I should determine with me to the gospel or good news according to Luke, Luke 23. We'll be reading verses 44 to 56 tonight. Last week we read a portion and studied some of this about the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus. And the two supernatural events that attended is death which bring us and assurance of pardon and paradise.
Those two supernatural events, you'll hear of them again. One was the pitch darkness that fell at midday and it symbolized the judgment of God that fell upon Jesus for sinners and in their place, the judgment that brings us, pardon from sin. The second supernatural event was the tearing of the temple curtain in two which symbolizes the opening of access into the very presence of God and the freedom we have to come to God now through prayer and the hope that we have, the sure and certain hope of one day having access into the throne room of heaven itself and the paradise of God. And tonight again we're going to hear of his death and then further and most especially his burial and we're going to think about the people who were drawn to him in his death and the witnesses who believed in him and we'll think about our own response to this crucified burial.
Let me invite you to pay attention then to Luke 23. We'll pick up the reading at verse 44. It was now about the sixth hour and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour while the sun's light failed. The curtain of the temple was torn into, then Jesus is calling out with a loud voice that Father, into your hands I commit my spirit and having said this he breathed his last.
Now when the centurion saw what had taken place he praised God saying certainly this man was innocent. And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle when they saw what had taken place returned home leading their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. Now there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish town of Arimathea.
He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man who had not consented to their decision and action and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to pilot and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning.
The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commander. Amen.
Jesus God's word. Let's look to him in prayer. And our Father in heaven grant that your word would be a lamp and a light to us. We pray that you would shine your light upon Christ, that we would see him clearly and shine the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ into our hearts that we would see and believe in Jesus name and Christ.
Amen. Things in our world as you well know are not the way that they ought to be. Life doesn't work right. Death is an intrusion.
The Apostle Paul calls it the last enemy. Death is the separation of the soul from the body. It's unnatural. It's not what we were designed for.
And so it is that Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus because it was not good that his friendship had died. And some of us have walked this road or experienced this grief even in this last year, even this last week. And we have here in the death and burial of Jesus more than a sympathetic Savior. We see that God has entered himself into our experience.
He has gone into the grave ahead of us before us. And this is a vital part of the good news about Christianity easily skipped over. We talk about the crucifixion and resurrection. But the Apostle Paul of 1 Corinthians 15 says that which I received that passed on to you is the first importance Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture.
He was buried and he was raised in accordance with the Scripture on the third day. Christ has died. Christ was buried. Christ is risen.
We'll consider that next week. This is good news, friends. The God-Man on a cross, the God-Man in a tomb, the God-Man risen from the dead and alive forever more. And in the passage before us Luke highlights the very diverse kinds of people who were drawn to Jesus and witnesses of these events.
He tells us of a Roman soldier, a Gentile officer. He tells us of a Jewish religious leader, a member of the Sanhedrin. And he tells us finally of a group of women from Galilee. They were all there.
What was their response to Jesus? That's what we're thinking about. And what is ours? So three things tonight in the first place from verse 47, the public confession of the centurion.
We want to ponder that. In verse 50 to 54, the bold courage of Joseph. And finally, verses 55 and 56, the long-standing affection of the women for their Lord and Savior. So let me invite you to ponder these things in the first place at verse 47.
You see the public confession of the centurion. Now when the centurion saw verse 47, what had taken place, he praised God, saying certainly this man was innocent. So what you have here with his public profession is a variety of things in the first place. It establishes that Jesus died well.
The centurion was in a position to see that and he had seen a lot of death. What was the centurion? The centurion was an officer who commanded 80 to 200 men depending upon the decade of centurion's experience in the army. This one was in charge of the crucifixion detail.
He oversaw, in other words, the soldiers who mocked Jesus, who spat in Jesus' face. He was there overseeing the pressing of the thorns into the head of Jesus, the stripping off of the flesh of the back of Jesus, the pounding of spikes into the hands and feet of Jesus, the thrusting of the spear into the side of Jesus. He may have done some of that himself. We don't know how involved he was, but he was right there and he sees Jesus died and he bursts out and prays to God.
Surely, certainly, this man was innocent. And another gospel writer tells you that he added, this was the Son of God. Truly, he was the Son of God. So it provoked him to praise God for the one upon the cross being the innocent righteous suffering Son of God.
The man of Jesus' death convinced him of this. Now, it may have been something about the gracious prayer of Jesus. As he looked at it, those who were crucifying him had condemned him, tortured him and nailed him. He's the Father forgiven him.
They don't know what they're doing. Or it may have been when he promised that criminal thief next to him who had been mocking him and then said, remember me when you come to your kingdom and Jesus said, I will. Today you will be with me in paradise. Or it might have been the way that he expired when he simply entrusted himself to the Father into your hands I commit my spirit, said Jesus.
Maybe any of these things. Jesus didn't rant and he didn't rage when he was dying. There's no vindictiveness. There's no resentment.
There's no bitterness of heart. There's no spitting back insults to those who mocked him. There's no cursing the heavens that this should be his lot in life. None of that.
And seeing it, this Roman military officer is simply amazed by Jesus and took the risk of publicly declaring that the man he had just crucified didn't deserve it. And you better believe this was a risk. You don't think his career and perhaps his life was at stake after all his fellow officers, those above and those parallel and all those dozens and dozens of men serving under him who had just put Jesus to death under his authority. He now says, didn't deserve it.
He was innocent and in a sense saying, this wasn't right. What we did. He is risking here something to speak these words. And in doing so, of course, he establishes the fact and the certainty of the death of Jesus.
He does after all say, this man is innocent. He says this man was innocent. And it will be the centurion who testifies the pilot when Joseph wants the body and has to go to the pilot to ask for it. Pilot goes to the centurion commands him to come and testify.
Is he dead? Can't believe he's dead already. The centurion here affirms that he's dead. So we want you to see this.
He wants you to see this bold public profession. He wants you to see that Jesus is really dead. Now why does he want you to be convinced that Jesus really died upon a cross? There are a whole variety of reasons.
We talked about some of them previously, but certainly not long after this is written. We know that there arose a whole group of people in and around Christianity who were going to argue that no, in fact, Jesus hadn't really died upon a cross because they denied Jesus humanity. And so what they said really happened is that this is kind of an apparition or this is a ghost like thing. They didn't have a real human body or real human soul.
After all, how could God be united to man in that way? And so it only appeared to be, early seemed to be a death, but it wasn't a real death. And the centurion is saying, that's his body. It's a real human body.
His soul is gone. We know that some 550 years after Luke gave us this story, Muhammad would come along and in the Quran right and deny that Jesus was crucified and dead and buried. He saw four 157, 58. Muhammad writes, the Jews say we killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah, but they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them and they did not kill him for certain.
Rather, Allah raised him to himself and ever is all exalted in might and wise. And we don't know whether Muhammad had to buy some of this darcedic or it seems to be this way, but it's not real, kind of a heretical Christian teaching or Muhammad was just not well instructed in the Bible's teaching on this, or if he was making a frontal assault against Christian doctrine about the crucifixion of this prophet whom they esteem as a prophet, but not as the divine son of God in human form. But whatever it is, he was wrong about this most basic truth about Jesus. He really died.
He was really buried. And Luke says this really matters that you know and appreciate and understand this. He wants you to be clear about it. Why?
Because the death and burial of Jesus is absolutely necessary if you and I are going to be safe from our sins. If you and I are going to be truly free and released from what sin deserves so that we don't get it, then Jesus has got to bear the wages of sin which is death. And he must taste that on our behalf and in our place. And so it is that Jesus really did.
The innocent spotless sinless son of God really died. This is a wonderful, wonderful thing that happened upon the cross. It's called the Great Exchange theologically that the innocent son of God died for our sins that we who are guilty might be made righteous before the eyes of God and accounted to be perfect in his sight because Jesus takes what belongs to us and he gives us what belongs to him. And this is absolutely helpful as you get older as a Christian.
And I just say older because the older you are the closer you are to death. Although you and I have no idea how soon it may come to anyone of us. But it may just be that you have a godly ambition. It is a godly ambition to die well.
We used to be Christians who talk about wanting to die well. May the Lord make it so for every one of us. But what if we don't die well? What if we have an infirm mind?
Are we or fearful before death? What if we're not like Jesus simply saying in those last moments, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit knowing the promise of paradise is mine. What if that is not the case for us? There's comfort here friends.
Jesus has been there ahead of us in death and for us and he died well, sinless without fault even in death so that we can fail at it. And God will still look at us. You can fail in life again and again as a believer in the Lord Jesus. And God welcomes you in his most righteous, perfect Son.
This is good news for the dying. There's more good news here too. In dying for us, Jesus took away the sting of death. The Apostle Paul says his first green thing is 15 and told you the story before of a father and son who went camping.
And the son was terribly allergic to the sting of a bee and they crawled into their tent and there was a bee buzzing about and the son became hysterical and there wasn't a way to swat the bee within the tent and so the father simply cupped his hands around that bee and we get a crawl out with it and the bee stung his hands and of course as bees will do it, died in doing so and the son was safe. And so Christ has taken the sting of death away by suffering its sting on our behalf so that it can never sting us. Death has for the Christian been transformed. His death, Jesus death was part of the condemnation due to sinners and he bore it away.
If we are death, if we are in him is not part of the condemnation due to us for our sins. It cannot be there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8, 1. It's simply not part of God's condemning us for our sin rather if we are in Christ sheltered under him the sting is gone.
We might say it's actually a means of grace to us. One more evidence that the father is for us and not against us because through death, a portal has opened into the very joyful presence of God away from all misery and suffering sorrow and sin forever. Shall we not join the centurion in his praise of this Savior? That's the first thing.
Second, you see the bold courage of Joseph here verses 50 to 54. You know that Joseph at verse 53 went and asked for the body of the Lord and he received it so he took it down, wrapped it in a wind and shroud, laid him in a tomb, cut in stone where no one had ever yet been laid. Now who is this Joseph? We know very little about him.
In fact, nothing about him except what Luke and the other gospel writers tell us about him at this point in the story of Jesus. We know that he's from the Jewish town of Ernathia and where that is we're not even certain. We know that he was a rich man, that he gave his own tomb for Jesus' use. You never know when what you have bought for yourself can be put in the service of Jesus.
So he offered it, he was a good and righteous man. He tells us he was looking for the kingdom of God, he was the kind of man who prayed, Lord, your kingdom come. Lord will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, bring the Messiah, bring in your kingdom.
This is the kind of man he was and he was a member of the council or the Sanhedrin, the ruling elders of Israel. He did not, Luke and the other gospel writers tell us he did not agree with the verdict of the Sanhedrin that sentenced Jesus to be condemned to death. He didn't agree with them and yet there's no word in scripture anywhere that he raised his voice in opposition at the time of the trial. The council were told elsewhere was unanimous in its verdict, which means that perhaps Joseph left the meeting before they actually called the vote because he did not wish to stand against it in the midst of the angry crowd or it means he didn't go to that meeting at all knowing what they intended to do and he did not wish to partake in it or it means that he gave his assent or something else I haven't contemplated but it does not say anywhere that he voiced his opposition at the time of Jesus' condemnation.
In fact, the gospel writers tell us he feared the opinion of his peers. But now here he is, Jesus is dead and he boldly goes to Pilate and asks for the body of the Lord Jesus because he believed Jesus to be dead. Normally, the bodies of criminals crucified by the Romans would be left to hang on the cross so that the birds might pick at them or they would be taken down and thrown into the pit where the dogs and the wild animals could get at them. But the Jews had a great respect for the dignity and integrity of the human being, body, and soul such that they buried their people and Joseph longed to see Jesus treated with dignity.
And so with bold courage, he goes to Pilate. And you better believe this was a brave thing to do. Pilate had been troubled by the Sanhedrin much of his career. He hated the Sanhedrin.
He oftentimes tried to foil the plans and purposes of the Sanhedrin. And now one of the members of the Sanhedrin is going to go to Pilate and ask for what amounts to a favor, what amounts to a concession. Let me do with the body of Jesus what you don't normally do. And he does it just when seemingly Jesus could do nothing for him in return, not give him a word of promise, not a miracle, not a defense.
Jesus is dead. And then he stands up for Jesus. Just when the cause of Jesus would seemingly be over dead with its leader, then he comes forward to boldly identify with Jesus, to be known as one of Jesus followers. It took real courage to be associated with Jesus, who apparently could do nothing to benefit him, apparently because he was dead.
And so he's risking the wrath of his fellow Jewish leaders. He's risking identifying with a man killed for treason by the Romans. He's risking everything. His wealth, his reputation, his influence, perhaps his life.
I mean, it cost him money. It cost him the expense of the linen, the expensive linen shroud, and of the new fresh cut to. It cost him his reputation by publicly identifying with someone convicted as a criminal. It could cost him his career.
How can he go back to life as normal with all his former friends or friends who might consider him former when he's basically publicly standing up and saying, well, I'm with Jesus and you all were wrong. Might it cost him his life? No, no. We don't know.
We don't think of Joseph after this story. But surely he considered there could be danger to himself. Where did he get such willingness to risk everything for Jesus? Maybe he said to himself, what is that when God gave up everything for me?
Robert Rayburn says what an exquisitely beautiful demonstration of the Lord's power over the hearts of men of the truth of what he had promised that his sheep would hear his voice and follow him and of his capacity to make heroes of cowards and men of sight and sense into men of faith. and church history is full of followers like this, men and women who had much to lose, who nevertheless publicly displayed their loyalty to the Lord when it was most dangerous to do so. It was a wonderful story of Hugh Latimer. Latimer is one of the Oxford Martyrs, one of the three men killed for basically being a minister and a Protestant reformer at a time when it was dangerous to do so.
Around the 1550s he was preaching, because he was a court chaplain, he was preaching to King Henry VIII who was displeased by the boldness of one of his sermons and ordered Latimer to preach again the following Sunday and to apologize for the offense that he had given. So the next Sunday after reading the text he began to discern this way and I'm cleaning up with these and thou so we just hear it more easily. Hugh Latimer, he preaches Hugh Latimer, don't you know before whom you are this day to speak to the high and mighty monarch, the king's most excellent majesty who can take away your life if you offend. Therefore, take heed that you speak not a word that may displease.
But then consider well, Hugh. Do you not know from whence you come upon who whose message you are sent, even by the great and mighty God who is all present and who beholds all your ways and who is able to cast your soul down. Therefore take care that you deliver your message faithfully and then he preached the exact same sermon he had preached the week before. Perhaps they will not be surprised to hear that he was eventually murdered for the faith.
Joseph was that kind of man, changed man, bold and courageous. More than that he is seemingly, he comes out of nowhere, a secret disciple who had public with his faith. J.C. Ryle, the later Anglican bishop, Godly believer, said Christ has friends of whom the church knows little or nothing.
Let us be charitable and hopeful in our judgments. All is not barren in this world when our eyes perhaps see nothing. Little plants of spiritual life may be existing in some remote place. Such was Joseph of Arimathea.
And Calvin says of him, if through a holy desire to honor Christ, Joseph assumed such courage while Christ was hanging on the cross, woe to our slothfulness, if now that he has risen from the dead and equals zeal at least to glorify him does not burn in our hearts. Don't you just feel the weight of that? Before the testimony of Joseph of Arimathea, bold and courageous, he shows us that Jesus died well. He really died and he was buried and he was in the last place buried quickly but treated lovingly, particularly by the women of Galilee.
And that's the last thing. We'll have more to say about the women next week at the resurrection for there too but notice verses 55 and 56. There there at his death, verse 49, and all his acquaintances and the women who had been following him from Galilee stood at the distance watching these things. They were all there.
They were these women eager to learn from Jesus. They followed him everywhere he went. They left their homes to do so many of them paid for life, for Jesus food and shelter out of their own pockets as they traveled with him sparing no toil or expense to enjoy his presence to hear his teaching. And later at the grave there there to watch where he was laid verses 54 following the day of preparation.
Sad at the beginning the women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how the body was laid. Then they returned to prepare the spices and the ointments. They rested on the Sabbath day and there again there on Sunday morning we'll see that next week to bring the spices to finish the burial. And of course it's unfinished.
They were the only ones we know of to witness all the events of his death and burial and resurrection. These were godly women. They loved him in life. They remained faithful to him in death.
They wished to be sure that he was treated respectfully in burial. And the implied contrast to the apostles is great I think. For apart from the apostle John none of the other apostles were there. Through it all.
But they were there thick and thin with loving affection and care for even the remains of our Lord. So often it is women who display constant loyalty amidst adversity. And we should all learn from them. During the Boxer Rebellion in China 1899 to 1901 it was an anti-immigrant anti-foreign anti-missionary anti-Christian time of suffering and execution as wave after wave of foreigners and immigrants missionaries and Christians were killed by mobs of people against them.
In 1900 insurgents captured a Christian mission station blocked all the gates but won and in front of that gate placed across flat on the ground. Then the word was passed to those inside that any who trampled the cross under foot would be permitted their freedom in life but any refusing would be shot. Barely frightened the first seven students trampled the cross under foot and were allowed to go free. But the eighth a young girl arrived at the foot of the cross knelt before it prayed to her savior then walked around it and off to be shot.
And all 92 of the following did justice as she did. She led the way in faithful loyalty to her loving savior. These students led by a young girl I think would say with the Apostle Paul just like the women of this chapter would say with Paul for the love of Christ controls us because we have concluded this that one died for all and therefore all died and he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died and rose on their behalf. So let me close and ask you this question.
Have you taken your stand with Jesus at the cross? Are you willing to be public and publicly identified with a savior who died for you or are you trying to be a secret disciple? Pastor, now the president of Wheaton College says this, it is one thing to praise God in the church and another thing to praise him in the community. Do not be so concerned for your reputation that you fail to tell your friends what you really believe and do not be so ambitious in your career that you compromise your commitment to Christ in your art or your schoolwork or your business.
And do not be so jealous to protect everything you have gained in this life that you will not give up what you need to give up for the glory of God. Stop being a secret disciple of the Lord and publicly own him who came for you. Let's pray. Father in heaven, have your way with us and bring honor and glory to Christ even in and through us.
We pray in Jesus name, amen. Let's stand together and sing.