Buried Alive
Sunday, September 8th, 2024
Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Mark 15:40–47
40There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
41(Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.
42And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,
43Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counseller, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.
44And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.
45And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.
46And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.
47And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.
Prayer
Father, we thank you for the devotion of your saints, of Joseph of Arimathea, of Mary Magdalene and the other women who beheld where Christ was laid. And we thank you for teaching us by their example how to adorn your body, with fine linen, with sweet spices, and with the pleasing fragrance of love and good works. Grant us to put on the righteousness of saints, for we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Introduction
Every Sunday we confess in the Nicene Creed that Jesus Christ “suffered and was buried.” Here in our passage this morning, Mark supplies for us the real inspired and historical basis for that confession, and with it he also introduces a brand-new group of disciples who we have yet to meet in his gospel thus far, namely female disciples.
And so there are three questions I want us to consider in this sermon as we contemplate the burial of Jesus.
- Why does Mark wait until now to introduce these female followers of Jesus?
- What is the significance of Joseph of Arimathea?
- Where is Jesus while his body is laying in the tomb?
Q1 – Why does Mark wait until now to introduce these female disciples?
- We are told in verse 41 that these women had followed Jesus and ministered to him when he was in Galilee.
- In Luke 8:2-3 we read likewise that, “certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, ministered unto him of their substance.”
- And so from early on in Christ’s ministry Jesus had female followers who gave him financial/material support. But if that is the case, why does Mark wait until now (at the very end of the book) to mention them? What is significant about this moment that warrants bringing these women into the foreground?
- There are few reasons but let me give you just one reason that is primary:
- And that is because these same female disciples will be the first to witness Christ’s resurrection.
- As we will see next week, these women will come again to Christ’s burial site, find the stone rolled away, and an angel will announce to them, “Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.”
- So unlike The Twelve, who were scattered and ran away, and who did not believe what Jesus had told them, that he must suffer and die and on the third day rise again, unlike The Twelve, these women stay at the cross and watch.
- And because they stayed and kept watch (even from a distance), they become key eyewitnesses to the most important event in human history. The death of Jesus, the burial of Jesus, and the empty tomb.
- And so keeping with Mark’s love for irony, he has reserved until now, to show forth that the woman’s deception which began in the garden, is undone by beholding and following Christ.
- Whereas Eve was deceived by the serpent and as it says in Genesis 3:6, “the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,” here now these women, these daughters of Eve, behold something far more glorious than the forbidden fruit.
- They see through the veil of Jesus’ flesh, an open door welcoming them back into paradise.
- Eve desired the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and here these women find a better tree. The cross of Christ, and the One in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found (Col. 2:3).
- And so Mark shows for us here, the redemption of the female sex. And rather than Eve sharing the forbidden fruit (her sin) with Adam, God in his providence has so ordained that these women are first to share now the knowledge that saves, the good news of the risen Lord with their fellow male disciples.
- This is the infinite wisdom of God at work, who remembers His promise, and who does not forget any narrative thread, and who as the Author of all history has a sweet and glorious resolution for all those who love him.
- Do you believe this? Are there threads in your own life that feel broken, frayed, unresolved, or unresolvable.
- It says in Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes (when the dream is fulfilled), it is a tree of life.”
- Whatever hopes you have that have been deferred, God wants you to give those hopes to Him, and for you to make Him your supreme hope.
- For as it says in Romans 5:5, the hope of the glory of God “does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given unto us.”
- And so while God does not promise to make you understand in this life all the reasons for Him doing what He does (and permitting what He permits), the cross teaches us that He can be trusted to work out evil for good.
- God can be trusted to take the seeds of your unfulfilled dreams and your hopes that have been deferred and to bury them with Christ so that in due time, they shall rise again transfigured and better than you could have ever hoped or imagined.
- This is what God has promised to those who love him.
- And so we learn from these female disciples to cling with love and holy devotion to Christ, even when it appears that all is lost. Even when it seems like God is dead. His body is buried. The bride of Christ knows the truth.
- In the words of Job 19:24-27, “I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”
- Does your heart yearn for God? Because this is the love that cannot be awakened too soon. Stir it up. Nourish it. Treasure His truth and His promise so that when you descend into the grave, living hope abides within you.
- This is what the burial of Christ teaches us. There is nowhere that you or I can go, that Christ has done not already gone and lit up with his glorious power. The bands of death cannot hold him, because as true man He is also true God.
- Now the women of course do not comprehend this all yet, but they exemplify by their presence at the tomb, what the bride of Christ ought to do. And in a similar way Jospeh of Arimathea is also an example for us.
Q2 – What is the significance of Joseph of Arimathea?
- First of all, who was this man?
- Mark tells us in verse 43 he was, “an honourable counseller, which also waited for the kingdom of God.”
- By honorable counsellor is meant that he was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, the same judicial body that had just condemned Jesus to death.
- And so while it is possible that Joseph was in attendance at that trial when Christ was convicted, Luke tells us explicitly that, “He had not consented to their decision and deed. [and that he was] a good and just man.”
- In Matthew’s account, he adds that Joseph was also a “rich man.”
- And so again, this is an unexpected person to find at the most crucial moment in the story.
- Joseph is rich, Joseph is a member of the Sanhedrin, Jospeh is in the Jewish aristocracy of which Christ has been a vocal critic of.
- In John’s gospel we are given even more information when he says, “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” (John 19:38).
- So Joseph was a secret disciple. He was afraid of publicly identifying with Jesus lest he lose his position and status amongst the Jews.
- Like Nicodemus, who also appears at Christ’s burial (in John’s account), these are men of whom it says in John 12:42-43, “Among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
- This is the temptation of the rich and powerful. And it is one of the reasons why it is so hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. The rich have so much more to lose than those in the lower classes.
- And so it is all the more impressive when such a man risks his own life and wealth and status to bury the body of Jesus.
- Mark highlights this for us when he says Joseph “went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.”
- The crucifixion of Christ has changed something in Joseph. For him the death of Christ has not made him more afraid like the disciples had become, instead it has had the opposite effect. He who formerly craved and desired the praise of men, now comes boldly before Pilate’s throne, craving the body of Jesus.
- And so here again we have an example to imitate. If you would desire to see the kingdom of God, you must be willing like Joseph to risk your job and status and wealth and life to have the body of Christ.
- This is how as it says in 1 John 4:18, “perfect love casts out fear.”
- When your desire to please God and be approved of by Him exceeds all other loves and all other approval, then your fear of man is extinguished.
- The degree to which your love for God burns with zeal, to that same degree your fear of death and your fear of loss is removed.
- For as Paul says, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. This is what the death of Christ changed for Joseph of Arimathea, and it is what the death of Christ should stir up in you.
- If Jesus gave up heaven to have you, how can you not give up your sorry life on earth to have the One who is Heaven?
- This is how the rich man enters the kingdom of God. This is how God brings the camel goes through the eye of a needle; He makes Christ to bear our sins and pass through the eye of death.
- Summary: Now another important aspect of this burial account is that it proves that Jesus really died. In case there was any doubt that Jesus was truly man, and that he truly suffered and died on the cross, the gospels supply multiple witnesses (men and women) to confirm that he had no pulse.
- In verse 44 we read that Pilate himself marveled that Jesus was dead so soon. And so he asks the Centurion to confirm this.
- And so lest anyone doubt the true death of Jesus, we have it confirmed by both Jews and Romans, men and women, by those hostile to Christ and those who loved him, that Jesus really died and was buried. The burial further proving that such death took place. For no human mere being could survive all of this.
- And so before we consider the resurrection next week, let us consider our third and final question which is…
Q3 – Where is Jesus while his body is laying in the tomb?
- Recall what we said last week about the hypostatic union, or the mystery of the Incarnation. Namely that because Jesus is God, and he is One divine person with Two distinct natures, fully man and fully God, therefore,even when Christ’s body is separated from his soul (he was truly dead), that dead body was never and could not be separated from the Son of God.
- Put another way, because the union of the two natures (human and divine) takes place at the level of the Person (the eternal Word), and because that Divine Person has “life in Himself” (John 5:26), therefore, the union of Christ’s flesh to His Person cannot be severed. Even in death, Christ is alive!
- This is how death is swallowed up by life. Through this unbreakable union between His flesh and His Person, Jesus can say things like:
- “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19).
- Or in John 10:18, “No one takes my life from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again.”
- So while his soul was severed from his body, his body was never severed from His Person.
- And so returning to our original question of “Where is Jesus while his body is in the tomb?” To this we can give three answers:
- 1. First, according to his flesh, Jesus is dead. His lifeless corpse rests in Joseph’s tomb and the prophesy of Isaiah 53:9 comes to pass which says, “And he made his grave with the wicked, And with the rich in his death.”
- And it is in this sense and in this sense alone (!) thatcan we say, “God died.”
- Paul speaks this way in Acts 20:28 when he says, “feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”
- The Divine Essence has no blood, God has no body that you can cut or wound, except according to the human nature of the Son.
- And so Jesus truly died, and that meant his lifeless corpse rested in the tomb. But of course, that’s not the whole story.
- 2. Second, we can also say that according to his human soul/spirit, Jesus is alive, he descends into hell, and he is in Paradise.
- How can all three of those things be true?
- First, the human soul by definition is immortal. And so even when we die, and our soul is separated from our body, our soul does not disappear or go out existence, but rather our soul goes into one of two spiritual places, either heaven or hell.
- And so when Christ descended into hell, he did not go into the fiery burning place (Greek: Gehenna) where souls are damned and punished, he went to what in Hebrew is called Sheol and in Greek Hades, which had a good side and a bad side, and everyone prior to Christ’s death went down to this Sheol/Hades/Hell.
- For example, David says in Psalm 16:10, speaking of Christ, “For You will not leave my soul in hell (Heb: Sheol, Greek: Hades), nor will you allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”
- Likewise, we see other righteous men (believers) speak of going down into Sheol at death.
- Jacob says in Genesis 37:35, “For I will go down into the grave (Sheol) unto my son mourning.”
- The preacher in Ecclesiastes 10:9 says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave (Sheol), whither thou goest.”
- The Psalmist says again and again things like, “But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol: (Ps. 49:15).
- So the place of Sheol/Hades/Hell is often used as a metaphor for death and what happens at death. And prior to the resurrection of Christ, everyone’s soul went down into Sheol.
- The bad/reprobate went to the bad side of Sheol, which we might call Gehenna, while the good/saved went to the good side of Sheol which is often called “Abraham’s bosom.” It gets that name from Jesus teaching in Luke 16.
- Two men die and are buried, a rich man, and a poor beggar named Lazarus. And it says this in Luke 16:23-26, “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
- And so when Jesus died, his soul went down to Sheol, but it went to the Abraham’s bosom side of Sheol to bring all the souls of the faithful into Paradise (which is the beatific vision of God). And this is how Christ’s words to the thief on the cross are fulfilled, “today you will be with me in Paradise,” because the death of Jesus opens the door to Paradise for Old Testament believers.
- And now for us who live on this side of the resurrection, believers are always said to go up to heaven when we die instead of down to Sheol.
- Summary: Christ’s soul went down to hell, not to suffer (His work was already finished on the cross!), but to announce his triumph and victory to lead captivity captive. For as it says in Ephesians 4:9-10, “(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
- Finally, there is a third answer to this question, “Where is Jesus while his body is laying in the tomb?”
- 3. And that answer is, Jesus according to His divine nature is everywhere. For as it says in Jeremiah 23:24, “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.”
- So as one who is fully God, Jesus is ever and always omnipresent according to his divinity. He is the one in Whom all things are sustained in existence (Col. 1:17), and as Paul also says in Acts 17:28, “in him we live, and move, and have our being.”
- And so this means that even when Jesus’ body is severed from his soul, the very tomb in which his dead body was laid is at the same moment, being held together by His divine power.
- There is no place that anyone can go, body or soul, to escape God’s presence. For our very existence itself is efficiently caused by God, and it is Christ the Eternal Word from the Father who holds all things together.
- There is no escaping God.
Conclusion
And so let these three answers to “Where is Jesus?” become the great comfort and life of your soul.
- Because if death could not separate Christ’s body from His Person, then as Paul says in Romans 8, “nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our lord.”
- May God seal up this truth in your heart.
- In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.
