|
|
Making Sure Jesus Stayed Buried
by Ray Russ
Scripture: Matthew 27:62-66
Introduction:
(1) I begin this morning by asking an important question. Why is the burial of
Christ so important?
Now I ask that question for sometimes the burial of Christ, which is sandwiched
in between two great truths of the death and resurrection of Christ in the
Gospel, is left out or not that important or not that interesting in the minds
of some people.
Yet the N.T. stresses the importance of the burial of Christ by occupying a
significant amount of space in the n.t.
Eleven verses in Matthew, six in Mark, six in Luke, five in John and it is
mentioned in Romans 6:4, I Corinthians 15:4 and Colossians 2:12 by being buried
with Christ in baptism.
So there are at least 31 verses in the NT that deal with this subject.
(2) And there are at least four reasons why, I can think of, that the burial of
Christ is important.
No. 1: The burial proves that Jesus was dead.
For if Jesus had not been buried after the centurion had certified to Pilate
that Jesus was truly dead, along with other witnesses, and that his body was
placed into a new tomb sealed with a large stone.
Then it would have been possible for skeptics to argue that Jesus had not really
died.
Perhaps he only seemed to die, perhaps he swooned and was somehow able to revive
and convince his followers that he had triumphed over death.
(3) And some 19th century rationalists were foolish enough to suggest that.
But a resuscitation such as that would have been impossible in view of the
burial and the way it was accomplished after a horrific death by crucifixion.
So the burial of Jesus assures us that Jesus was really dead and that his
resurrection was a true resurrection.
No. 2: The details of the burial of Christ fulfilled scripture.
And one of the passages I talked about last Sunday that jumps out on this point
is Isaiah 53:9 where it says: (read it).
(4) And with "the rich in his death" makes reference to Matthew 27:57, where
Joseph of Arimathea is called a rich man, and Joseph would use his new tomb to
bury Jesus in, probably was fulfilled.
No. 3: The burial of Jesus has theological significance.
For in Romans 6:4, Paul speaks of Christians being buried with Jesus in his
death, just as they are raised with him in his resurrection.
And Paul does this while discussing the Christians' life, explaining why
believers cannot continue in sin.
James Boice said, you not only have died to sin, you have been buried to it. And
to go back to sin once you have been joined to Christ is like digging up a dead
body.
(5) Beloved, we have died with Christ, have been buried with Christ, and raised
to walk in newness of life.
Our old man had died and been buried. Live out what you are now in Christ, not
who you were, don't dig up that old dead man! You're alive now and made new,
able not to sin as Augustine said.
And that is a wonderful theological practical truth.
But there is one more reason in my mind why the burial of Christ is important.
And here it is:
No. 4 – the burial of Christ exalts the absolute sovereignty of God and his
providential work.
And I talked about this a lot last Sunday as we studied Matthew 27:57-61, and I
don't have time to go over that again a lot.
(6) But, God's amazing providential work is clearly evident in the burial of
Christ through Pilate, the Jewish leader, through Joseph of Arimathea and
Nicodemus.
And I talked about how these men freely did what they did, fulfilling God's
purposes in what he had ordained.
Communicating that what God has ordained in eternity, man will freely choose in
time.
Providence refers to God's independent superintendency of the universe through
the operation of normal and natural processes and happenings, taking them and
orchestrating them, and directing them to accomplish his predetermined will.
And, of course, in doing that God uses what he even hates, sin, to accomplish
his purposes, for God is not the author of sin.
(7) As Puritan Thomas Watson said, "God always has a hand in the action where
the sin is, but he never has a hand in the sin of the action."
So it does not matter what happened, where it happened, when it happened, or to
whom it happened.
If it happened, then God had a hand in it; he controlled it.
However, he is not guilty of the sin or hatred in the hearts of men that caused
the sin in the situation, and you can apply that to what is going on in Iraq
today and everywhere.
God is in ultimate control and works providentially in the world to accomplish
his ultimate purposes.
(8) And we will see this again in our study today.
For unwittingly and certainly unintentionally, Pilate, the chief priests and the
Pharisees, who hated Jesus will be used providentially by God to make sure and
give testimony that Jesus was truly dead and that his disciples could not have
stolen his body to fake his resurrection.
The evidence will be Jesus was truly dead, his tomb was sealed, a Roman watch
was guarding it, so the only explanation for an empty tomb is the victorious
resurrection of Christ!
In light of that, I've titled the message today "
And the Jews providentially did everything they could to keep Jesus in the tomb.
(9) And we'll look at 3 points under this theme,
no. 1 the problem the Jews had and their fears, vv. 62&63;
And with those 3 points to hang your thoughts on, look at v. 62 where we'll
start to see our first point today, the problem. Look at Matthew 27:62 please.
I. The problem, (read v. 62)
A. Now the first phrase in v. 62, "on the next day" refers to the Sabbath.
And this is confirmed by the next phrase in v. 62 "which is the one after the
preparation."
For the day of preparation refers to Friday, the day before the Sabbath, the day
things were prepared for the Sabbath.
For even food preparation had to be done the day before the Sabbath in order not
to work on the Sabbath.
In fact, if you recall when the Lord provided manna for the children of Israel
in the wilderness, he gave a double portion on Friday in order that no
collection of it would have to be made on the Sabbath.
1. So preparation day was the day before the Sabbath, a day to prepare for the
Sabbath because no work was allowed from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday.
And one other note here. This Sabbath was no ordinary Sabbath, but was Passover
Sabbath and therefore a high holy day according to john 19:31- "a high day".
So the events in our text today take place on the Sabbath, most likely first
thing on the Sabbath after sundown.
Now on this high Sabbath the chief priests and Pharisees gather together with
Pilate.
And this meeting is very unusual for these religious leaders meet with a pagan,
a secular ruler on their Sabbath, and even more unusual on a high Sabbath.
2. And this was an unholy thing to do from their tradition. For these religious
hypocrites break their own strict Sabbath observance meeting with this pagan on
their holy day.
But their hatred of Jesus had not died, so a Sabbath infraction and defilement
for their wicked purposes did not matter.
The end justified the means, and obviously they were pragmatists when it came to
this. For in their minds, there was a big problem which must have caused much
fear and concern for them. Look at v. 63 please.
B. Read v. 63. Now as these religious leaders are meeting with Pilate, they
address him with respect even though they hated him, for you see they have to
set aside their hatred for the Roman govt. And their authorities to try to get
what they want.
Remember they are pragmatists at this time. They are manipulating. The end
justifies the means to get their way, so they address Pilate as "sir" normally
translated lord, the Greek word koo-rer-os, a title of respect.
But notice, in contrast, their hatred for Jesus cannot be hid, for they cannot
even utter his name referring to him only as that deceiver.
It is the Greek word plan-os which you can see on the screen, from which we get
our English word planet.
And it literally means: wandering, roving – as a planet moves in its orbit, but
also it means misleading, leading into error, a vagabond who is on the move like
a planet, but also a tramp, an impostor, a corrupter.
1. So it's not a nice word to be used for Jesus but they hate him.
And these religious leaders have a good memory, much better than the disciples.
For these chief priests and Pharisees remember that when Jesus was still alive,
he said he was going to rise from the dead after 3 days.
And Jesus communicated this to them in Matthew 12:38-40 as they were asking for
a sign from him, it says: (read vv. 38&39).
Matthew 12:40 – "for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly
of the sea-monster; so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in
the heart of the earth."
Now the irony here is the chief priests and Pharisees knew that Jesus said he
was going to rise from the dead, they remembered that from Matthew 12 or
possibly with conversation with Judas Iscariot who possibly told them.
2. But regardless of the way they remembered, they remembered and the disciples
didn't!
The disciples did not get it. For on several occasions, Jesus had told them
privately about his suffering, death and resurrection in Matthew 16:21, 17:23
and 20:19.
But for them it didn't connect. They could not understand how their messiah
could be crucified. So they are in shock and in fear, and they are not thinking
about resurrection.
But the chief priests and Pharisees are, and their fear, their problem with this
is they needed to do something about it.
So they come up with a plan and that plan is talked about beginning in v. 64,
which is our second point today, look at v. 64 please.
II. The plan, (read v. 64)
A. Now the plan of the Chief Priests and Pharisees communicated to Pilate is
secure the grave of Jesus until the third day.
For their fear that was brought forth to Pilate was, that Christ's disciples
would come and steal the body of Jesus and perpetuate the lie, the deception,
that Jesus was the Messiah.
And this word translated deception in the NAS, NIV and NKJV and error in the KJV
is from the same Greek word that deceiving is from in v. 63.
It is the Greek word plan-ay which you can see on the screen with its meanings.
So these religious leaders are very concerned about quote the people being
deceived by this deceiver Jesus, this fraud Jesus who is in error.
1. And the last error, the error that Jesus arose from the dead would be greater
than the first error, that Jesus was the Messiah, the King of the Jews.
For the last error, the resurrection from the dead, would confirm the first
error that he was the Messiah. The second error would be evidence that Jesus was
the Messiah, and they could not allow that to happen.
So the grave must be made secure until the third day when the threat is over.
And for that to happen, Pilate has to give the order for it to happen, he's in
the seat of authority and he gives that order, look at v. 65 please.
B. Read v. 65. Now the phrase, "you have a guard" can be translated, "take a
guard" as it is translated in the NIV.
In other words, this phrase can be translated in the imperative mood, a command.
Take a guard with you to secure the tomb, or it can be translated in the
indicative mood meaning it is a simple statement of fact.
Meaning, you already have a guard of soldiers referring to their own temple
guard, the temple police and did not need his troops.
But regardless if this is imperative or indicative, they will have a guard of
soldiers to guard the tomb of Jesus.
And a Roman Guard of Soldiers was made up of four to sixteen men.
1. And I lean towards the imperative mood meaning in the verb here meaning, take
a Roman guard.
For only a Roman guard in my mind could put up a Roman seal which we'll talk
about in v. 66.
But more important, in Matthew 28, these guards come to report to the chief
priests – yes, but they give them hush money to keep quiet about the events of
Jesus' resurrection.
And in Matthew 28:14, the chief priests tell these guards if it comes to the
attention of the governor, Pilate, they will take care of things with him, for
their punishment could be death as Roman soldiers.
And this would not apply to the temple guard of police, they wouldn't have to be
afraid, for they were not under the authority of the governor but under the high
priest.
2. So it appears to me that Pilate sends a Roman guard of 4 to 16 men to make
the tomb as secure as is possible.
And that's exactly what they will do, they prepare the tomb so no one can get
in, which is our third and last point today, the preparation. Look at v. 66
please.
III. The Preparation, (read v. 66)
A. Now the Roman soldiers and the chief priests and Pharisees go to the grave of
Jesus and made the grave as secure as possible. They prepare the tomb so no one
can get in.
And along with the guard, the chief priests and Pharisees set a seal on the
stone of the tomb.
Now a seal was a chord drawn across the stone that blocked the entrance into the
tomb, which was fastened by seals to the walls on the sides of the tomb.
So this chord is stretched across the tomb that is sealed on each side with wax
on either side, stamped with the seal of the Roman govt. That this is sealed by
the authority of the Roman govt. Don't touch this stone, don't move this stone.
And if the stone would be moved, the chord would move and break the seal. And
breaking a Roman seal could bring severe consequences.
1. So a Roman guard will guard the tomb, and a Roman seal is set over the stone
to the only entrance to the tomb.
They took all the precautions they could take, any tampering would be made
obvious by their preparations.
The tomb was secure, no one could get in.
And in wrap up and in application of our text today (1) I'm sure the Jewish
rulers went home that day satisfied that they had made the tomb impenetrable.
Out of their hatred for Jesus, they were not going to allow the deception that
he was the Messiah to go on any further, so they shut down the possibility for
any to come and steal the body of Jesus.
But God causes even the wrath of man to praise him. What they meant for evil,
God providentially will use for good.
For only one thing had the chief priests and Pharisees made sure.
They made "sure" one of the strongest proofs of our lord's resurrection from the
dead.
(2) These evil men were used providentially to serve God's purposes, to show
that only the impossible happened. They, by their own evil desires, were used by
God to give evidence that only something supernatural could have taken place at
Jesus' tomb, that Jesus rose from the dead.
Beloved, the purpose of the Jewish leaders and of Pilate was to prevent a hoax.
But the Lord's purpose was to take even their unbelieving antagonism and use it
to prove the reality of Christ's resurrection and messiahship.
For even Jesus' enemies helped assure that, in order for his resurrection to be
genuine, he would have to be supernaturally raised.
And those remarkable truths of God's providential work should deepen the
Christian's appreciation of Paul's declaration in Romans 8:28 (read it).
(3) And beloved when we cannot see why we are going through trouble and
conflicts, we need to hold on to the certainty that God's sovereign,
providential power uses every circumstance and happening in the universe for his
glory and our good.
And rest in that in these uncertain, anxious, fearful days that we are living in
with war, terrorism, crime and new diseases and outbreaks that we cannot
control.
Let the absolute sovereignty of God and his providential work be an anchor to
your soul, a comfort when you're hurting, may it bring you peace when you are
afraid, and may it bring calm in the midst of the storm.
I close with two quotes from the prince of preachers, the late Charles Haddon
Spurgeon.
Spurgeon said: "the keys of providence swing at the girdle of Christ. Believe
it, Christian, nothing occurs here without the permit or decree of your savior."
(4) Then he said, "he that has gone to prepare for us by his presence has
prepared the way to that place for us by his providence."
And then finally Spurgeon said, "there is no attribute of God more comforting to
his children than the doctrine of divine sovereignty."
Beloved, may it be a comfort to us today, in the circumstances we are in or will
be in, in our world today and what is ahead.
Source: Faith Bible Church, www.faithbiblechurch.net
no. 2 the plan of the Jews to keep Jesus' body in the grave, vv. 64&65; and
no. 3 the preparation the Jews and Romans make in sealing the tomb of Jesus.
See Also:
Sermons Home | General Sermons and Essays | Articles | eBooks | Our Faith | Prayers | Library - Home | Baselios Church Home
-------
Malankara World
A service of St. Basil's Syriac Orthodox
Church, Ohio
Copyright © 2009-2020 - ICBS Group. All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer
Website designed, built, and hosted by
International Cyber Business Services, Inc., Hudson, Ohio
