Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] We're gonna open our Bibles to the Gospel of John.
[00:00:03] And in the 19th chapter is where we will be this morning.
[00:00:08] If you are new here, welcome to Living Hope Church. We're glad that you chose to join us this morning. Hopefully you grabbed a bulletin as you came in, and if you did, you can open that up. I want to just note a few things that are inside of your bulletin. I know that you can all read, but I'll just read some of that with you this morning.
[00:00:26] And I put a couple slides on the screen. Firstly, I just want to regularly say thank you for the many ways that you give to the life and ministry of the church at Living Hope. And also, as many of you know, we are raising funds for a building project. You can learn more about that in the foyer and on our website as well. But thank you for your continual generosity. There you can see some numbers on the screen for where we are and our goals, and that is to remove a couple modulars that we have in the back and build a building in its place. Just thinking about the future, planning for our future as a church. Speaking of money as well, we're going to have an organization come in in a few weeks. You see this in your bulletin that helps guide you in setting up a will or a trust, something like that, planning for the future in your own lives. And so if that's something that you have been thinking about for a while, you can sign up. You'll need to sign up for that. That'll be the last Sunday of this month.
[00:01:22] Speaking of this month, this month's also the same month that we start a ministry called Awana. It's a worldwide organization that reaches about 10 million kids, aiming to disciple them, aiming to teach them about the word of God. Ages 3 to 18 is the ages that we're serving here. We have, I think we had over 75 people sign up just last week for our Awana club that we host here. So just a blessing. Be praying for that as we start, for the leaders, for the families and the kids that will be coming. And then Pastor Les mentioned this earlier. Back to church. Sunday is when next week. So you have an invite in your bulletin. Please use that, give it to somebody in your life. Be thinking, praying about that. That'll be a fun time for us to come together, worship with our family, friends, neighbors.
[00:02:09] I'm gonna shift a little bit from this. You can go to the next slide.
[00:02:13] As you know, something significant happened this last week. Many of you are kind of feeling that maybe know about that. I Just want to say briefly something about that and then pray as we dive into God's word this morning. So this last week, a very influential Christian was killed in Utah. His name was Charlie Kirk. He has impacted the lives of millions of people around the world.
[00:02:35] And his most important characteristic was his love, passion and boldness for Jesus Christ.
[00:02:41] Charlie is now in the presence of Jesus and does not hate the one who took his life.
[00:02:46] His life has sparked worldwide response, including in the hearts and minds of many, even here today. And if you would like a place to remember Charlie, to sing worship songs, to pray together in unity with brothers and sisters, to pray for our country, to pray that God would give us boldness in our witness for Christ. There will be a space and time that you can come tonight here at the church at seven for 30 or 40 minutes or so, to sing, to pray, to remember and be encouraged. So if that's something that you're interested in, know that that's going to happen tonight at 7.
[00:03:25] Nothing incredibly formal and all of that, but a time for you to come together and look to the. The author and perfecter of our faith. Amen. Let's pray together. As we consider this and the text that we're gonna be looking at in chapter 19 of John's gospel. Let's pray together.
[00:03:41] Lord Jesus, we are grateful for your love for us. And we praise you this morning and thank you for your love and your faithfulness.
[00:03:49] You are faithful to bring about a new day for us and to make us holy, to keep us.
[00:03:57] And so this morning I ask that you would help us to find hope in your faithfulness. This past week, as we remember the events of 9, 11, we hear of deadly shootings across our country, including that of your bold and faithful servant, Charlie Kirk.
[00:04:11] Feelings of fear, feelings of sadness and hopelessness have risen to the surface for many.
[00:04:17] We are powerfully reminded this week of the brokenness.
[00:04:23] We pray right now for peace, your surpassing peace, for all those affected by these tragedies. Lord, we ask that you would help us to remember that you are near to the brokenhearted, that you sit with us in the midst of pain, in the midst of suffering, as you have promised that one day you will come again and make all things new. And we look forward to that day. And today as we continue to take breath. We ask that you would help us to have hope in you, that we would cling to.
[00:04:52] Cling to your presence in our lives and find comfort in the promise and the enduring promise of your return.
[00:05:02] We ask, Lord, that you would help us to grow in our faith, in our boldness, in our love for one another, as we face whatever the world throws our way. As we walk this morning through the text before us, we ask that you would show us your love for us, your profound love for us, that you would guide our hearts and our minds to see your beauty, to see your grace, to see your mercy. The things that I say would be guided by you.
[00:05:29] And that as we look at this text, as heavy as it is, you would remind us of the joy of our salvation.
[00:05:36] In Jesus name, amen.
[00:05:39] We're going to step right into John chapter 19. We're going to look at the tail end of the this chapter. We've looked at it in kind of three sections. And so today is the last portion of it. You go to the next slide. And in no way, as I said last week, it's kind of two parts. Last week the title of the message was the Cross of Christ. Today we see it is the Death of Christ. And it's a heavy passage. There's no other way to say that.
[00:06:04] It is one that we will walk through together. Now, if you weren't with us last week, let me just give you a brief synopsis of what we looked at last week. And you could also look in your Bibles and see the text that we were looking at before when Jesus was taken to the cross after an unjust trial took place, he was taken to the cross and he was hung there. And various things happened on the cross the other gospels referenced. If you look at the bottom of your outline, the back of the bulletin has the outline that we'll walk through. There's some other passages in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Those are the parallel passages for both the cross and the death of so last week we looked at Jesus crucifixion, the inscription that was written above his head, the garments of Jesus and the love of Christ. And then today we will continue on with the end of chapter 19. Now some other passages say some other things about Jesus death. And if you just there's like 10 things that happen that happen with Jesus on the cross in other passages or earlier on in John maybe if you're writing things down, if you like to just kind of pay attention to some of these things. One, he was hung on the cross at 9am a sign was hung above his head. After that, three, mockery took place from onlookers. After that, there was casting of lots for his clothes. There was an interaction between Jesus and the thief. One of the thieves realized Jesus innocence and then Jesus Promised that he would be in, do you know where? Paradise with him that very day.
[00:07:32] 7.
[00:07:33] Refusing. Jesus refused to drink this drink that was there at the cross, a particular drink that was masked with a substance to help relieve his pain.
[00:07:44] We saw last week that Jesus told John, the disciple whom he loved is often quoted to care for his mother. We also see in other texts, other gospels, that darkness covered the land from noon until three, for three hours. In the middle of the day, there was darkness.
[00:08:02] Another passage, another gospel, says that Jesus cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
[00:08:10] There is a heaviness that everyone is experiencing around the cross. Last week I said this, and I'll say this again, because it's important for us to really come around this morning. It's as if many of you have done this before, carried a heavy object before.
[00:08:24] You know what this feeling is like that we're sitting in right now? In. If you see maybe from a distance, some heavy object in one place, and you see that it needs to go somewhere else, you know that the journey of moving it from one place to the next place is going to be hard, right? You know that feeling, and you're looking at it. You're saying, I'm not looking forward to moving it from this place to this place, but you know that this place is better. You with me so far.
[00:08:47] That's what we're doing right now. We have already picked up, if you will, the heaviness, and we're somewhere in the middle of moving it from point A to point point B. And you know that once you set it down, it will be so much better. But the journey from point A to point B is hard. And that's what we're stepping into this morning. And I want to promise you this.
[00:09:11] The end, there is relief. At the end, there is relief. And it's important that you know that because we're gonna walk through this, and you're like, man, this sounds worse and worse and worse. But when you set it down, we come to the end of this passage. Even more importantly, we start chapter 20, and there is a victory that we are able to celebrate together. So know that going in, there is a light at the end of this dark, dark tunnel. So point one on your outline, write this in. We'll just walk through verses 28 through 30 and point 1, and then we'll walk through this whole passage together, kind of unpacking it as we go along. Point one in your outline, you can write this in Jesus death, very simply, Jesus death. Let's read verses 28 through 30 together.
[00:09:54] After this, Jesus knowing that all was now finished. So after he has hung there, he has given his disciple John the responsibility of caring for his mother. All was now finished. He said, to fulfill Scripture. I what thirst in a jar. Verse 29, a jar of sour wine stood there. So they put a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. And verse 30, when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is what?
[00:10:30] Finished. It is finished. Only John's Gospel references this last line of Jesus. And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
[00:10:41] It's been about six hours since Jesus was put on the cross.
[00:10:46] We see something that John references here. After this, that is, after he's been hung on the cross, everything has been completed. Jesus knew it was important, as he knew his entire life, it was important to fulfill Scripture, that is to complete the things that were spoken and promised about him. For him to do that while he took breath and we're going to see, he actually is fulfilling scripture after he dies. Point A, you can write this. In Jesus death fulfilled Scripture, we see something he says in order to fulfill Scripture, he said two words. He said, I what?
[00:11:16] I thirst. Now, why would he be thirsty?
[00:11:20] There's many reasons as many of you might be thirsty at times. But Jesus, as far as we know, the last time he had a drink was at the Last Supper, wasn't it?
[00:11:28] He was sitting there with his disciples. And then after that he goes to the garden, he's praying with them, and then he's arrested. And all night long Jesus has been awake, being dragged around and beaten up and flogged. He has gone through a very hard night, not to mention all the blood loss that has occurred for him. So understandably, he is what?
[00:11:48] Thirsty. And he also knows that Psalm 69:21 says this. They gave me. This is David writing. They gave me a bitter herb for my food and for my thirst. They gave me vinegar to drink. And that's this wine mixed with vinegar. It wouldn't have tasted very good. It was cheap drink, but something to wet his mouth. Because Jesus is about to say something very, very important. And he wants all to hear. He doesn't want to just whisper what he's about to say. He wants all to hear on the subject line of Jesus fulfilling scripture. There's over 300 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled from the start, from his beginning to the end of his life. There's many, many prophecies because it's important for Jesus from The seed who had crushed the serpent's head in Genesis 3:15 to the suffering servant of Isaiah 53, to this messenger that's coming.
[00:12:38] John the Baptist says, I'm preparing the way for the Lamb of God who's going to take away the sin of the what the world. Prophecy after prophecy about Jesus. And Jesus knows it is important that this is fulfilled. We see something else. It says that he said, I thirst. So they gave him something to drink. Another Gospel says it was like the soldiers maybe gave this approving look to somebody and he ran over to a bucket and gave him this drink.
[00:13:03] And when Jesus had received this wine, this is not something that would have deadened the pain that he's experienced, but rather wet his mouth a bit. He said something very clearly.
[00:13:14] He said, one word is really what it is in the original language. He said, it is finished. We're going to get into that in just a moment, but we need to know something else. The last line of this says, he bowed his head and he gave up his spirit. You could write this in point B on your outline.
[00:13:30] Jesus. Death was his choice.
[00:13:33] Jesus wasn't killed. He died. Those are very different things. He gave up his life because he knew that he had done all that God had asked him to do. Jesus, in his own words, says this in John 10. No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down on my own. Do you know the passage of my own accord?
[00:13:52] Now, in recent news, what we saw in 9, 11, in 2001, life was taken.
[00:14:00] One of the most unsettling aspects of death is the element of surprise.
[00:14:07] And when it comes suddenly and unexpectedly, it often leaves things unsaid, plans unfinished, dreams unrealized, and hopes unfulfilled. That, however, was not the case with Jesus.
[00:14:20] Death was not a surprise to Jesus. He controlled it. And he still controls life and death today. Amen.
[00:14:27] When Jesus died, the most powerful event that occurred outside of the cross was the curtain of the temple being torn into.
[00:14:35] Why? To give you a little bit of background, Matthew 27:51 says the curtain was torn in two. John doesn't reference it, but it's so key for point C, which is not on the screen and not on your outline, but you'll be able to write it in in just a moment.
[00:14:49] Let me give you a little bit of history from the tabernacle. When they first set up the tabernacle, when the Israelites were wandering in the desert, there was this curtain that separated the priests of God or the people of God, from the presence of God, which is the Ark of the Covenant. There was this thick curtain. It could have been somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 or so. Cubits are pretty tall. In the tabernacle, it could have been as high as 50 or 60ft in the temple, it would have been multiple inches thick. Not something that you could just like tear like a piece of paper. Massive curtain that separated the presence of God from the people of God. And only at a certain time of the year, with all the right rituals, could the people of God, or really just the high priest, approach the presence of God. Now, what happened upon Jesus death? That curtain was torn, it was separated. And here's what that means.
[00:15:39] When the curtain was torn, it was Jesus letting everybody know.
[00:15:44] The work that is required for the people of God to approach the presence of God was completed in me alone.
[00:15:52] Nobody else could do the work. And as hard as you try to be right with God, to be able to approach God, you cannot do it by yourself. So c, you could write this in somewhere if you'd like.
[00:16:03] Jesus death satisfied God.
[00:16:06] This is why he said, it is finished. Which really means paid in full. The debt that you owe was paid in full by Jesus dying on the cross. Because Jesus died. He's saying now the people of God can approach the presence of God with not fear and trembling, but with boldness.
[00:16:24] The price that was due you and I was paid by Jesus Christ. Maybe you want to write this in. Somebody said this somewhere. I don't know who it was, but in one line he. Here it is. He came to pay a debt he didn't owe because we owed a debt we couldn't pay. I'll say that again. He came to pay a debt he didn't owe because we owed a debt we could not pay. So we see there his death. We move on a little bit further now that he has died. Verses 31 through 37, we go on a little bit further. You could write this in point 2 on your outline is Jesus body.
[00:16:58] Jesus body. Write that down somewhere.
[00:17:00] Since it was read with me. Verse 31, since it was the day of preparation and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for the Sabbath was a high day. The Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken to make things worse, if you will, than people hanging on a cross and that they might be taken away. Verse 32. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with them. But with when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear. And at once there came out blood and water.
[00:17:39] He who saw this verse 35 has borne witness and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth. This is John, the writer of the gospel, saying, I saw this. It is true. He really did die. And then he says this that you may. May what?
[00:17:54] Believe.
[00:17:55] Can we say that together? That you may believe? That's John's point. This entire gospel. He wants people to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. That's what he wants people to believe. And so again, we find this word that you may believe, verse 36. These things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled. Jesus fulfilling scripture even in his death, not one of his bones will be broken. And again, another scripture that says they will look on him whom they have pierced. So a little bit of cultural understanding of why the Jews would ask for something like this, the legs for them of them to be broken. Deuteronomy, chapter 21. You don't have to flip there. You maybe write it down. Chapter 21, verses 22 and 23, say something interesting. It says that a land is cursed if there's a body there in the land hanging on a cross. And the person who is hanging on the cross is cursed. So if you hang on a tree, you are cursed. And if you are hanging on a tree overnight in that particular land, the land is now cursed. So you with me there? So now the Jews thinking, you know, good religious people who wanna honor God in all the things that they're doing, say to Pilate, he's the Roman governor at the time in the area, they go into the city and they say, hey, Pilate, we would like them to not be on the cross overnight. And Pilate, his job is to make sure that they die. And he says, well, the way that we speed up the process of death, horrible, horrible thing, is we go and we break their legs. And what this would do is it would make it so that as they're hanging on the cross, they can't push up anymore to be able to take breath in their lungs because they're using their legs to be able to give them strength, to lift up, to continue to breathe.
[00:19:41] And so when Pilate says, we're going to break their legs, what that means is a quick death for them because they can no longer lift themselves up. They're hanging there. And so it's a much faster Process of bringing about death to whoever is on the cross. So Pilate says, because he chose to, not because he had to, he's recognizing, I want to be nice to the Jews in this time of Passover, Sabbath is coming.
[00:20:04] So he says, yes, we can do that. The outcome is still the same. And so it says there that then the soldiers, they would have brought something probably like iron mallet, something that would have broken their legs quickly. And they would have come along to the thief on one side, and it says that they broke his legs, which would have been incredibly painful. They came to the man on the other side and they broke his legs. And then they came to the man in the middle, who was Jesus. And it says that they saw that he was already dead.
[00:20:37] The man, the people looking on, they would have seen that. They would have heard his last cry. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? I thirst. It is finished. They would have heard all of that. But now the soldiers, their job is to make sure that the body of Jesus as well as the others are actually dead. That is their one job.
[00:20:56] So they look upon Jesus and they say, we need to make sure Jesus body was. You can write this in somewhere, point A on your outline. Jesus body was pierced.
[00:21:09] One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear. And at once there came out blood and water, a sign that he actually was dead.
[00:21:17] Now, these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled. Why does John add this in? Because Jesus is, as John the Baptist, a different John than the writer of this book says. Jesus is the lamb of what?
[00:21:31] This is a picture. Jesus is a picture of, or actually say the lamb is a picture of someone better coming. Animal sacrifices, they cover sin for a moment. The blood of Jesus washes it white as snow.
[00:21:44] So the Passover lamb, when they were to be killed for covering people's sin, it was to be a perfect lamb without any blemishes and having no bones that were broken. So Jesus as a perfect picture of the Passover lamb, he also is going to fulfill to complete this picture of a real sheep who is dying to cover people's sin for a moment. He says, now I'm the perfect lamb of God. Not one of my bones is going to be what broken. Jesus, even after his death, is fulfilling scripture after his death. Now, did the Roman soldiers go, oh, let me read back in the Old Testament and see this. Did they know that? No, they didn't know what was going on, but they know Jesus knew what would happen. And so even Jesus knowing by me giving up my life before I need to keeps that prophecy being fulfilled. And then also that was in Exodus 12:46. And Numbers 9 speak about no bones being broken. Zechariah, chapter 12 says they will look on him whom they have pierced. What's John's point?
[00:22:49] Why does he go to such detail, which I don't know if you noticed this. This is the most detail that we get at the cross. John doesn't give any other great detail about the cross. He says he was crucified. He says some broad things that happened, but here we get very specific. Out came blood and water. They pierced his side. Very specific. Why does John point this out? For one purpose. He wants people to know that Jesus really did die.
[00:23:12] Because there was some people that said, well, maybe even today that Jesus didn't actually die. And. And if Jesus didn't actually die, his resurrection is a lot less significant, isn't it? Cause all he did was kind of get revived in the tomb, but he really did die. Now, by the way, even if Jesus hadn't been flogged, hadn't been beaten in such a way, hadn't hung on the cross, all of that blood loss have occurred. A spear going through your heart, that's going to kill you.
[00:23:37] So if there was any doubt, that would have done it. So that's why John says in verse 35, you can write this in Jesus body was witness.
[00:23:45] Witness is the word you could write in there. He says this. He who saw it has borne witness. This is a testimony, courtroom kind of word. His testimony is true and he knows that he is telling the truth. That you may. We already said this together. What's the last word? Believe. That's John's whole point. With this, I want you to believe that he really did die.
[00:24:07] Imagine John being the disciple that Jesus loved, writing down the details of this. Remember how hard that would be for him to relive that account, watching his friend, who he's walked with for years, die right in front of him. But he does it because he knows I want people to believe in Jesus. That's his heart. That's his goal. We look at the last part, verses 38 through 42.
[00:24:35] Yeah, 38 through 42. Read with me point three on your outline. You can write this in Jesus.
[00:24:41] Jesus burial.
[00:24:43] All right. I know I said earlier, we're carrying something really heavy. We're getting closer to the end of carrying this really heavy object. Okay, so here we are. There's grief, there's sadness. Jesus burial. Now comes verse 38. After these things that is after they ensured the death of Jesus.
[00:25:01] There's a man, Joseph of Arimathea, it says in verse 38, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him permission.
[00:25:14] So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus, which, if you know your Bible a little bit, or maybe even don't, John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that verse that is Jesus speaking to Nicodemus. That conversation, that verse that we all remember and know, that's actually something that Jesus says in the dark, in an upper room, away from everybody else, secretly in a conversation with. With Nicodemus. Nicodemus thought that conversation would be a secret. And here we are, 2,000 years later, still talking about it. Verse 39. Nicodemus, who is also a secret disciple or secret follower of Jesus, who earlier had come to Jesus by night. This is what I just referenced. Came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds in weight. Verse 40.
[00:25:58] So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with spices, as was the burial custom for the Jews. Now, in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
[00:26:13] So because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
[00:26:21] So we know that the Jews want the bodies down, right? We've already talked about that. But we don't know something as we look at this. Maybe this has never crossed your mind. He says, can we take the bodies down? Pilate says, yes, you can do that. I'll make sure they die faster. Whose job is it to do something with the bodies of these people?
[00:26:39] Most likely it's the families, it's the friends that would have come along. What we don't see is other people coming and taking down the body of Jesus. We see this person, that this is the only time we ever hear about this other than now, as we read about it later. This person named Joseph of Arimathea. We know from some other gospels that he was a wealthy man. We know that he was a part of the Sanhedrin, which is the ruling group of people there, of the religious leaders. And we also find out in another gospel that who owns this tomb, this man named Joseph from this town of Arimathea. So what we see here is this man right out of the gate is. We hear about this man who. Oh, and another gospel says that he's a good and upright man as well.
[00:27:21] So now that permission's been granted, the question is, is what are we going to do? Because it's Friday, about three or so o', clock, right? They said we would like that's when Jesus died. They said we would need permission to get the bodies down. All this stuff has to be done before 6pm so they have about a three hour window to get the bodies down. At least the body of Jesus down off the cross because that would be considered work. And they need to get the body buried. Also considered work. They also can't walk too far because that would also be considered work. So they can't do all sorts of things in just a few hours. Have any of you ever been in a time crunch before when you have some really important things you have to get done in the next few hours? That's them right now. They are feeling this time crunch. We need to get the body down, we need to get it prepared, we need to get it buried. And then Joseph says, well I have this new tomb that no one has been laid in yet and it's near to where Jesus is. We see here that Jesus burial in the text, in verse 42 it tells us was customary. You can write that in point A on your outline was customary. So here's what they would have done. They would have gone and the text suggests to us that they two wealthy influential men did not hire out this job.
[00:28:36] Sometimes it's tempting to hire out a job, isn't it? That's kind of dirty, it's kind of messy.
[00:28:42] This would have made them unclean, touching a dead body according to Jewish law.
[00:28:46] So let's have somebody else do it. But we don't see that they did that. It says they went and they took the body of Jesus down off of the cross. And then as custom would have been, they would have cleaned the body to some extent to the best of their ability. Remember, they're also on a time crunch. So they would have cleaned the body, they would have taken out the crown of thorns, they would have taken out the shards of glass or rock in his body. This would have been such a hard thing for these two men to do.
[00:29:11] If you've ever been through something hard before, they. I just can't even imagine what they're walking through right now, what they're feeling right now with the body of Jesus before them. But the custom would have been to clean up his body. It says they would have had myrrh, they would have had spices and aloes and such. They would have put on the body of Jesus and they would have wrapped his body in cloth, as was the custom. They didn't embalm. What they would have done is they would have taken the body of Jesus after wrapping him, putting spices around, they would have taken him to this tomb. Now, in the tomb, as was custom in that time, particularly this kind of tomb, a large tomb, where they would have rolled a massive stone in front of, was not just for one individual. This would have been for the family. And so what they would have done is an individual who was wealthy enough, because this is an expensive project, wealthy enough to make a tomb for him, his family, and even future generations a new tomb. He says, all right, what there would have been in the tomb is there would have been a large slab, enough for someone to be able to lay a body. And then there probably would have been something like little, if you will, cubby holes in other parts of the rock. And what they would have done is they would have taken the body after wrapping it up, they would have gone inside the tomb and they would have laid the body down on a larger slab of rock. And this is what they would have done with Jesus.
[00:30:22] And then after that, they would perhaps even put more spices around the body to help with the smell. And they would have rolled a stone or something to block the entrance, which we know didn't last very long. That stone. Right. A few days later, that stone moved somewhere else. But they didn't know that. They didn't know that was going to happen. What they would have done is they would have put something to block the entrance to the tomb, and they would have come back quite some time later once the body had decomposed, and they would have taken the bones from that person, and they would have put them in a stone box, particularly made for that individual, called an ossuary. We have one in our museum, actually, a replica of one. And there might be even art on the outside of that box, speaking about the person who was in this box. And this is how they would have transported bones in biblical times. And then they would have taken that box and. And they might leave it in different places in these cubbyholes, if you will, in the tomb. And that's how you can have multiple people of a family over years in one particular tomb. So that was the custom that was going on now. And these folks, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, thought, I guess we're doing this for Jesus now. I guess this is the end. All the things that we live for. There's Other women looking on another gospel tells us, in Matthew 27, we see something here. The attitude in which they were doing this wasn't one of joy or anticipation.
[00:31:43] The burial of Jesus was hopeless. You could write that down. Point B on your outline was hopeless.
[00:31:51] They had no hope.
[00:31:54] So we look at the last verse. So because of the Jewish day of preparation, that is the Sabbath coming, Passover being right there with them, they needed to be done with this work, if you will, that they were doing. And so they laid Jesus in this tomb.
[00:32:12] Chapter 20 starts the beginning of now that we've carried this heavy weight from point A to point B, and we put it down. Chapter 20 is the Sigh of relief, is the joy. At the end is the looking back and saying, that's why we did it. I looked at the journey and it was worth it. But that's chapter 20. So come back. We. We'll talk about chapter 20 in a couple weeks. But we're not gonna do that right now. I wanna lean into this hopelessness for just a moment, this feeling that they had. Even though Jesus said that he is the resurrection and the life, no one expected that to be part of Jesus story too. Even though Jesus raised the dead of other people and he did powerful things for years and years, no one expected Jesus to defeat death. When it was true.
[00:32:58] All the hopes and the dreams of what Jesus would one day do and who he would one day be were crushed in that very moment that death struck.
[00:33:09] They were hopeless and asking questions like, how did this happen? Where is God right now? Why did God let this happen? Have you asked this question before?
[00:33:22] Was Jesus the real deal?
[00:33:24] What am I supposed to feel right now?
[00:33:28] And now that this has occurred, do I hide or do I stand stronger than I did before?
[00:33:36] What do I do right now?
[00:33:38] That's the question that many are struggling with in this season and maybe even here today, right now. Here's what Hope says. Hope says that I know what's coming.
[00:33:51] Those who have hope believe that something better is on the horizon. But as we consider this word hopeless for those followers of Jesus, they had no certainty of anything better coming for them. There was no light at the end of the dark, dark tunnel that they were looking down.
[00:34:08] So what do we do with this as we consider the hopelessness that they felt? We're concluding with a couple thoughts here. We friends, chapter 20. If you have your Bibles, you could just look at the top of my Bible. It says the Resurrection right there. And I don't want to give too much away, but we today we are what's called post resurrection people.
[00:34:32] We are post resurrection people. So no matter if Jesus dies or if someone else who stands for Jesus dies like we see there, our hope does not need to be shaken. As post resurrection people, which is you and I today, we can hold to the one who controls death over all things. Mankind's greatest enemy is death. And we know that peace can be ours every day. No matter what suffering, no matter what grief, no matter what sadness, no matter what shocking news comes our way. Jesus is the one that we can hold tightly to because he's the One. As post resurrection people, we know he conquered man's greatest enemy.
[00:35:12] Because we are post resurrection people, we can stand fast on the, as the song says, the rock of Ages, the one who will not move. Though the world around us shakes all over the place, we can hold fast. Romans 15 says this. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow flow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit living in you. Because you and I are post resurrection people.
[00:35:46] If you are a follower of Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. And thus there is a hope inside of you. There is a security inside of you that cannot be moved. He does not look and say, life can be taken. Yes, we know that life can be taken in an instant. But the Holy Spirit is never going to be taken from you. The hope that you and I have is sure because we know that Jesus, he is risen. Amen.
[00:36:11] I'm going to read the lyrics to a song that really encaptured this whole message, I think very well. And then I'll ask two questions for us to consider in application. Listen to these words. You know the song perhaps. How I love the voice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. He declares his work is finished. He. He has spoken this hope to me.
[00:36:34] Though the sun has ceased its shining, though the war appeared as lost, Christ has triumphed over evil. It was finished upon that cross. Now the curse it has been broken. Jesus paid the price for me. Can someone say Amen?
[00:36:52] Full the pardon he has offered. Great the welcome that I receive now. Boldly not in fear, right, because the curtain has been torn. Boldly I approach my Father, clothed in Jesus righteousness, there is no more guilt to carry. It was finished upon that cross.
[00:37:12] Death was once my great opponent. Fear once had a hold on me. But the Son who died to save us, he rose so that we can be free, indeed free from every plan of darkness. Free to live Free to love. Death is dead. And Christ, he is risen. It was finished upon that cross.
[00:37:37] That's what we celebrate. That's what we must look to as we consider the weight of the cross. We remember we have hope. Because no matter what pain, no matter what struggles, no matter what shock we're sitting with in our life, whatever that might be, we know that, that if he has the power to conquer man's greatest enemy, he has the power to give us strength every day to press on.
[00:37:59] Two questions I said I would ask. One, it's this.
[00:38:02] Have you trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior today? And if not, don't wait. Tomorrow is not promised.
[00:38:11] Repent of your sin.
[00:38:13] Run back to what God has called you to submit to his way.
[00:38:18] Trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Every day is not promised to us.
[00:38:24] Secondly, maybe you said, I've already chosen to trust in Jesus. Maybe consider this.
[00:38:29] Live for Jesus in a way that you know is right, but you've been afraid to do.
[00:38:34] Ask the Lord what it looks like to live courageously for Christ. It looks different in different settings. But ask that question, Lord. What does it look like for me to live courageously for you?
[00:38:44] I haven't been doing that. I've been hiding in fear. I've been apathetic. I've been sitting back, letting other things happen, other people do it out there. But today I'm gonna step up because I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow or next year. And I can't plan for something out there. So I'm gonna live today like I am your servant. And tomorrow isn't promised. As we consider the death of Christ, we're reminded that we can approach the throne of grace with confidence, knowing that he loves us, that he hears us, that he sees us.
[00:39:12] That hope can be ours. Let's pray.
[00:39:15] Dear Jesus, we are grateful for your great love for us.
[00:39:19] That's why you went to the cross, knowing that in the midst of pain and struggling that you would endure.
[00:39:25] It was the joy that was set before you. That's why you did it. The joy of knowing that we, your people, could be redeemed.
[00:39:34] We could be in relationship with you. That joy drove you to the cross.
[00:39:39] That love drove you to the cross.
[00:39:42] Your great grace is what we celebrate here this morning.
[00:39:46] Your riches that we can experience because you paid the price.
[00:39:51] So for all those here today, Lord, I pray that you would remind us personally and deeply of your profound love for us, of your faithfulness in our life, and that you would call us to step up to courageously live for you.
[00:40:05] To not let fear have any hold in our life, but that we would surrender that to you in whatever aspect of our life that might look like we're grateful for your love for us and your presence in our life. That you promised to walk with us wherever we go. In Jesus name, amen.
