The Burial of Christ

 Temple Baptist Church - 11-20-2024

John 19:31-42

 

Introduction:

 

A.  Over the past few weeks, we have covered the death of Christ Jesus on the cross at Golgotha, the place of the skull.  I want to look at several things that are found in our text that are important to our understanding of what and why the importance of the entire gospel.

 

1 Corinthians 15:1-4  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;  (2)  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  (3)  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;  (4)  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

 

B.  The vast majority of preaching involves only the death and resurrection of Christ, leaving the burial to be “self-explanatory,” which it is not.  Thus, many major denominations follow the unbiblical teachings that evolve through ignorance, either natural or willful in nature.

 

C.  I want to look at the death and burial of Christ for a few minutes tonight.

 

1.  The death of Christ was a vicarious death.  “Vicarious” is a Latin word that expresses the fullness of what Christ accomplished on the cross.  The word “vicarious” is not found in the Bible but the principle is plainly found there. 

 

2.  The history of “vicarious.” The word “originally described something having the function of a substitute—that is, something that serves instead of another thing. 

 

3.  “Vicarious” comes from the Latin noun “vicis,” which means “change” or “stead.” “Vicis” is also the source of the English prefix vice- (as in “vice president”), meaning “one that takes the place of.”

 

4.  One of the synonyms for the word “vicarious” is “proxy.”  We looked at Pontius Pilate, Roman procurator of Judaea 26 A.D.–36 A.D.  “Procurator” means proxy as Pontius Pilate stood in Tiberius Caesar’s place of judgment in Judaea.

 

5.  Thus, the death of Christ was a substitutionary death as He took the place of the sinner on the cross.  Christ died in the place of everyone from Adam to the end of time as we know it.  He took their place, He took my place, He took your place.

 

1 Timothy 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

 

1 John 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

 

D.  Now, the importance of the burial of Christ.

 

1.  It was done in the right condition. 

 

a.  Not a bone was broken.  They normally brake the leg bones of the crucified so that they would die of suffocation.

            

1.  The Prophecy.

 

Psalms 22:20  Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.

 

Psalms 34:20  He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.

 

2.  The Performance.

 

John 19:31-33  The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.  (32)  Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.  (33)  But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:

 

John 19:33  But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:

 

  b.  His side was pierced. 

 

Zechariah 12:10  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

 

John 19:37  And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

 

2.  It was done at the right place.  In the “new sepulcher” of Joseph of Arimathea.

 

a.  The Prophecy.

 

Isaiah 53:9  And he made his grave with the wicked (sinful man), and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

 

b.  The Performance.

 

John 19:38  And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

 

John 19:41  Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.

 

  3.  It was done in the right manner.  He was buried. 

 

a.  The right Men.  Two secret disciples became bold ones while Christ’s bold disciples became “secret” ones.  As Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Christ until the cross, provided the sepulcher, Nicodemus, also a secret disciple of Christ provided the spices.  These two together were responsible for the manner of the Jews burial.

 

b.  The right Method.  Throughout the Bible, God’s people held the body of the deceased in high respect. 

 

John 19:39-40  And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.  (40)  Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

 

1)  Burial without embalming. 

 

Genesis 23:1-6  And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.  (2)  And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.  (3)  And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,  (4)  I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.  (5)  And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,  (6)  Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.

 

2)  Burial with embalming. 

 

Genesis 50:2  And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.

 

Genesis 50:26  So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

 

3)  A note on cremation.  The Bible only mentions cremation in one verse and called it a “transgression.”  Though there were four transgressions that Moab was punished for, only one is specifically mention, cremation.

 

Amos 2:1  Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

 

4.  It was done at the right time. 

 

a.  The Good Friday heresy.  The teaching of many in our day was that Christ was crucified around 6 PM on Friday, the preparation day for the weekly or normal Sabbath.  This time-frame is not according to the Scriptures.

 

From Friday evening at 6:00 PM until the resurrection, which took place prior to the light of day on the first day of the week, our Sunday, could have only been one day and one night or app, 36 hours.  This would make Jesus wrong in Matthew 12:40!

 

b.  Our Lord’s Prophecy was Right.  Our Lord said in Matthew 12:40, “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”  Three days and three nights requires a minimum of 72 hours.

 

c.  Our Lord’s Performance was Right.  Christ’s death on Wednesday evening at app. 6:00 PM is the right time.

 

1)  There were many Sabbaths given to the Jews as Feast Days were also called Sabbaths.  Jesus Christ did everything at the right time.  He died on the beginning of the Passover.  Now, you get the full 72 hours that Christ’s body lay in the grave.

 

John 19:31  The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 

 

2)  This particular Sabbath was “an high day” or Feast Day, the Passover. 

 

Exodus 12:13-14  And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.  (14)  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

 

3)  The Bible is clear that they crucified Christ on the “preparation day” or the day before the Sabbath.  They crucified Christ on the day before the Sabbath but He died at the beginning of the Sabbath, or Passover.  The Jewish day began at 6:00 in the Evening, not early in the morning.

 

Genesis 1:5  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

 

4)  Our Lord was crucified on the preparation day (Wednesday) of the Passover (Thursday).  Friday was the preparation day for the normal or weekly Sabbath (Saturday) and Christ resurrected very early in the morning of the First Day of the Week, or our Sunday.

 

Mark 16:1-2  And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.  (2)  And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

 

Conclusion:  Everything that Christ Jesus performed was Right!  And the Bible is in perfect agreement with what He did.

A Man Born Blind

 Temple Baptist Church - 5-31-2023

John 9:1-7

 

Introduction:

 

A.  Tonight, I want to look at another great miracle performed by our Lord just after the Pharisees took up stones to stone Him.  Nothing or nobody could deter Christ from the task before Him.

 

B.  The importance of both words and context is found in the verses that I just read.  Let us see what I mean by reading two verses together.

 

John 8:59-9:1  Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.  (9:1)  And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

 

1.  A Prepared Man. “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents”

 

2.  A Providential Meeting.  “but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”

 

John 9:2-3  And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?  (3)  Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

 

3.  A Proven Method.  This story will line up with the story of “The Woman at the Well”.

 

C.  These two verses are simultaneous.  Jesus immediately turned a bad event, the birth and life of a blind man, into a miraculous one!  This man no doubt was within hearing distance of the previous conversation because of his close proximity to what had gone on.

 

D.  I just make mention of this to show the love and compassion of Christ as we would have made haste to get away from the situation that He was in.  But, Christ, in His omniscience, both knew the blind man was there and foreknew that he would be there.

 

E.  This entire chapter deals with the healing and revealing of the man born blind.  I just want to key in on the miracle tonight.

 

F.  I find two things in the verses that we read, improbability and impossibility.

 

1.  Improbability – “a man”. 

 

a)  A man who had no hope of ever seeing.  This was not a child but a man who had been blind throughout his infancy, childhood, and manhood.  Never giving thought to being anything other than blind for as long as he lived. 

 

b)  We too often give up, having no hope of ever seeing things in our lives that we consider bad things going away or changing.  We become resigned to our fate.

 

2.  Impossibility – “blind from his birth”. 

 

a)  There had NEVER been a man, blind from birth, healed of his blindness.  His situation became accepted because there was neither cure nor hope.

 

b)  There are some things in life that we do not have the power to change and, therefore, we accept our predicament with both helplessness and hopelessness.

G.  In this chapter, we find that the Lord did the improbable and impossible!

 

John 9:6-7  When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,  (7)  And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

 

1.  This man was completely healed, in that, for the first time in his life, he could see clearly.  No need of rehab or glasses.

 

2.  This man was completely healed, in that, he understood everything that he saw.  A few people, in our day, can be surgically helped through retina transplantation, etc., but never having seen, must be told what their looking at is a tree or rose or the color red.

 

3.  This man both saw and understood what he was seeing without having to be told.

 

H.  Here is the message: never give up on the God of probability and possibility!  What the Lord did to this man born blind was both IMPROBABILITY and  IMPOSSIBILITY!  We serve the God of IMPOSSIBILITY.  What do you need today?  What have you been praying for?  How is your faith in IMPOSSIBILITY?  A “bridge too far”!

 

J.  “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” is the question asked.

 

1.  When we get tired, God says: Matthew 11:28-30  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  (29)  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  (30)  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

 

2.  When we think that nobody cares, God says: 1 Peter 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

 

3.  When we can’t go any farther, God says: Psalms 91:15-16  He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.  (16)  With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

 

4.  When we think that we cannot do it, God says: Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

 

5.  When we feel alone, God says: Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

 

6.  When we are afraid, God says: Hebrews 13:6  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

 

7.  When peace fails us, God says:  John 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

 

8.  In our IMPOSSIBILITIES, the God of ALL POSSIBILITY says: Psalms 121:1-8  I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  (2)  My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.  (3)  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.  (4)  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  (5)  The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.  (6)  The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.  (7)  The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.  (8)  The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Our Wonderful Lord’s Works

 Temple Baptist Church - 3-12-2023

Psalm 111

 

Introduction:

 

A.  What a wonderful Psalm that exalts the Lord for His wonderful works.  What a blessing to know the Creator of this universe, the Creator of mankind, the Saviour of the world.  What a blessing to know that, while we rest and sleep, He continues His work.

 

Psalms 121:1-4  A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  (2)  My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.  (3)  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.  (4)  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

 

B.  Psalm 111 is a Psalm of praise.  Praise rises out of thinkfulness and thankfulness.  I am thankful for the relationship that the Lord has allowed us to enter into.  I am His and He is mine!

 

C.  I want to break this Psalm down into its parts tonight and hope that it is a blessing to each of us.

 

1.  Verse 1.  Praise ye the Lord.  

 

a.  Personal Praise.

 

b.  Private Praise.

 

c.  Public Praise.

 

d.  Perpetual Praise.

 

2.  Verse 2.  Praise the Lord for His Performance. 

 

3.  Verse 3.  Praise the Lord for His Purity. 

 

4.  Verse 4.  Praise the Lord for His Pity.

 

5.  Verse 5.  Praise the Lord for His Provision.

 

6.  Verse 6.  Praise the Lord for His Power.

 

7.  Verse 7.  Praise the Lord for His Perfection.

 

8.  Verse 8.  Praise the Lord for His Person.

 

9.  Verse 9.  Praise the Lord for His Perfection.

 

10.  Verse 10.  Praise the Lord for His Permanence.

Emmanuel – God with Us - What Christmas Means To Me!

Temple Baptist Church - 12-4-2022

Matthew 1:18-23

 

Introduction: 

 

“The most wonderful time of the year!”  Thanksgiving through Christmas and the introduction to a New Year: 2023.  I do not argue with people over Christmas.  I just enjoy knowing that Christ Jesus, the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth, was born to die for me!

 

A.  Christmas of 2022 is upon us!  I sometimes think back to the many Christmases of time past, and I have now seen 74 of them.  I do not remember them all but, as I reflect, I see how the meaning of Christmas has changed for this preacher.

 

1.  The wonder of Christmas as a little boy – the earliest memories were not spiritual ones but rather the worldly aspect of Christmas.  Presents under the Christmas Tree and thoughts of a sleigh with Reindeer pulling a little fat man with white hair and beard who wore a red suit.

 

2.  It did not take this preacher long to get over “Santa” though.  We normally got one good toy for Christmas, but I was a little disappointed that “Santa” was CEO of Fruit of the Loom!

 

3.  As I grew older, Christmas became a time of cooking cookies, candies, and other great smelling things.  It was a time of buying and receiving presents; a time of family breakfast at mom and dad’s house and Christmas Dinner at Barbara’s Mamaw’s.  Buying and hiding toys from the kids; having to get up right after midnight because someone could not wait until morning to open gifts.  That someone was almost always Barbara!

 

4.  Today, I still enjoy having Christmas with my family.  I still have hobby I call eating which requires pants with pleating!  But, in 1976, Christmas changed for me and took on an entirely new meaning.  I had always seen Manger Scenes and heard the biblical account of the birth of Christ, but that year the meaning changed forever.

 

B.  Salvation changed both my life and my perspective of Christmas forever.  I want to look at a few portions of Scripture this morning that tells what Christmas means to me.

 

1.  You see, He was more than just a Babe in a manger.  He is Emmanuel: God with us!  Matthew 1:23  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

 

a.  He is not just “a son of God!”  He is Almighty Jehovah God!  Mary was not the “mother of God” but rather the mother of the physical body of our Lord.  Jesus Christ was the Creator of all things and made the womb that gave Him birth.  His goings forth was from everlasting to everlasting.  The Creator of all things became a man!

 

b.  He is not just God born in the flesh!  He is Emmanuel: God WITH us!  Though pure, sinless, and separate from sinners, He walked with sinners; He ate with sinners; He was a Friend of sinners; He died for sinners.  He is with us which means to be identified with us through His birth and for us through His life and death.  He is our God!  That is what Christmas is to me.

 

2.  He is more than just a Babe in a manger.  He is the Christ!  Matthew 16:13-17  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?  (14)  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.  (15)  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?  (16)  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.  (17)  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 

 

a.  So many who celebrate Christmas have no spiritual comprehension of Who that Babe, born so long ago, was.   They may say that He was Jesus, but Jesus is not a reality in their lives. 

 

b.  Simon Peter said, “Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Christ means “anointed” and comes from a root word meaning “consecrated.”  Hallowed, blessed, holy, sacred, sanctified, set apart!  To me, Jesus Christ is so special because He is so special to God the Father.  Jesus Christ is most wonderful, unparalleled, matchless Person that has ever or will ever exist!  He is so much more than just a Babe in a manger.  He is the only begotten Son of God sent to this world with a marvelous purpose in mind.  That is what Christmas is to me.

 

3.  He is more than just a Babe in a manger.  He is my Saviour!  Luke 1:46-47  And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,  (47)  And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

 

a.  Jesus Christ was born to die!  He came into the world the seed of the woman in fulfillment of His promise; He came into this world to hang on an old rugged cross and pay for the sin of the world; He came into the world to save sinners.

 

b.  He was Mary’s Saviour because she was a sinner!  She was neither immaculately conceived nor was she was immaculate as a person.  Yes, she was a woman blessed of God to bear the seed of the Holy Ghost and bring forth the Messiah.  Yes, we do called her blessed for she not only was chosen for such a task, in spite of the reproach, she was submissive to it.  In Luke 1:46-47, said, “ And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,  (47)  And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”

 

c.  Paul said, “Of whom I am chief!”  He came to die for me and 46 years ago, He became my Saviour.  He is my wonderful payment for sin as He became the propitiation for my sin.  He paid my price and purchased for me an eternity in heaven with Him.  That is what Christmas is to me.

 

4.  He is more than just a Babe in a manger.  He is my Lord!  John 20:28-29  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.  (29)  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

 

a.  One of the most exciting portions of Scripture is found here.  Old “Doubting Thomas,” as he is so called, confessed with his mouth what he believed in his heart as he said, “My Lord and my God!”  So many people will call Him their Saviour but fear to call Him Lord.  I believe that a person accepts Him as their Lord and Saviour when they are saved.  Lord does not mean you give up something to be saved; Lord does not mean that He is Lord of every area of a person’s life; Lord means that the saint recognizes who He is!  So many want Him as their Saviour but are not willing to accept Him as their Lord.

 

b.  He is my Lord!  No, I am not sinless and must confess with the great Apostle Paul that I am “chief of sinners” and “in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing!”  I am a miserable failure at best, but I desire to love my Lord.  I desire to live for my Lord.  I long to be with my Lord!  You see, He is so much more than just the sinner’s Sacrifice, He is the saint’s Joy and Rejoicing.  He is my Lord and my God because I am one of those blessed ones who have not seen and yet believe.  I have not seen the wounds in His hands, feet, and side and yet I believe.  I have not looked into His matchless eyes and heard with my ears His gracious words, yet I believe!  That is what Christmas is to me.

Our Matchless Christ

To many, Jesus Christ is only a grand subject for a painting, a heroic theme for a pen, a beautiful form for a statue, and a thought for a song; but to those who have heard His voice, who have felt His pardon, who have received His benediction, He is music, warmth, light, joy, hope and salvation, a Friend who never forsakes, who lifts us when others try to push us down. We cannot wear Him out; we pile on Him all our griefs and troubles. He is always ready to lift us; He is always ready to help us; He addresses us with the same love; He beams upon us with the same smile; He pities us with the same compassion.

There is no name like His. It is more inspiring than Caesar's, more musical than Beethoven's, more patient than Lincoln's. The name of Jesus throbs with life, weeps with all pathos, groans with all pains, stoops with all love. Its breath is laden with perfume.

Who like Jesus can pity a homeless orphan? Who like Jesus can welcome a prodigal back home? Who like Jesus can make a drunkard sober? Who like Jesus can illuminate a cemetery plowed with graves? Who like Jesus can make a queen unto God out of a lost woman of the street? Who like Jesus can catch the tears of human sorrow in His bowl? Who like Jesus can kiss away our sorrow?

I struggle for a metaphor with which to express Jesus. He is not like the bursting forth of an orchestra; that is too loud, and it may be out of tune. He is not like a sea when lashed into a rage by a storm; that is too boisterous. He is not like a mountain wreathed in lightening, canopied with snow; that is too solitary and remote.

He is the Lily of the Valley, the Rose of Sharon, a gale of spices from heaven.

~ Billy Sunday

 

Conclusion:  Yes, Christmas has changed for me.  I look back at my youth and Christmas with many fond memories but now I look forward to Christmas with hope that one day—just like today—my Blessed Hope will return and take me to heaven where I now belong!