The Man Who Buried Jesus

Introduction

Good morning. So good to see you this morning. It is good to be together. I invite you to take your Bible out, please, and turn over into the Gospel of Mark, Mark the 15th chapter, Mark chapter 15. It is good for us to be together to worship God on this Lord’s day. It’s good to be with my South Bumby Church family, and it is good to have so many guests here in our crowd. I appreciate this opportunity that I’ve been given to stand before you and lead in a study from the Word of God. And I want to go ahead and jump right into that study by reading some verses to you from Mark the 15th chapter. I believe these verses will set up everything I want to talk about in the study from God’s Word.

And so in Mark the 15th chapter, and in verse number 42 and verse 42, it says this, when evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. And he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate wondered if he was dead by this time. And summoning the centurion, he questioned as to whether he was already dead.

Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joseph, were looking on to see where he was laid. As you allow those verses to kind of just linger in your mind for just a moment. Let me begin by pointing out something that is obvious. Brothers and sisters, obviously, in addition to today being first and foremost a day of worship and the Lord’s day, you and I both know that today is also recognized in our culture and society as Easter Sunday. Today is also a day when billions of people across the globe are thinking about the same thing, right? They’re thinking about the resurrection. They’re thinking about the empty tomb. They’re celebrating that faithful Sunday morning, 2,000 years ago, when angels announced that Jesus is not in this tomb because he has been raised.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is what the majority of religious folks are thinking about today. And I understand, and I hope you do as well, that the holiday of Easter is not recognized in the scriptures.

In fact, in the Bible, what do we find? Well, we find the New Testament church observing and treating every Sunday as special. In the Bible, the early Christians, every Sunday came together to eat the Lord’s Supper and to remember and celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the Bible, the early Christians did that every single Lord’s day. And we do that here. We do that at South Bumby. Here at South Bumby Church of Christ, like the early church, we don’t treat any Sunday as more special than any other, but at the same time, I submit to you that since so many are thinking about this key foundation stone of our faith, which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I believe that it is timely and appropriate for us to do the same.

There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing ungodly about that. There’s nothing sinful about that. There’s nothing sinful with us being timely and taking advantage of an opportunity to talk about the key moment that validated our faith and Jesus as the Son of God. In fact, I want to suggest that before that critical moment could happen, what we just read about in these verses had to first happen. You see, before Jesus can come out of the tomb, on that faithful Sunday morning 2,000 years ago, he first had to be buried in it. He first had to be placed in the tomb in order for the tomb to be found empty. And the question is, who’s responsible for that? Who’s responsible for taking the body of Jesus? Who’s responsible for burying his body in a tomb?

Who’s responsible for fulfilling the prophecy that we just read in Isaiah 53 and verse 9? Well, according to what we just read here in the Bible, the person responsible for that was a man named Joseph. It was a man named Joseph of Arimathea. Who in the world was Joseph of Arimathea? Well, Joseph of Arimathea is not one of the more well-known followers of Jesus Christ that we can read about in the Bible.

And yet, what he does here is mentioned in all four Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and it served an important role in the plan of God. What Joseph does here actually fulfills Old Testament prophecies. Like we just read in Isaiah chapter 53. This man, Joseph of Arimathea, is the man that God providentially used to bury the body of Jesus. And the question is, what can we learn from him? What can we learn from this guy? What can we learn about discipleship and what it takes to follow Jesus when we study about the man who actually buried the body of Jesus? Well, I submit to you this morning that there are at least four lessons. There are at least four lessons that we learn about discipleship and following Jesus when we study very carefully what the Holy Spirit has revealed to us about the man who buried the body of Jesus.

1. Discipleship Often Involves Having Courage

And the first lesson we learn from him about discipleship is number one, we learn from this man that discipleship often involves having courage. It often involves having incredible courage. We see that when we go back to verse number 43. Go back to verse 43 in Mark chapter 15, please.

And in verse number 43, it says, Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the council who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, and he gathered up what? He gather up courage. And he went in before Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Notice how before going to Pontius Pilate and asking for the body of Jesus so he could bury Jesus’ body, the Bible says he first gathered up courage.

That word courage that is used there in the text is a word that means to be bold. It means to take a risk, it means to act even in the midst of fear and danger in some place in the New Testament. It is a word that is even translated as dared. He dared to do this. For example, in Mark, the 12th chapter. In Mark the 12th chapter and in verse number 34. After a scribe correctly says that the greatest commandment in the law is to love God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength. And the second commandment is equal to it. It’s like it. That is, you love your neighbor as yourself. The Bible says in Mark 12 and verse 34. Now when Jesus saw that he, the scribe, had answered wisely, he said to him, You’re not far from the kingdom of God, but after that, no one dared question him.

That word dared that is used there is the same word for courage. It’s used in Mark chapter 15, verse 43. No one dared to question Jesus anymore on this occasion. No one had the courage to question him anymore after this. You put that what you find in Romans the fifth chapter. In Romans chapter 5 and verse number 6, the apostle Paul says, For while we were still helpless at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly, for one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man, someone would dare even to die. The word dare that is used there. It’s the same word for courage that’s used in Mark chapter 15 and in verse number 43. Before going to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, Joseph dared to do that.

Joseph had to get some courage to do that. And the question is, why? Why? Why did going to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body involve having courage? Well, think about what he’s doing here. Think about it. Joseph is going to a Roman governor and requesting the body of someone who has been executed by the empire. He is requesting the body of someone who has experienced the death of a rebel and a terrorist. He’s requesting the body of somebody who is viewed as a criminal and who has just been made an example of by the government. By asking for Jesus’ body, you know what he’s saying? Hey, Pilate, I’m with him. I’m with that guy. I’m affiliated with somebody who has been crucified by the government, and I want to bury him with honor.

It took a lot of courage to go to Pilate and ask for that body. It took a lot of courage to admit to Pilate that he’s associated with Jesus, a man who has been crucified by the government. But not only did that involve courage, so did also exposing himself to what the text tells us he was part of in verse 43 again. Go back to verse number 43 of Mark 15, because what does it say? Mark 15, 43, Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the what? Council. A prominent member of the council who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. The Bible says that, in addition to being from Arimathea, and to this day, scholars still can’t all agree where Arimathea was at this time.

But in addition to being from Arimathea, the scripture says he’s also part of the council. The council the Bible is speaking of there is the Sanhedrin council. It is the highest court among the Jewish people. It is the same court that engineered and orchestrated the death of Jesus Christ. Joseph was part of that. He’s part of the council. And maybe that’s why John tells us in his parallel account, and John chapter 19 and verse 38 that he was a secret disciple. In John 19 and verse 38, John says that Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple, but a secret one for fear of the Jews.

He definitely doesn’t want the Sanhedrin to know about it, since the vast majority of them hated Jesus and despised Jesus and orchestrated the death of Jesus. Joseph decided to keep his belief in Jesus a secret until this moment. Until this moment, when he asked to bury the body of Jesus. You see, by asking to bury the body of Jesus, what Joseph is doing is he’s putting himself out there.

He’s exposing himself to the Sanhedrin. He’s exposing the fact that even though most of them hated him and despised him and wanted him gone, he believed in him. He wanted to honor him. He did not agree with what they had done to him. Joseph had to have incredible courage at this point in his life. And the question is, what about me? What about you? What about us? Do we need right now in our lives to do like Joseph? Like Joseph did on this occasion. Do we right now need to come out of the shadows? Do we right now need to stop being afraid and timid? Do we right now need to stop being secret disciples and gain the courage to boldly tell people around us, I’m with Jesus.

I stand with Jesus. I’m loyal to Jesus. I love Jesus. I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ. Do we need to gain the courage to make that statement? Do we need to gain the courage to make that statement by standing out? By sticking out and shining and being unique and different from other people by telling somebody, I would appreciate if you didn’t curse and tell those kind of jokes around me because I’m a Christian. Or I can’t lie on that company report because I’m a Christian. Or I can’t let you cheat off my homework or let you cheat off my test because I’m a Christian. Or I can’t support a homosexual or transgender lifestyle because I’m a Christian. Or I can’t go fishing with you this Sunday morning.

Or I can’t go hiking with you or bike riding with you, or I can’t be in that sports tournament, no matter how important it is to the team and the coach, because I’m going to church. I’m going to worship the Lord. I’m going to give God what He is due and put Him first. Do we need to gain the courage to tell people that? Do we need to gain the courage to tell that boyfriend or that girlfriend no whenever they start pressuring us to have sex? Or to gain the courage to say no whenever we’re pressured to drink or get high or lie to our parents or bully and make fun of other people. Do we need to gain the courage in those moments in our lives to tell people I stand with Jesus?

2. Discipleship Involves a Willingness to Sacrifice

I’m with Jesus. I care more about what Jesus thinks of me than what you think of me. Joseph had that kind of courage. He teaches us that discipleship involves and having incredible courage to serve Jesus, but not only does he teach us the need to have courage. A second lesson we learn about discipleship from Joseph is discipleship also involves having a willingness to sacrifice. We got to sacrifice to follow Jesus. And the case of Joseph, in addition to him probably having to sacrifice his position on the Sanhedrin Council after this moment, look at what the Bible says again, going back to Mark 15, verse 46. Mark 15, 46 says this. Listen to what the details are in the text. Because it says Joseph bought a linen cloth, took him down, wrapped him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which he had hewn out in the rock, and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

Now I want you to put that with what Luke tells us in his parallel account. And Luke chapter 23, please. In Luke chapter 23, and in verse number 53. In Luke chapter 23, and in verse number 53. We’re talking about Joseph, what he does at this time. It says, and he took it down. He took down the body of Jesus and wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid him in a tomb cut into the rock where no one had ever lain. Look at what Joseph is doing here on this occasion. I’m going to suggest that what you read there in those verses required sacrifice.

It actually cost him a lot of money. You see, it would have been very expensive for Joseph to do what he is doing here. Why do I say that? Well, I say that because in Matthew’s parallel account of this, and Matthew chapter 27 and in verse number 57, Matthew tells us that in addition to being on the Sanhedrin Council, Joseph was also wealthy. He was a wealthy man. Some translations render that that he was a rich man, and notice how he had a tomb that is cut into a rock, which means that he likely hired some guys to do this work. This is a professional job. He has hired people to cut the rocks and line things up and make this burial place exactly the way he wants it to be.

And the question is, why? Why in the world does he even have his tomb? Well, why in the world does a God from Arimathea have a tomb in Jerusalem? Well, the likely answer to that question is while Joseph is from Arimathea, since he is on the Sanhedrin Council, he has moved to Jerusalem, and the tomb that has been constructed was for him. This is his tomb. This is where he’s going to be laid to rest. This is the place where he is one day going to be buried. And you know what that means? That means he was willing to give up his tomb to bury Jesus. He sacrificed his own tomb to bury the Lord. And that reminds me of something we read about in Mark chapter 14, the first few verses of that chapter.

If you remember in the first nine verses of Mark 14, we read about what happened on the Saturday prior to Jesus’ crucifixion. We read about this moment when a woman named Mary, this is Mary, we learned that in John’s gospel, who’s the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and she breaks open a bottle of very expensive perfume. The average Jew at this time would have taken years to be able to purchase this kind of perfume. She breaks it open and she pours it all over Jesus. She pours it all over him to anoint his body for burial. She sacrificed something very costly to honor the Lord, and the Lord was pleased with that. The Lord actually praised her for doing that. He stood up for her when the apostles were mocking her for doing that.

He even said that he wanted her actions to always be remembered in the preaching of the gospel. Both Joseph and Mary sacrifice something costly to honor the Lord. And the question is what about me? What about you? What about us? Are we willing to do that? Are we willing to sacrifice something costly to serve and honor the Lord? Are we willing to do that when it comes to our money? Are we willing to do that when it comes to being generous and rich in good works with our money, as the Bible commands us to do in 1 Timothy 6 and verse 18? Are we willing to sacrifice our money to honor the Lord? Are we willing to sacrifice our precious time? Are we willing to sacrifice our time to visit disciples of Jesus who are sick and shut in?

Or to pray with them whenever we find out that they’re struggling both physically and spiritually, or to sit with them in a hospital waiting room while someone they love has a surgery, or by providing them some company, especially when it comes to widows, or by offering to have some Bible studies with someone who’s newly converted, or we’re we willing to sacrifice our time to serve God and serve God’s people? And are we willing to are we willing to sacrifice our talents? Are we willing to step out of our comfort zones and try something new in the service of God? Try to teach a class for the first time. Try to give a Wednesday night talk for the first time. Try to get to know and build some relationships with people in the church who are not in my little circle.

Are we willing to sacrifice our talents and our abilities to honor the Lord? And are we willing to sacrifice our pride? Are we willing to sacrifice our pride to obey Jesus? Are we willing to sacrifice our pride to do what Jesus says in Matthew 18 to verse 22 and forgive somebody? Are we willing to sacrifice our pride to love and to do good to all people? Are we willing to sacrifice our pride to admit that we don’t know it all? And we still have a lot to learn, and we still have room to grow and mature and become more like Jesus every single day.

3. Following Jesus Involves Having an Honest Heart

And we gotta be willing to sacrifice things that are costly to follow the Lord, but let’s add to the list by saying that in addition to those things, Joseph also teaches us that following Jesus involves having an honest heart. Having an honest heart.

Look back at Luke 23, verse 50, please. In Luke 23, verse 50, again, it says this. And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man. He had not consented to their plan and action. A man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Do you see that first part of verse number 51? I want you to notice that. He had not consented to their plan and action. That language is critical. That is critical language in the text because it tells us that Joseph was different than almost everybody else on the council. It tells us that he had a different kind of heart and a different kind of perception of Jesus, unlike the vast majority of these people on this highly esteemed council.

Joseph knew that what they had done to Jesus was wrong. He knew it was wrong. He wasn’t stubborn. He didn’t have a hard heart. He didn’t flat out reject Jesus despite all the evidence in front of him. He didn’t see Jesus cast demons out of people and then turn around and say, Well, yeah, he did that, but by the power of the devil. He didn’t do that. He wasn’t at the cross mocking Jesus and cheering on his crucifixion and saying, Well, well, if you just come down from the cross, I’ll believe you. Joseph didn’t have a heart like that. He didn’t have a heart that was cold and full of pride and was hard and stubborn. Instead, this man had a heart that was honest. It was humble.

It was convicted by the evidence provided by Jesus, so much so that when he saw the Lord’s body on the cross, he said, I gotta do something about that. I can’t just let it be there. I gotta take it. I gotta give my tomb up to bury him. I have to finally stop hiding my faith and do something to show disapproval of this injustice. That’s the kind of heart that man had. And the question is, what about me? What about us? What kind of hearts do we have this morning? Do we have honest hearts? Do we have honest hearts towards Jesus and the evidence that he has provided to be the Son of God? Do we have honest hearts when it comes to the Bible? Whenever we learn something in the Bible that we’re doing wrong or that we should be doing to glorify God, do we have an attitude that immediately says, I’m changing?

I’m turning.

Like in the case of Aquila and Priscilla and what they did for Apollos. If a brother or sister has enough love to pull me aside and point out some area of my life that is out of bounds and not in line with the word of God, am I immediately argumentative? Am I immediately aggressive and quick to defend my actions? Or like Apollos did, do I respond with humility? Do I say, you know what? That is wrong. I’ll change. I’ll repent. Thank you for coming to me and caring about my soul enough to help me. Do I have that kind of heart when somebody comes to me in love to help me get on the right track spiritually? And what about when it comes to the cross, the cross of Jesus?

Like Joseph as a disciple, is my heart still able to be impacted by the cross? Can I still see the cross in my mind? Can I still be touched by the cross? If I’m being a secret disciple on my job or at school or with my community or with my family, is the cross still able to move me to be open about my desire to be faithful and loyal to Jesus.

4. Discipleship Involves Seizing Opportunities to Serve Jesus

And then forth and finally, Joseph also teaches us that discipleship involves season opportunities. Season opportunities to step up and serve Jesus. In the case of Joseph, he was presented with an amazing opportunity to honor Jesus, right? He was presented with an amazing opportunity to honor Jesus in a way that other people could not. I mean, he was rich. Not all Jews were rich at this time. He was in Jerusalem at the time of his crucifixion. Not all Jews were in Jerusalem at the time of the crucifixion. He owned a tomb that wasn’t far from the cross. Not everybody had that. He had position and status and access to Pilate. And he could personally request his body. But everybody had those privileges.

And you know what? Throughout the Bible, do we not find so many followers of God doing the same thing? I mean, think about it. Throughout the Bible, we find people like Nehemiah. And people like Esther and Daniel and David and Moses and Joshua and Rahab, who were all in these unique positions to do something good in the cause of God, and they seized those moments. They took advantage of those moments. The question is, will I do the same? Will you do the same? Will we also seize the moments that God gives us to serve him and to serve his people and to bring him glory? Will we do that whenever one of our shepherds asks us to teach a Bible class?

Will we do that whenever we can use the car God bless us with? To pick up a disciple who needs a ride to the worship assembly? Will we do that with the homes God bless us with to practice hospitality? Or with the life experience and the wisdom we have right now to help somebody younger than us, or whenever someone in our little circle of life shows some interest in the gospel and we have the opportunity to teach them. Or whenever we learn of somebody in this church who needs meals, or someone to sit with them and pray with them, or maybe we just notice somebody here who needs some encouragement, Joseph. He saw Jesus’ body on that cross, and he sees the moment.

Conclusion

Just ask the Bible promised. Three days later, he was seen alive by all kinds of eyewitnesses, and that proved him once and for all to be the Son of God and the Christ. The question is, do you need to come to him this morning? This morning we have talked about the most important thing that we could ever talk about from this pulpit. And that is the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus. Paul says that in 1 Corinthians 15. There’s nothing more important that we could ever talk about from this pulpit than that. And if there’s someone here this morning who needs to respond to that, maybe for the first time, through faith and repentance and baptism for remission of sins, we’ll be happy to baptize you this morning, to bury you with Christ through baptism so you can be raised to walk in newness of life.

Or if there’s someone here this morning who needs to repent and come back to the Lord because you’ve wandered away from him. If there’s anyone here who needs to come to Jesus, the risen Savior, come at this time as we stand and we sing together.