Good Friday 2010

Feel free to share, bless, exhort, etc., in the comments section. I am off to preach at a Good Friday service but I will post some thoughts later tonight. Grace and Peace!

Here is a brief summary of what I preached at the Filipino Southern Baptist Ministries 2010 Good Friday service in West Los Angeles. Initially they were just notes and points, but I tried to fill in the blanks and make a blog post out of it for your edification.

38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

There is so much to study and learn in this passage, enough to keep one busy for a long time. You can split off and do a study on the burial custom of the Jews, you can research the origin and use of myrrh and aloes and why they were mixed. You can look at the archeological findings and study tombs etc. In other words, you won’t find a shortage of material to study even in this sometimes-neglected passage of Scripture.

However, since I have to boil it down due to time I want to focus on two points that I hope you will find significant.

(1) Two prophecies were fulfilled.

First, when the apostle Paul gave a summary of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15 he included the burial of Jesus among that which was of first importance. He says twice that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection was in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-4). What Scriptures was the burial in accordance with?

One is Isaiah 53:9:

And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. (Is. 53:9)

A synoptic parallel passage to John 19 says that Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man (Matt. 27:57). Many commentators have much to say on this fulfilled prophecy, and almost all that I’ve checked make reference to the passage in Is. 53:9.

But there is another prophecy that was fulfilled in the burial of Jesus:

For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matt. 12:40)

(2) Two hidden heroes emerged as they converted private faith to public faith in Jesus as the Christ – the Son of God.

The Bible says Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews (Jn. 19:38). He was a prominent member of the Council [the Sanhedrin] (Mk. 15:43). The Sanhedrin was the Jewish council that sentenced Jesus Christ to death for claiming to be the Son of God.

The Bible says that although Joseph was a member of the Council, he did not consent to the decision (Lk. 23:51), he was looking for the Kingdom of God.

John 3 tells us that Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews. In John 7 we see him show possible signs of his discipleship when he sticks up for Jesus by asking the other Pharisees and chief priests: “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” (Jn. 7:51)

These two unlikely heroes give hope to all of us, that even though our past may not reflect the greatest examples of the Christian life, that there is still hope that God may do something great through us for His own glory.

Both held faith privately – perhaps to protect their reputation, business, social status, etc. Nicodemus came to Jesus by night possibly so he wouldn’t be seen. Joseph of Arimathea was a “secret” disciple of Jesus because of his fear of man.

But something changed in these two men. At some time there was a shift in their discipleship where it went from private and hidden to public and exposed. Perhaps they recalled when Jesus said “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matt. 10:28)

Or perhaps they recalled when Jesus said: “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. (Lk. 12:8-9)

Either way, we now know that although they were once cowardly and fearful of men, in the end they demonstrated their faith publicly through their actions. Mark tells us that Joseph of Arimathea “took [great] courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus” (Mk. 15:43). Nicodemus joined Joseph (Jn. 19:39). Both of them appeared publicly and “took the body of Jesus” (Jn. 19:40

There is a saying: “If you want to see God do great things through you, then attempt to do great things for God.” I’m not sure of the actual origin of this saying but I’ve heard it quoted several times. It speaks to the great responsibility that believers have in taking steps in the Christian life. It is inconsistent to sit around and wait for God to do great things while you don’t even lift a finger. The Bible speaks pretty clear on this, and there is a proverb that the quote above paraphrases:

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. (Prov. 16:9)

This doesn’t necessarily teach coequal teamwork with God or synergist metaphysics, but it speaks about the sovereignty of God and how He has decreed His workers to work, giving them reminders throughout Scripture that He has predestined all things including their slackness and zeal. In case one tries to take the proverb too far, the Holy Spirit adds a sobering reminder a few proverbs later in 19 where he says:

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. (Prov. 19:21)

So expecting great things to be done through you for God while you sit around idly doing or planning nothing is inconsistent with what the Bible teaches. The consistent action would be attempting to do the great things and if the Lord has ordained those great things then they will come to pass. I see Joseph of Arimathea attempting a great thing for God by approaching Pilate and asking for the body of Jesus. John MacArthur comments,

[W]hen [Joseph] stepped forward to claim the body of Christ, he exposed himself as a follower. To be a true follower of Jesus Christ requires that you be identified with Jesus. Besides your Sunday visits to church to worship God, how else do people see your commitment to Christ? Joseph exposed himself as a follower of Christ probably at a great cost to himself. What has following Christ cost you? Read Matthew 16:24-26. Are you trying to save your life or have you found your life because you lost it for Christ’s sake? Don’t be a secret disciple! Step out in faith and be identified with Christ.

Joseph and Nicodemus saw God do the unlikely when Pilate turned over the body of Jesus. They will be remembered for all of history since they are inscribed into this burial narrative. One thing we should remember about them is the conversion of their private faith to public faith. If you have not yet made your private faith public, I exhort you to do so now.