CAPITAL BAPTIST CHURCH APRIL 23, Jesus Death, Burial, & Resurrection John 19:30, 38 20:18

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1 CAPITAL BAPTIST CHURCH APRIL 23, 2006 SERMON NOTES PASTOR BILL HAKEN Jesus Death, Burial, & Resurrection John 19:30, 38 20:18 1. Jesus laid down His life on the cross for our sins What does it is finished mean? This word, "It is finished," is one word in the Greek, tetelestai. Mark & Luke say Jesus "cried with a loud voice, 'It is finished,'. There is relief in that word. The agony is over, the terrible ordeal is finished. But there is pride in this word as well. The race is run, the work is completed, the enemy is defeated. During those three hours when the sun hid its face and a strange darkness covered the whole land, Jesus cried out those terrible cries, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" Matt 27:46 It was then he was involved in a fearful grapple with the power of evil. But now it is over. The way to the heart of God is achieved. The writer of Hebrews describes this in these words, "Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which he opened for us, through the curtain, that is through his flesh," Heb 10: This is all completed now. When the work was over, when the foundations of redemption were fully laid our Lord cried with a loud voice, "It is finished." Then, "He dismissed his spirit." Jesus said, "I have power to lay down my life and I have power to take it again" John 10:18 Paul tells us he "became obedient unto death," Phil 2:8. That could never be said of any of us as we have no choice in the matter. When our time comes we have to die. But Jesus did not. He became obedient unto death and surrendered his spirit, "dismissed it," and fell into death. Critics say Jesus did not really die! John wants us to understand that Jesus was really dead. This is his purpose in saying, "that you also may believe." There he gives the lie to the theory that Jesus only swooned on the cross; that when they put his body in the tomb he was merely in a coma and in the coolness of the tomb he was revived and came back out again. But notice how John is careful here to take an oath, a solemn vow that when the soldier pierced the side of Jesus his blood, which had already separated into the plasma and the hemoglobin, came pouring out together. That only happens when the circulation has stopped and death has occurred. The Romans had crucified at least 30,000 other people around the time of Christ, and knew when someone was dead and when they were not! 2. Jesus was buried by two rich men in a new garden tomb

2 God had prepared Nicodemus and Joseph, two members of the Sanhedrin, to bury the body of Jesus. Otherwise, His body probably would have been thrown on the garbage heap outside Jerusalem. Isaiah 53:9 promised that His grave would be with the rich. This is the third and final mention of Nicodemus in John. Nicodemus and Joseph knew from studying the Scriptures when Christ would die, how He would die, and where He would die. They had the tomb all ready with the spices and were probably hiding in the tomb while Christ was on the cross. Joseph did not make this tomb for himself, for no rich man would want to be buried near the place where criminals were executed. He secured property close to Calvary that he might care for the body of Jesus quickly and easily. The secret disciples We must not criticize Joseph for being a hidden disciple, for we can see how God used him and Nicodemus to accomplish His purposes. Had their faith been known openly, they would have been prevented by the council from caring for the body of Jesus. When Joseph and Nicodemus touched the dead body of Christ, they defiled themselves for the Passover. But they did not care, for they had come to trust in the Lamb of God Himself! It is remarkable that these two secret disciples, who were afraid to confess Jesus while he was alive, did in death what they would not do during his life, openly acknowledging that they belonged to him. So, with boldness Joseph goes to Pilate and asks for his body, while Nicodemus, at great expense, gathers the burial spices. They lovingly wash the body of Jesus and wrap it with a cloth, intersperse the spices and prepare him for burial. And they do not care who sees them doing it. The garden Remember that sin began in a garden, in the Garden of Eden, when the serpent got to Eve and then to Adam and sin found its genesis. I am sure John has this in mind as he records that sin met its conqueror in a garden. There where Jesus entered into death he also conquered sin and loosed its hold mankind. The nearby tomb Finally, John tells us is that the tomb was near to the cross. There in that beautiful garden, just a few yards from the cross, was this tomb where no one had ever lain, and there they put the body of Jesus. This is John's way of saying that this is true of life as well: When we have been to a cross, when in God's wisdom something has broken our pride and undermined our self-sufficiency, when we find ourselves bankrupt in spirit, broken, and desperately crying out for help, the place of resurrection is just around the corner.

3 Jesus said in the beatitudes, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for they shall be comforted," Matt 5:3, 4. This is the message John leaves with us: The tomb is near to the cross. 3. Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week Outside the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem today, in a beautiful secluded garden at the foot of the hill that is shaped like a skull, there is a tomb called the "Garden Tomb." No one is exactly sure that this is the tomb where the body of Jesus lay, but it fits the picture much better than the tomb that is under the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. I confess I have great struggles with the somber darkness of that cathedral and the squabbling of the priests. All of that is far removed from the simplicity of the events recorded here. The stone was taken away According to the other gospel accounts, other women besides Mary went to the tomb early that morning. When they arrived there, probably around five or five-thirty a.m., just as the sun was beginning to rise, they saw that the great stone, weighing over a thousand pounds, that rolled along a track in front of the tomb had been pushed back. Shocked by this discovery, Mary left the other women there and ran to tell Peter and John that the tomb had been rifled, the guard had left, and the body of Jesus had disappeared. Peter and John ran to the tomb Why did John outrun Peter? (v. 4) There may have been a physical reason: perhaps John was younger than Peter. There is also a spiritual lesson here: Peter had not yet reaffirmed his devotion to Christ, and therefore his spiritual energy was low. Isaiah 40:31 says that those who wait on the Lord shall run and not be weary, but Peter had rushed ahead of the Lord and disobeyed Him. Peter s sin affected his feet John 20:4, his eyes John 21:7 his lips (He denied the Lord), even his body temperature John 18:18. What did the men see in the tomb? They saw the burial wrappings lying in the shape of the body, but the body was gone! The graveclothes lay like an empty cocoon. The napkin (for the face) was carefully folded, lying by itself. It was not the scene of a grave robbery, for no robbers could have gotten the body out of the graveclothes without tearing the cloth and disarranging things. Jesus had returned to life in power and glory and had passed through the graveclothes and the tomb itself!

4 At this point I want to answer the question some may be at least thinking, "Was this the 'Shroud of Turin'?" Because of one detail given in this account, I must answer, "No, this was not the Shroud of Turin." We are all familiar with the story of this ancient shroud, which dates from the 13th century at least, which has imprinted upon it the impression of the body of a man. The head, the torso, the limbs, even the beard somehow impregnated the material of that shroud in a reverse image that almost resembles a photograph, so that the features are clearly visible. Some people passionately believe that this was the shroud that lay over the body of Jesus. Somehow, they say, the mystery, the magnificence, the power of the resurrection, left the impression of the features of the body of Jesus on the cloth. But notice the detail John gives which clearly proves that the Shroud of Turin could not have been the cloth that covered the body. Both John and Peter saw that the napkin which covered the head of Jesus was a separate piece of cloth from the wrappings that covered the rest of the body. In fact Matthew's gospel makes clear that when Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea prepared the body for burial they wrapped it in linen strips, not the single piece of cloth which constitutes the Shroud of Turin. Based on these two significant details which Matthew and John include in their accounts we must conclude that the shroud, remarkable and mysterious as it is, is not the shroud that covered the body of Jesus. John saw and believed believed what? At this point John entered the tomb. According to his own account, when he saw these cloths he "believed." We have to ask, "Believed what?" On reading this, most think that John believed that Jesus had indeed been raised from the dead. Certain preachers -- and I have to confess I have done this myself -- even supply details that are not given in this account, of the cloths lying there, hollow and sunken in as though the body had come through them and disappeared. They say this was what convinced John that Jesus had risen. But when that point of view is taken, there is no explanation for the verse which John immediately adds: "for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead." : The word know means understand. "They still did not understand from the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead." That suggests that John did not believe that Jesus had risen. What then did he believe? He clearly believed that Mary, after all, was right. His first glimpse into the tomb had made him feel that Mary, hysterical woman that she was in his eyes, had reported something that wasn't true. He believed the body was there. But when he entered and saw that the body cloths were lying in one place and the head napkin in another he believed that Mary was correct -- the body had been stolen. This would fit with the word that follows: "they still did not understand from the scriptures that Jesus had to rise from the dead." That being the case there was nothing for them to do but go home. And that is what they did: "Then the disciples went back to their homes."

5 Mary looked and was weeping Christ had cast seven demons out of Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2), and she dearly loved Him. The weeping manifested her affection, but it also showed her unbelief. How often are the fears and sorrows of saints quite needless! Mary stood at the sepulcher weeping, and wept as if nothing could comfort her. She wept when the angels spoke to her: Woman, they said, why weepest thou? She was weeping still when our Lord spoke to her: Woman, He said, why weepest thou? And the burden of her complaint was always the same: They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him! Yet all this time her risen Master was close to her! Her tears were needless. Like Hagar in the wilderness (Genesis 21:19), she had a well of water by her side, but she had not eyes to see it! What thoughtful Christian can fail to see that we have here a faithful picture of many a believer s experience? How often we mourn over the absence of things which in reality are within our grasp, and even at our right hand! Two-thirds of the things we fear in life never happen at all, and two-thirds of the tears we shed are thrown away, and shed in vain. Let us pray for more faith and patience, and allow more time for the development of God s purposes: let us believe that things are often working together for our peace and joy, which seem at one time to contain nothing but bitterness and sorrow. Old Jacob said at one time in his life all these things are against me (Genesis 42:36), yet he lived to see Joseph again, rich and prosperous, and to thank God for all that had happened (Bishop Ryle). And as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher John 20:11. Such is ever the effect of uncontrolled grief. When we sorrow, even as others who have no hope, when we walk by sight instead of faith, when we are moved by the flesh instead of the spirit, we stoop down, and are occupied with things below. Unto thee lift I mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens Psalm 123:1, should ever be the believer s attitude. Mary points a timely warning for us. We are living in days when men s hearts are failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth (Luke 21:26), and the more we are occupied with the evil around us, the more will our hearts fail. Listen to the Savior s admonition, When these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh, Luke 21:28. Let us, instead of looking down like Mary, say with the Psalmist, I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills. From whence cometh my help? My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1, 2).

6 How long-suffering is God! How patiently He deals with our dulness! Where the heart is really engaged with Christ, even though faith be weak and intelligence small, God will bear with us. Here were two messengers from Heaven ready to re-assure Mary! Their presence in the sepulcher was proof positive that God had not suffered it to be rifled by wicked hands. Their very posture signified that all was well. Their number indicated a testimony from on High, if only this sorrowing woman had eyes to see and ears to hear. And seeth two angels in white sitting. The sepulcher was not so deserted as it seemed. Luke tells us of two angels appearing to the other women a little earlier, and it is instructive to note the several points of difference. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments (Luke 24:4). Luke calls them two men from their appearance, we suppose. John is more explicit: two angels. When these other women saw the two angels, they were on the outside of the sepulcher; but when Mary looked down they were now within. In Luke 24 the angels were standing, here in John 20 they are seated! Nowhere are we told the names of the two angels, but some have thought that they were Michael and Gabriel, arguing that the supreme importance of our Lord s resurrection would call for the presence of the highest angels. Probably the same two appeared to the disciples at Christ s ascension (Acts 1:10). And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet. This is the only place in Scripture where we see angels sitting. The fact that they were sitting in the place where the body of Jesus had lain was God s witness unto the rest which was secured by and proceeds from the finished work of the Lord Jesus. It is in striking accord with the character of this fourth Gospel that it was reserved for John to mention this beautiful incident. Who can doubt that the Holy Spirit would have us link up this verse with Exodus 25:17-19 And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold... and thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy-seat. More remarkable still is the final word which Jehovah spake unto Moses concerning the mercy-seat: And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercyseat from between the two cherubims Ex. 25:22 "Woman, why are you weeping?" they asked her. In the early light of dawn they seemed to be looking not at her, but at someone behind her. Turning, she saw a man standing

7 there whom she took to be the gardener, who asked her the same question, "Woman, why are you weeping?" There is a gentle rebuke inherent in that twice-asked question. It is saying, "This is no time for weeping, but for rejoicing, praise and thanksgiving." It implies that she could and should have known that. Jesus had clearly said several times, as the Gospels record, that he would rise again on the third day. One of the striking phenomena of the Gospels is the deafness of the disciples to the consistent revelations of Jesus concerning his resurrection. He had great difficulty convincing them that he was going to die in the first place. It was only as they saw the opposition closing in on him that they realized his words were true. But even then none of them seemed to grasp that every time he mentioned his death he also added that he would rise again on the third day. But Mary was just like us! Have you ever found yourself in a distressing circumstance, when the sky seemed to come crashing down on you, and Christian that you are, you immediately forgot all the promises of God? You felt sorry for yourself, you became anxious and upset. I have. We so quickly forget the promises of God. ILLUS. Martin Luther once spent three days in a black depression over something that had gone wrong. On the third day his wife came downstairs dressed in mourning clothes. "Who's dead?" he asked her. "God," she replied. Luther rebuked her, saying, "What do you mean, God is dead? God cannot die." "Well," she replied, "the way you've been acting I was sure He had!" Many of us have been caught in that trap. This is also what had happened to Mary. But Jesus has to speak but one word to her to open her eyes. With indescribable tenderness he simply uttered her name -- not Mary, which is what the account here says, but "Miriam," as he reverted to their native Aramaic. Mary instantly recognized his voice, just as any one of us would recognize a loved one's voice on the telephone. Responding in Aramaic, Mary flung herself at his feet and cried, "Rabboni!" (which means "Teacher"). She seized him by the feet and began to weep tears of joy. According to the account, Jesus gently disengaged himself, saying, "Don't cling to me now" (that is a better translation) "for I have not yet ascended unto my Father." Much theological guesswork has gone into what Jesus meant by this. Some have even suggested that before he made an appearance to anyone else he ascended to the Father at this point and then came back again. That is pure speculation. There is nothing to substantiate that. We know from the other Gospels that forty days would elapse before he ascended to the Father. He would appear several times to the disciples in Jerusalem -- that afternoon to two on the road to Emmaus, that evening in a secluded room to all of the eleven except Thomas. He appeared to Peter several times. He appeared to all of them seventy miles away at the Lake of Galilee. Over five hundred of the brethren saw him on the mountainside there. After the disciples had returned to

8 Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives forty days after his resurrection, they saw Jesus ascend up into the heavens until a cloud received him out of their sight. It was then he "ascended to the Father." What does Jesus mean in these words to Mary? "Don't cling to me now, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and their Father, to my God and their God." Many have noted that he makes a clear distinction between his relationship to the Father and theirs. Neither they, nor we, can say, "My Father" as he could say, "My Father." Neither they, nor we, could say, "My God" as he could say, "My God." Yet it was the same God and the same Father. His relationship as Son is different from our relationship as sons, for he was a Son by nature, but we by adoption. Mary left and told the others Mary s meeting with Christ made her a missionary! Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things unto her John 20:18. As by a woman came the first message of death, so by a woman came also the first notice of the resurrection from the dead. And the place also fits well, for in a garden they came, both (Bishop Andrews). Observe that Mary told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, not simply Jesus! Mark records the immediate effect of her message: She went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not Mark 16:10,11. What a tragic forecast of the general reception which the Christian evangelist meets with! How few he finds that promptly receive the glad tidings of which he is the bearer! Often the ones he deems most likely to welcome the good news, are the very ones whose unbelief will be the most outspoken.