The Gospel of John. Down From the Cross of Jesus John 19:31-42

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1 The Gospel of John Down From the Cross of Jesus John 19:31-42 The tomb of Jesus has become a sacred site, or what is believed to be the tomb. In fact there is currently work going on that site to restore it. While it is archaeologically impossible to say that the tomb recently uncovered in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the burial site of an individual Jew known as Jesus of Nazareth, there is indirect evidence to suggest that the identification of the site by representatives of the Roman emperor Constantine some 300 years later may be a reasonable one. The earliest accounts of Jesus' burial come from the Canonical Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament, which are believed to have been composed decades after Christ's crucifixion around A.D. 30. While there are variations in the details, the accounts consistently describe how Christ was buried in a rock-cut tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy Jewish follower of Jesus. 1 Of course keep in mind this account is coming from a secular source, National Geographic According to Christian tradition, the body of Jesus Christ was laid on a shelf or burial bed hewn from the side of a limestone cave following his crucifixion by the Romans in A.D. 30 or possibly 33. Christian belief says Christ was resurrected after death, and women who came to anoint his body three days after the burial reported that no remains were present. The exposure of the burial bed is giving researchers an unprecedented opportunity to study the original surface of what is considered the most sacred site in Christianity. An analysis of the original rock may enable them to better understand not only the original form of the tomb chamber, but also how it evolved as the focal point of veneration since it was first identified by Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, in A.D Which of course raises the question, why is the tomb so important when it is the risen Christ who should be venerated? But before we can get to an empty tomb we have to see it filled. IX Jesus Arrest, Trials and Crucifixion Chapters D. The Crucifixion 2. The Time on the Cross d. The Burial Verses i. The Proof of Death Verses ii. Joseph and Nicodemus Verses Introduction: Last time we ended with Christ s death. His empty body was now hanging dead on the cross. This was going to be a problem for the Jews. But it serves as great proof of the validity of Christ s death along with the resurrection which quickly followed. 1 Romney, Kristen, Exclusive: Christ's Burial Place Exposed for First Time in Centuries, news.nationalgeographic.com, 10/26/16

2 i. The Proof of Death: But first, let s talk about the Day of Preparation. The Archeological Study Bible states The day of Preparation was normally Friday, the day people prepared for the Sabbath. Here the meaning is Friday of Passover week. Special Sabbath refers to the Sabbath that fell at Passover time. The Passover meal had been eaten on Thursday evening, the day of Preparation was Friday and the Sabbath came on Saturday. 2 Due to the sacred aspect of this day it was vital that bodies be taken down off crosses. Since normally none of these individuals would be dead, they needed to be killed. Now stop and think about this for a minute. What s wrong with this picture? Here we have Jewish leaders concerned for ceremonial cleanliness having just misused the law in order to murder someone they wanted out of the way. There is no end to their hypocrisy. And the Lord said: Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men (Isaiah 29:13 ESV). So the powers that be went back to Pilate, this time asking that he d order the legs of the crucified to be broken. The reason for this was they would no longer be able to hold themselves up and consequently suffocate. Then the bodies could be removed. John records the breaking of the legs of the two thieves who would have died shortly after that. The doesn t mean there weren t others being executed but that s not the issue here. When they got to Jesus they were surprised to find he was already dead. Of course just to be on the safe side a solider pierced Jesus side. Once again I don t want to focus on the physicality but here the important point is the testimony of the soldier becomes one validation of Christ s death. Oh, and by the way, these verses reinforce John s presence right through to the removal of Christ s body from the cross. He makes it clear that He is an eyewitness to these events and explains they are a fulfillment of prophecy. To understand the fulfillments let s start by reminding us of who Christ is as it relates to His sacrifice and its timing. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29 ESV). Moses describes how the Passover lamb is to be treated. you shall not break any of its bones. They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it (Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12 ESV). So as the Passover Lamb s, Christ s, bones couldn t be broken. This in turn has been prophetically promised by the Psalmist when he wrote 2 Walton, John H. ed., Archaeological Study Bible, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 2005 ) 542 (

3 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken (Psalms 34:20 ESV). But John also notes this had to occur because in the future, still our future, the day will come when the nation will see Christ and know who He is. And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn (Zechariah 12:10 ESV). In the midst of the work of the incarnation John reminds us there is more to come, a second coming. I suspect John expected, as did all Jesus followers during this period, Jesus to return at anytime. But one can argue He did see Jesus return recorded in the Revelation. Even down to the littlest details everything was carried out according to God s will and as He foretold by His Spirit through His prophets and psalmists. Knowing all we know, how should this impact us on a practical basis? ii. Joseph and Nicodemus: Among the Sanhedrin were those who followed Jesus, though not openly. Though in the way the kangaroo court was handled maybe some were suspected. Two of these were Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. I ve already talked about Nicodemus. Like him we don t know much about Joseph either. The Bible Knowledge Commentary states he was rich (Matt. 27:57) and was waiting for the kingdom (Mark 15:43). (Arimathea was about 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem). Though a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council, he was a good and upright man who had not consented to their decision (Luke 23:50-51). 3 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 27:57 ESV). Joseph 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 (Luke 23:50 51 ESV). So Joseph was a secret follower of Jesus. The reason was fear, fear of the Jews and of Pilate. But when the time came to step up he did so. His focus moved from himself to His responsibility to Christ. His love overcame His fear. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18 ESV). When Joseph came out of the shadows he really did so. He went to Pilate to ask for Christ s body. This was as about as public as you could can get. Remember the Jewish leaders had just been to see Pilate and may well have still have been around. 3 Blum, Edwin A., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, John, Victor Books, Wheaton, IL, ) 543 (

4 The same thing can be said for Nicodemus as for Joseph. He too had been a follower of Christ but a secret one. In fact John parenthetically reminds us just who he is. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. (John 3:1 2 ESV). Now Nicodemus also gets involved with Jesus burial. While it doesn t appear that he went with Joseph to Pilate his help taking down Christ s body and making preparation for His burial would certainly have been public. As background I want to touch on the subject of Jewish burials. Again from the ASB In the New Testament era, the death of a relative required immediate attention, along with a period of mourning after burial. Because Jewish law prohibited dead bodies from remaining within the city walls of Jerusalem overnight, it was necessary to bury a corpse on the day of death. This tradition was practiced throughout Judea. Corpses were immediately washed, anointed with perfumes or oils and wrapped in linen. The linen was typically in strips, though there is evidence that some bodies were wrapped in single garments. The dead were carried to the place of burial on a bier (Lk 7:14), typically accompanied by a large procession. A eulogizer might have preceded the body, while dirge singers and pipers typically joined the mourners. Depending upon the degree of wealth of the deceased, the body was either laid in an earthen grave to be covered with dirt and stones or placed within a tomb hewn from rock. Such tombs were often, but not always, sealed with rocks or millstones. Interment often involved ossuaries, chests in which the bones of decayed corpses were collected and later reburied. After burial, mourning continued for seven days (though it could last up to 30 days), as the family and community participated with dirge singing, weeping, the application of dust or ashes upon the head and/or fasting. Within the context of such burial customs, Jesus words were radical; he insisted that pursuing and joining the advancing kingdom of God takes precedence even over family loyalty and social convention. 4 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, Young man, I say to you, arise. (Luke 7:14 ESV). The underlying issue beyond this account and the burial related activity is practical proof of Christ s death. These facts can be used to refute any attempt to say He didn t die on the cross as some cults, religions and liberals, claiming to be believers, state. And yes some try to use these facts to prove Jesus didn t die. The sad truth is those who want to reject truth will do so, regardless of the facts. John gives some very specific facts regarding the preparation of Jesus body including what spices were used and how much they weighed. The amounts used reflect Nicodemus wealth. So both he and Joseph were wealthy. The amount of the spices was unusually large. But they were brought to honor a king. And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth (Isaiah 53:9 ESV) 4 Walton ) 544 (

5 This whole process would have had to take place very quickly. The two men, more likely their servants, took the body off the cross, took it to the tomb, prepared it and sealed it in. The tomb itself wasn t average. It was craved specifically for Joseph. And somewhere in the immediate area of the Place of the Skull was a private garden in which it was located. 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. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning (John 19:41; Matthew 27:59 60; Luke 23:54 ESV). Again, everything we ve seem demonstrates just to what degree God was in charge of all aspect of these events. And so Conclusion: The most important truth in this section is Jesus was actually dead. If you had been there you could have smelled the spices. You could have seen the body laid within the tomb. You could have put your hand on the stone and felt its roughness and cold. Jesus was actually dead. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried (1 Corinthians 15:3 4 ESV). There is another truth here. One that is vital for today. There is a time when every believer must come out of the shadows and stand for Christ in a way that is incontrovertible. We are in a period of change within the nation. Some are fearful. Some are pleased. And some are simply waiting to see what s going to happen next. But the reality for the committed believer is, regardless of where society goes over the next years the world s hostility to Christianity is growing. Joseph and Nicodemus were afraid. They were afraid of the Jewish leadership with cause. They were afraid of Rome probably with cause. But when it was actually time to stand for their Lord they did so. And as wealthy members of the Sanhedrin they had a lot to lose. Standing for Christ and for biblical values has put believers all over the world in danger of losing everything including their lives. While their struggles are greater than ours now there is always risk of loss of one kind or another for committed believers. The question is, are we going to stay in the shadows or like Joseph, Nicodemus and Paul, whose defection to Christ s camp made him an even greater target, or step into the light and stand for Truth no matter the cost? For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith (Romans 1:16 17 ESV). ) 545 (

6 As it will become more difficult for believers in the future the time to prepare is now. If we can t stand for Christ today what makes us think we d be able to stand for Him in a more hostile future? We need to learn from the general ugliness we see around us. We must do all we can do as an example of who Christ is. This means we must be humble, gentle, loving, having compassion for the lost, even for those who stand against us. And to be His example we need to follow His example and the Spirit s leading. Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34 ESV). You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:43 44 ESV). Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment (Romans 13:1 2 ESV). We are to be the testimony to the world of what a person can be if they desire to live as Christ calls them to. In a world that lives in hatred and anger are we no different or can the world see Christ in us? A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34 35 ESV). ) 546 (

7 The Gospel of John Down From the Cross of Jesus John 19:31-42 IX Jesus Arrest, Trials and Crucifixion Chapters D. The Crucifixion 2. The Time on the Cross d. The Burial Verses i. The Proof of Death Verses ii. Joseph and Nicodemus Verses Introduction: i. The Proof of Death: (Isaiah 29:13; John 1:29; Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12; Psalms 34:20; Zechariah 12:10)

8 ii. Joseph and Nicodemus: (Matthew 27:57; Luke 23:50 51; 1 John 4:18; John 3:1 2; Luke 7:14; Isaiah 53:9; John 19:41; Matthew 27:59 60; Luke 23:54) Conclusion: (1 Corinthians 15:3 4; Romans 1:16 17; Luke 23:34; Matthew 5:43 44; Romans 13:1 2; John 13:34 35 ) Personal Application: Meditate this week on who God wants you to be in the midst of a fallen would and consider how you can live out His will for your life. Prayer for the Week: Lord may Your Spirit empower me to walk in Your ways. In Christ s name, amen