CAN YOU BEAR THE SPICES IN THE DARK?
TEXT: John 19:38-42
John 19:38-42 KJV 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. [39] 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. [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. [42] There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
I. INTRODUCTION -- DARKEST DAYS IN HISTORY
-When we look down the long hallway of human history there have been a lot of dark days.
Some would deem the Atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima a dark day.
Others would conclude that September 11, 2001 when the World Trade Center towers toppled and the Pentagon was attacked and another plane went down in a Pennsylvania field falling short of the intended White House.
Some say that the Depression was the darkest days or the attack on Pearl Harbor.
-If you are any student of history at all or even acquainted with elements of history, you have to admit that there have been a lot of dark days throughout the history of man.
II. THE DARKNESS OF THE CRUCIFIXION
-But from the standpoint of those who were close to Jesus and seen and heard and took part in His life, the six hours at His crucifixion were the darkest days in their history.
-The whole day was filled with darkness for the Lord.
Pilate extended to him a cruel scourging.
The soldiers mocked him and anointed him with a crown of thorns.
The Lord was given a robe of purple not to symbolize royalty but to show him derision.
The soldiers anointed him with the bitter vinegar of the sponge.
-He endured incredible pain then add to that the shame of what he had to bear before He died. But there came a time when it seemed as if darkness covered the entire earth.
Mark 15:33 KJV And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
-While the world was mocking Him, little did they realize that there was a darkness that would settle not only on their day but also into the soul.
-While much of the thoughts, especially around Easter is centered on the sufferings of Jesus, can you imagine what those who took Him down from the Cross must have felt? Defeat, hopelessness, and even perhaps the stillness of ultimate and absolute failure.
-Here was the body of the Man that they had literally put the whole hope of their lives on and now He was dead. I have a feeling that that there were many, many tears, perhaps even choking sobs that pulled every bit of the life from them.
-Incredible darkness, a deep, pitching, stifling, choking darkness had come into their soul on that day.
-As the day progresses into the night, there are more who are beginning to return. . . .
John finds his way to the sepulcher.
Peter shakes off his feelings of failure and humbly comes.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene find their way back.
-Their energy has been emptied out. Their red eyes have been exhausted of tears. The energy and the tears have been replaced with a deep feeling of resignation.
-One of the disciples may have very well expressed his thoughts like this:
Now, up to the very last I had not given up all hope that Jesus might yet come down from the Cross, showing forth some might work worthy of a Messiah; nor did I, indeed, know how much hope I had had till this moment where all hope perished. But now, when I turned myself to go away and to leave Jesus forever, all things seemed ended, and I felt as one alone in the world; I did not know whether there was a God or whether I myself had lived, or whether all of life were not a dream.
-What a summation of one of those disciples who must have been there on that day. The fact is that they now are facing more darkness than ever before despite the fact the sun has returned to the skies.
III. CAN YOU BEAR THE SPICES IN THE DARK?
A. A Generation of Darkness
-Take a look around your world and if you just observe, even on the surface, our generation faces a lot of darkness.
The darkness of a ripping divorce.
The darkness of a gnawing depression.
The darkness of a broken-down dream.
The darkness of a nagging, limiting illness.
The darkness of a destroyed friendship.
The darkness of a wayward child.
The darkness of a life that does not seem fair.
The darkness of paralyzing financial pressures.
The darkness of a job that demands much and returns little.
The darkness of a mental weariness that will not go away.
The darkness of some past mistake that never lets us up off the mat.
The darkness of a family rift.
-On and on, we could go with this list and it could probably get steadily longer. But the fact of the matter is that during all of these times of darkness, can you bear the spices in the dark?
Can you attend to the myrhh?
Can you take care of the aloes?
Can you mix them together?
Can you stay faithful in the darkness?
-What you don’t know and understand is that God has a way of working life out if we will just let Him! So instead of struggling with the darkness, you have to turn your attention to the myrhh and the aloes. You can’t look too hard at the dark you have to take the spices to the tomb.
Job 12:22 KJV He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
-The mixture of the myrhh and aloes was probably in the form of an aromatic powder. The fact that a large amount of it was brought tells us that Nicodemus and Joseph were wealthy men.
-A dead body that was so torn as the Lord’s body was would need the large amounts that Nicodemus and the other disciples were taking along with them. Because of their haste in racing the Sabbath they hastily put the spices on the body.
-There is a huge lesson that is found in this that they brought to anoint the Lord. Despite their doubts and their disappointments they were still willing to go the extra mile in an act of unknown worship.
-The Lord is often quite aware of the little things that make the difference when we are in much pain and facing the dilemmas of life. He carefully observes faithfulness in the face of overwhelming odds.
-But sometimes the story seems almost too good to be true!
1. Is Heaven For Little Girls Like Me?
I heard of a church that went into an underprivileged neighborhood and the housing projects and started bringing kids to church. Noisy, rowdy, dirty, and more than often than not given to words that weren’t nice at all. But on one Sunday, one of the Sunday School teachers had a very special lesson. In fact, it was one of those lessons that stayed with her all week long leading up to the time to teach it. It was about heaven and it seemed as if there were a holy hush on the class that morning as the teacher pulled for the hearts of these kids.
In that Sunday School class each week was young girl who never spoke. Never. While the other kids talked she sat very still and quiet. While others sang, she was quiet. Always present, always listening, always speechless was this little girl. But on this day, the teacher talked about seeing God and eyes that did not have to cry anymore and about hearts that would never be broken again. On this day, the speechless, silent girl was captivated. And in the middle of the lesson, she blurted out, “Is Heaven for girls like me?” Can you imagine what this must have done to the heart of God on that day?
B. Hope From the Dark
-And now we are to the turning point in the message. For every person who forsook the Lord, there were a few who were willing to give Him a proper burial. For every man who turned his back on God there was someone who turned their face to God.
For every cunning Caiaphas there is a daring Nicodemus.
For every cynical Herod there is a questioning Pilate.
For every dirty-mouthed thief there is a truth-seeking one.
For every spitting solider there is a noble centurion.
For every turn-coat Judas there is a faithful John.
-Despite their deep feelings, there was a seed of faith somewhere down inside that said, if we can bear the spices in the dark there is something that very well may exceed our wildest expectations.
-I have no doubts whatsoever that disciples, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and a host of others probably wanted to just toss the spices down in the dark and say “forget it!” Too much disappointment, too much pain, too much distress, and so on.
-But through all of this we know that there are those who can bear the spices in the dark and see that all will end well. Why do we know this? Simply for the fact that we live on the other side of their history. We can see the end from the beginning.
C. The Woman at the Well
-It is the case with the Samaritan woman. She has been married to five different men.
Five different houses.
Five different rejections.
Five terrible choices.
-She is well aware of what slamming doors sounds like. She is more than understanding of what it is like to have broken dreams, but even more a broken heart. Sadly the current fellow won’t even give her his name, just a place to sleep and eat.
-So on that hot day when she was trudging to the well with burdens heavier than her bucket, she had no idea what was going to happen. She was very careful to avoid the stares of the townsfolk but she would not be able to avoid the gaze of the Nazarene.
-When He asked her for water, there was a momentary thought to refuse Him. More than one man had asked her for a drink in her days and far too often it led to more demands. What she did not know, but that we do, is that the very God of the universe was waiting to perform an outrageous miracle in her life that would bring the whole town to a revival.
-That is the way it turns out for those who are willing to bear the spices in the dark. Just keep carrying the myrrh. Don’t let the aloes get spoiled. Stay steady in the darkness and stay faithful in your nights because a resurrection is waiting.
D. A Mass of Other Examples
-Scattered all throughout the Bible and throughout time, there are examples that defy doubt and strengthen our faith.
A faithful father who got back a prodigal boy from the pig-pen.
A widow in Nain who had her son restored back to life.
Jairius who had his daughter brought back from the dead.
Paul out on the deep in ship that would crack up and sink but Paul would be saved.
IV. CONCLUSION -- I ALREADY KNOW HOW IT IS GOING TO TURN OUT!
Last week baseball season opened up. This year I decided that I was going to periodically keep up with what was going on with a team I kept up with when I was a kid. I always liked the Dodgers back in the days of Tommy Lasorda, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, and a few others. So this year, I found the official website of the Los Angeles Dodgers and have been reading about them here and there. But on Friday there was a blast from the past that was mentioned.
The year was 1988 and the Dodgers made it to the World Series to play against the Oakland A’s. I remember quite well keeping up with all of it then. In the very first game, the Dodgers and the A’s had played a classic game that went neck and neck the whole way. So now it is the ninth inning, there are two outs and a single base-runner on first base. The score is 3-2, A’s, and the Dodgers are down to their last out. At that moment, Manager Tommy Lasorda pulled a pinch hitter off the bench to bat.
All year long, Kirk Gibson had been an integral force and had motivated the Dodgers to do much toward playing a lengthy season chasing the pennant. However, there was only one problem Kirk Gibson had a strained hamstring and a significant knee injury. At best it was a grasp at a straw, but Lasorda sent him to plate anyway. One strike, two strikes, then a couple of foul balls and three wayward pitches works the count to 3-2. Then on the 3-2 pitch, Dennis Eckersley makes the pitch and Gibson a leans over the plate just a bit and slams the ball out of the park. It was a classic ending giving the Dodgers the win, 4-3. They would go on to win the World Series that year.
It is called one of the greatest moments in sports history. Even though fully aware of the turnout, I tried to go back in time to the moments that Gibson walked up to the plate to bat. At the time no one in the park knew what the turnout was going to be. But because now we are looking back, we know how it turned out. That is the powerful thing about looking back at history, you just know how it is going to turn out.
-While I have used somewhat of a very carnal illustration, the fact remains that here was a player who was willing to play through his pain in hopes that something would turn out for the better.
-See this is what can happen to us when we aren’t afraid to carry the spices in the dark!
Philip Harrelson
barnabas14@yahoo.com
