiation because once the legs were broken the victim could no longer inhale by pushing up against the nails in their feet. Thus their lungs would be crushed, they could no longer breathe, and they would finally (and mercifully) die.

In John 19:33 it says the soldiers didn’t bother breaking Jesus’ legs because they could see He was already dead. These men were professional executioners. They knew a dead body when they saw a dead body. If there were any question about that they would have crushed Jesus’ legs without a second thought. But they didn’t. And so another prophecy is fulfilled. Psalm 34:20 says, “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.”

Why is that important? It’s important because of what God told Moses five hundred years before David wrote Psalm 34. The following are excerpts from God’s instructions about the Passover lamb…
Exodus 12:5a, 46b
5a “Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old…”
46b “…nor are you to break any bone of it.”

Again we see God fulfilling every detail of every prophecy regarding Christ and His sacrifi-cial death. But there’s more. God, in His absolute sovereign control, goes one step further and does something that virtually proves Jesus’ death.
*John 19:34
34 but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.

This takes Jesus’ death beyond the realm of the executioners’ testimony. This is further proof of our Lord’s death. What blood Jesus had yet to shed came pouring out along with the lymphatic fluid that is contained in the pericardium around the heart.
With all of that the Jews were convinced that Jesus was dead, and the Romans knew He was dead. And that brings us back to the text.
*Luke 23:50-52
50 And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man
51 (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God;
52 this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

What do we know of Joseph? Actually we know quite a bit. He was from Arimathea, a small town that was located about twenty-five miles northwest of Jerusalem.
*Matthew 27:57
57 And when it was evening (before 6:00 pm), there came a rich man from Arima-thea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.
*Mark 15:43
43 Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
*John 19:38
38 And after these things (Jesus’ crucifixion and death) Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. He came therefore, and took away His body.

In Luke 23:50 we’ve already been told that Joseph is “…a good and righteous man.” So we know that Joseph is a wealthy man and an important member of the Sanhedrin. But every-one knows that. What everyone doesn’t know is that he Joseph is a rarity among the Jewish leadership – he believes in Jesus.
• Mark tells us that he is “…waiting for the kingdom of God.” That means Joseph both believes in and is looking for the coming of the Jewish Messiah, the Christ. We believe in Christ’s second coming, don’t we?
• Matthew and John both tell us that Joseph has become “…a disciple of Jesus.” So he has been learning from Jesus and has become one of His followers. We’re Jesus’ fol-lowers too, aren’t we?
• Luke tells us that Joseph is “…a good and righteous man.” That means Joseph is a Christian! We’re good and righteous too, aren’t we? Of course, we aren’t good and righteous because of anything we have done. And neither is Joseph. We are good and righteous because of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. And so is Joseph. His righteousness has been imputed to him just like ours has been imputed to us.

This is the personal righteousness Paul speaks of in his letter to the church at Philippi.
Philippians 3:9
9…not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.

Therefore every true Christian – Joseph and you and I – are all as righteous as Jesus is right-eous. It is the same righteousness. But here is the difference: Jesus’ righteousness is who and what He is. It is His nature. Joseph’s righteousness – and yours and mine – is imputed (given) to us. It is a gift.
Ephesians 2:8
8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God…”

Just as there are true believers to be found in every corner of the world today, there were a few true believers in first century Israel as well. Two of them were present at Jesus’ birth.
Luke 2:25-30, 36-38
25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,
28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 “Now Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace, according to Your word;
30 for my eyes have seen Your salvation…

36 And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage,
37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.
38 And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

God always has a remnant, doesn’t He? True Christians may be a small percentage of the world’s population, but there are true Christians everywhere and at all times. You and I are a part of that remnant, and so was Joseph of Arimathea. But Joseph had a problem. It is one that you and I often share with him. When it came to speaking of his faith, he was a coward.
Is that too strong a word? I’m afraid it isn’t.
Joseph was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin (the Council), the seventy men who, along with the high priest, governed the religious and civic affairs of Israel. The Sanhedrin basic-ally functioned as Israel’s Supreme Court. It condemned Jesus to death. And Joseph was there when Jesus was condemned. Did he speak up in our Lord’s defense? Luke 23:51 says that “…he had not consented to their plan and action.” So he may have made some feeble attempt. But if he did, none of the four gospel writers mention it.

So was Joseph a coward when it came to his faith? John tells us that he was “…a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one, for fear of the Jews (19:38).” He did act cowardly, but that would change. After he saw what was done to the One whom he knew was Israel’s Messiah, after he saw Jesus suffer and die, Joseph found strength. He found courage and he found resolve.

He would do something about it. Mark says that Joseph “…gathered up (his) courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus (15:43).” That would have taken a lot of courage and resolve. He would have known that once he did that his compatriots would make him a “marked man.” His love for Jesus and his faith in Him would be exposed. The secret would be out.

But now it’s more important to Joseph that Jesus receive a proper burial. If he doesn’t inter-vene, Jesus’ body will be thrown into a mass grave with the outcasts, the poor, and the crim-inals. Joseph doesn’t want that. And since Matthew 27:57 reminds us that he was “rich,” he has the wherewithal to do something about where Jesus’ body would be laid to rest.
Matthew 27:58-60
58 This man (Joseph – who was no longer a coward) went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given over to him.
59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out of rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.

Yet again we see prophecy fulfilled – prophecy even in the smallest detail.
Isaiah 53:9a (speaking of the Messiah)
9a His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death…

How incredible is that? His body should have been thrown onto an ash heap, but it was not. Rather, it was placed in the family tomb of a wealthy man. And this had to be done before sundown (6:00 pm) when the Sabbath would begin. That leads us to another very well-known prophecy – one that came from Jesus’ own lips.
Matthew 12:40
40 …for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
This is a statement that has caused far more confusion than necessary. Jesus had to be in the grave on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The way the Jews counted time, any part of each of those three days counted as one day. Thus Jesus had to be in the ground before sundown on Friday. Therefore it was still Friday – one day. Saturday began at 6:00 pm Friday night and ended at 6:00 pm Saturday night – two days. Sunday began at 6:00 pm Saturday – three days. Sometime before dawn on Sunday Jesus came out of the grave. (back to the narrative)
*Luke 23:53-54
53 And he (Joseph) took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.
54 And it was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

But now something quite wonderful happens. As Joseph begins the work of taking Jesus’ body down from the cross and preparing it for burial, someone else comes alongside to help.
*John 19:39-40
39 And Nicodemus came also, who had first come to (Jesus) by night; bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. (approx. 65 lbs.)
40 And so they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen wrappings, with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.

This is the same Nicodemus whom Jesus had earlier told, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).” Nicodemus was one of the Pharisees. He did not believe Jesus at their first meeting. But since then, Nicodemus has come to saving faith, and he – another prominent and influential Jew – steps forward to dis-play his faith. It isn’t known to what degree this will ultimately cost Joseph and Nicodemus, but you can be sure their faith in Christ and their courageous willingness to let it be known among their peers will cost them plenty.
*Luke 23:55-56
55 Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed after, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid.
56 And they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

And a few others have the courage to come. Matthew tells us they are the women “…who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him (27:55).” The other gospel writers iden-tify them for us. They are Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Salome, Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, and Mary, the wife of Clopas. In the few hours they have left before the Sab-bath begins they will prepare the spices and perfumes they will bring to the tomb on Sunday morning only to find out they won’t need them. But that’s for next week.
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IV. Conclusion
I began this morning by talking about those Christians who are afraid to stand up for Jesus.
How can we overcome that fear? Let me suggest that we need to go to the cross, look up, and remind ourselves about what is happening there. Jesus is dying for our sins, yours and mine. Ask yourself: “What can I do for Him? What do I owe Him for that?” There are answers to those questions.
• We may have to sacrifice our reputations with the secular world, but not only with the secular world. We may have to sacrifice our reputations with the religious world as well. Are we willing to do that? Joseph of Arimathea was!
• We may have to sacrifice some of our riches and our wealth. Are we willing to do that? Joseph of Arimathea was!

The fact is that one way of the other, faithful followers of Christ will sacrifice something for Jesus. And why not – didn’t He sacrifice everything for you?

Like Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, the women who followed Jesus from Galilee, and like so many others since that day in Jerusalem two thousand years ago, may we “…gather up our courage” and stand up for Jesus.

“If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

~ Pray ~