TEXT: John 19:38-42

SUBJECT: Exposition of John #48: Burial

The disciples of Christ were acquainted with hardship, pain, and sorrow. Many nights they spent weeping, but none like this one. Why? Because...

The Body Obtained, v.38.

Jesus Christ is dead. His spirit has returned to God who gave it; His body hangs limply from the cross. It is now time to dispose of the remains. Who wants the body? You would expect a member of the family, but none appears. Are they ashamed of Him? We don't know.

But we do know this: One man is not ashamed. Who is he? He hasn't been mentioned before, so John fills us in. He is "Joseph of Arimathaea"--a town about twenty miles north of Jerusalem. Why does John mention this? So that his readers will know he's not making this up. Myths and parables don't contain this sort of detail. Eyewitness accounts do!

Joseph is "a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews". He has followed His career, compared it with the Prophecies, and come to believe: "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God". This is easier to believe than it is to say out loud. And so far, Joseph hasn't said it.

Until now. He goes to Pilate and demands the body. The governor agrees, orders it taken down, and committed to Joseph's care. This tells us something about his place in life, doesn't it? An ordinary man has no access to the Governor, but Joseph is a man of wealth and power. He's going to use them for God's glory. At last.

How wonderfully this reflects on the Divine character! Joseph feared men more than God and preferred their praise to His. Yet it is he whom God chooses to care for the remains of His Dearly Beloved Son. What love! What patience! He is

The God of Second Chances.

The Body Prepared, vv.39-40.

Joseph isn't alone in his good work; a friend has joined him. He is Nicodemus, a man who met the Lord some years before and discussed "the kingdom of God" and how to get into it.

Nicodemus has brought something with him: "A mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds". These are spices meant to perfume the dead body and to retard its decay. They were used in every decent burial.

But a hundred pounds? This was unheard of. The spices were imported from Arabia and very expensive. This much might have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. If only Judas had been there to give us the exact figure!

The two men no longer care about money; their minds are now "set on things above". They want to honor Jesus Christ with a burial befitting His Majesty. Nicodemus brings the spices...

The Body Buried, vv.41-42.

Joseph provides the tomb. Where is it? In a "garden". Think of an immaculate cemetery in the best part of town. It is a rich man's resting place. John calls it "a new tomb in which no one had been laid". In other words, it's a family crypt. Joseph bought it for himself and his loved ones. But, thankfully, no one has yet died. And so, he gives it to Christ. The poorest of men is laid in a rich man's tomb.

There's more to be done, of course, but the sun is sinking low, the Sabbath is approaching, and the men go home for the night. Planning to finish the job next Sunday morning.

John has described our Lord's burial. With his customary eye for detail. But he hasn't told us what it means. Or has he? In fact, he has, but not directly. He has hinted at it, hoping we would think long and hard on the subject, and come to the "ah ha!" on our own.

What does it all mean? Read the details carefully, and I think you'll see.

Who released the body? It was Pontius Pilate. Was that the norm? No it wasn't. The Empire abhorred rebellion as no other crime; rebels, therefore were hung on a cross and left out to rot and to be eaten by the birds! But Pilate didn't do this, did he? Why not? Because he knew our Lord was no criminal--"Behold the Man! I find no fault in Him!"

Who buried the body? Joseph and Nicodemus. They were the Rulers of Israel, men who liked their positions of power, and had no patience for Renegade Messiahs. When Theudas rallied the masses, the Rulers did not follow. When Judas of Galilee made himself somebody, the Council disagreed. But "Jesus"? They knew He was "the Christ, the Son of God". The honest members paid tribute to Him in death.

In giving our Lord an honored funeral, Pilate, Joseph, and Nicodemus were overturning His verdict. They were saying, in effect, "Not Guilty!" And in doing this, they were but announcing the decision of Heaven.

Messiah is both guilty and innocent. The cross proves His guilt; the tomb His innocence. The One "it pleased the LORD to bruise" also "Makes His grave with the rich because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth".

Criminals are left on the cross; they're fed to the dogs; they're trampled under foot. But this Man? He's put into a rich man's grave. Why? Because He is no criminal. He is "Jesus...

Holy, harmless, undefiled,

Separate from sinners,

Made higher than the heavens".

This is the first point: The burial means He is innocent.

The second point: He is Lord.

Pilate's actions prove this. Hours before he had written,

JESUS OF NAZARETH

KING OF THE JEWS.

Now he is permitting Him a burial fit for a king. In short, he knew. And now, moved by God's Spirit, he is telling the world "What I have written, I have written".

Joseph and Nicodemus are playing their parts too. Spending vast sums of money (as noblemen were wont to do) in giving their King the funeral He deserves.

Hear the message of the tomb! Jesus is innocent! Jesus is royal. In other words, "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God".

Who took the body? Joseph and Nicodemus. Who were they? They were high officials in the Hebrew Government--just the kind of men you'd expect to see at the funeral of a King. How did they prepare the body? With a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes. They prepared His body as though it were a King's. Where did they bury the body? In a crypt worthy of a King.

Most Israelites were "Jews outwardly, but not inwardly". They proved it by rejecting their King--"We have no king but Caesar!" they shouted. But some were "Israelites indeed"--men like Joseph and Nicodemus--who welcomed their King with open arms, and gave Him a royal send off.