NORTH PINE BAPTIST CHURCH
Friday 18th April 2025 – Good Friday
John 19:38-42
“Two Unlikely Undertakers”
There is something about a grave that says “the end”.
We don’t do it as much now, but standing around a graveside.
Watching a coffin being lowered.
Covering the coffin with dirt.
It’s the end.
Even with a cremation.
Burning to ashes and scattering to the wind.
Some cultures put a body onto a whole heap of wood.
Some make a raft and light it and send it out to sea.
The end.
When a person dies that is what happens to the body.
It needs to be dealt with in some way.
That includes the body of Jesus.
All four Gospels tell us about the moment Jesus died.
This is how Matthew records it in Matthew 27:45-50.
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”).
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave Him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save Him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit.
Dead.
Now there is a body on the cross.
Actually there are three bodies.
The body of Jesus. And the bodies of the two criminals crucified with Him.
If the Romans had their way they would have left all three crucified bodies on the cross. This served as a reminder to the whole community as to what would happen if you messed with the Roman legal system.
After a couple of weeks the bodies would be thrown away.
But the Romans knew that the Jews were very sensitive about dead people.
And the Romans did their best to try and respect the laws of the local area.
God’s law required that all people needed to be buried by the end of the day.
Even those who were condemned criminals.
Deuteronomy 21:22-23
22 If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a tree, 23 you must not leave the body hanging on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
The first century historian, Josephus, when describing how the Jews treat people who have died says,
We bury all whom the law condemns to die. Let our enemies who fall in battle also be buried. (Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 4.265)
In Jewish thinking all the dead were to be buried. Nobody, not even the religious leaders, expect Jesus’ body to be discarded or treated with disrespect. What is unexpected is who buries Jesus. We are reading John 19:38-42
38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about thirty four kilograms. 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Two Unlikely Undertakers
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.
Who is Joseph of Arimathea?
In the Bible Joseph of Arimathea appears only in connection with the burial of Jesus. However his appearance is so important all four Gospel writers tell us about him.
Matthew tells us he had become a disciple of Jesus. Matthew also tells us that Joseph owned the tomb which Jesus was buried in.
Mark tells us that he was a prominent member of the Council. Just so you know it was “The Council” who condemned Jesus to death.
Luke tells us that did not consent to their (that is the Council) decision and action. So he tried to defend Jesus and prevent the injustice.
John tells us that Joseph had been keeping the fact that he was a disciple a secret.
The combined information gives us a good idea on who Joseph is.
Coming back to what John tells us that Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews.
I guess we could say that if Joseph was truly a disciple He should have stopped being such a coward and let people know.
That isn’t the point of the narrative.
What is the point is that Joseph shows his true colours after Jesus dies. Which is amazing when you think about it.
Surely the Jewish council will discover what Joseph did and be appalled.
Burial was the action of a close family member, or someone who really cared about the deceased.
The action of Joseph to
… ask for the body.
… to provide his own tomb which has never been used.
… to make his alliance to Jesus so public.
We can be sure in the not too distant future Joseph will no longer be a member of the ruling Jewish council.
He will lose his position.
He will lose his reputation as a teacher in Arimathea.
He will lose most of his income.
The old life, the old friends, the old hang-outs. They are all gone.
Joseph’s previous fears will become a reality.
Joseph has nothing to gain by helping to bury Jesus ... in fact he has heaps to lose.
And what about Nicodemus? Who is Nicodemus?
Nicodemus appears earlier in the book of John. He was the man who went to Jesus one night to have a talk with Jesus – he went at night because he was afraid. Nicodemus was also a member of the Jewish Council.
But he is afraid no longer.
Now he is showing who he really is and who he really stands for.
He makes his devotion known through the contribution of about 34 kilograms of burial spices.
This amount of burial spice was usually used to bury kings … which is exactly what Jesus was.
That amount of spices would have cost Nicodemus a small fortune.
When we read about Nicodemus in John 3 we don’t know what his response to the conversation with Jesus was.
But now, at the death and burial of Jesus we see the response.
It is an overwhelming response of commitment to the Saviour who Nicodemus loved.
Like Joseph, Nicodemus shows his true colours after Jesus dies, even though he has so much to lose.
Why, if they have so much to loose,
Why make it known at the death of Jesus that you are a disciple?
Why move from “secret disciple” status to “obvious disciple” status when the ministry of the person you are following has come to an end?
We can’t even begin to presume the thinking of Joseph and Nicodemus, but there is one thing we can be sure about.
The death of Jesus is sufficient reason to bring secret followers out of hiding.
The death of Jesus is sufficient to make people sit up and recognise that trusting in Jesus will bring spiritual transformation
The death of Jesus accomplishes salvation.
Salvation is accomplished because the death of Jesus absorbs the wrath of God.
The justice of God demands that sin needs to be punished.
God’s anger … God’s wrath … is poured out against sin.
Somebody needs to pay for the sin.
Through His death Jesus makes that payment.
Through His death Jesus absorbs the wrath of God.
It is a truth found right through Scripture.
Isaiah 53:5
5 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
Remember Joseph and Nicodemus are part of the Jewish Council. They know the Scriptures – what we call the Old Testament – they know these Scriptures very well.
It is possible they are beginning to make a connection between what they read in the Scripture and what they see through the death of Jesus.
For us in the New Testament era it is crystal clear.
Romans 5:6
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
It is the death of Jesus that covers the ungodly by, at that moment, absorbing the wrath of God.
Salvation is also accomplished because the death of Jesus reveals the wealth of God’s love and Grace for sinners.
When we consider the death of Jesus, especially the brutality which accompanies His death, it may not be easy to see God’s love and grace. However Ephesians 1:7 explicitly makes the connection.
7 In (Jesus) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.
The blood – the death – is the moment redemption is secured.
The blood – the death – is the reason forgiveness is secured.
That’s always how it has been
Leviticus 19:11
11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I (the LORD) have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.
When we talk about salvation and Jesus it usually doesn’t take very long to move from the death of Jesus, to His resurrection.
That is understandable, because it is a whole package.
But, today, on this day when we focus on the death of Jesus, let’s all take time to slowdown and allow the significance of His death to press into our spirits.
Understanding that the death of Jesus is sufficient reason to bring secret followers out of hiding.
It is the death of Jesus which absorbs the wrath of God.
It is the death of Jesus reveals the wealth of God’s love and Grace for sinners.
The death that deals with all that separates us from God.
This death is also the reason we celebrate the Lord’s Supper … Communion … together.
Mark 14:22-24
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying, “Take it; this is My body.”
23 Then He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” He said to them.
The cup represents the blood – the death – of Jesus.
Jesus in the grave.
It looks like the end.
And yet His death is enough to cause people to come out of hiding and declare – I am with Him.
That is the salvation power of the death of Jesus.
It’s only Friday … and people are already being saved.
Sunday is still coming …
How much more salvation power will there be when He steps out of the tomb raised from the dead. The power when people realise … His death is not the end … it is just the beginning.
Prayer
