Transcript

Well, grab your Bibles and let’s go to Luke 23 as we continue through the Gospel of Luke and getting very close to the end of this Gospel. What a journey this has been. Luke 23, we’ll start in verse 50 and go through chapter 24, verse 12. I don’t know if this is going to be a two parter or not, it probably needs to be. We’ll see. Luke 23, beginning in verse 50,

50 And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man 51 (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God; 52 this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. 54 It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. 55 Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” 8 And they remembered His words, 9 and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. 11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.

I entitled this “Jesus’ Tomb.” Now, when we think about Jesus’ tomb, specifically Jesus’ death, we remind ourselves that the doctrine of Christ’s death is an essential doctrine and that’s one of the things that is pointed out here and I think that’s why the narrative doesn’t just say, “Jesus died and Jesus rose again.” The narrative goes into detail and if you combine the other Gospels, so many witnesses and so much detail about the fact that he died because the doctrine of his death is important. We’ll elaborate on that in a few moments.

Also, the fact that his death actually literally happened in time and space history. There are liberal pastors and theologians through the years who have written the most fanciful imaginative things about Jesus just swooned into a semi-coma on the cross, was placed in a tomb, wasn’t really dead and so that’s why he still lives and things of that nature. But very thoroughly it is attested by so many that he actually died.

But also I think the text is teaching us something from the people who were there. We see this man, Joseph of Arimathea; we see these devoted ladies following along and watching the burial; we see these apostles who are skeptical; and Peter who runs to the tomb to look later. So there is much to learn there also.

Well, let’s outline it this way: I. Looking at verses 50-53, let’s look at the secret disciple that laid him there. The secret disciple that laid him there. Verse 50 says he’s a man by the name of Joseph of Arimathea, which just means he’s from Arimathea. It’s a town northwest of Jerusalem, at least that’s the best the scholars can come up with; we really don’t know for sure. But now he does live in Jerusalem. John tells us a little bit more here, that this Joseph of Arimathea was actually a believer in Jesus for some time but out of fear of his countrymen, he remained a secret disciple. So he’s wrestling and struggling with the fear of man, “What if I come out in the open and just declare I’m a follower of Jesus Christ? What’s that going to cost me? What’s that going to mean?” So he’s been struggling with that. He’s also a member of the counsel, the Bible says. That means he’s a member of the Jewish high court, the Supreme Court of Israel, a member of the seventy members of the Sanhedrin.

So he’s a very prominent and very important man and the Bible says in verse 50, he’s a good man. I think the Gospel writers say he’s a good and righteous man, Luke actually says that, a good and righteous man which means the Spirit of God had done a work in his heart. He’s not a finished product yet, none of us are, but the Spirit of God had put some goodness in his heart.

He’s been waiting also, 51 says, for the kingdom of God, which means there began that germination seed inside this man’s heart where he was beginning to see that this world and this life is not what we must be hoping in and living for, that there’s a greater world and a greater kingdom that’s coming and only the Spirit of God can give a man a genuine longing for that other world and that other kingdom. That’s why the world thinks Christians are crazy. That’s why they think we live for some unsound fanciful thing of a new age or a new day or a new heavens or a new kingdom, because they don’t have the Spirit of God in their hearts. The Spirit of God makes these things real to us. I think old Joseph of Arimathea gives strong marks of being a disciple. He did, the Bible points out, oppose their plan to crucify Jesus, at least at the Sanhedrin level, didn’t out in public evidently. And we do see that he’s called a good and righteous man; he hoped not in this world but in God’s coming kingdom. He believed in Jesus according to John. He didn’t consent to their plan of action. I believe he’s a baby Christian.

Verse 52, but on this day he comes out of the darkness, “this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.” Finally, he cannot live with the concealment of his faith in Christ any longer. He cast fear to the wind. He cast his fortune to the wind. He cast his reputation to the wind knowing that all of it was on the line and boldly, he does an audacious thing. You just didn’t go to the shameful humiliating place of the crucifixion and take a body down. I mean, these criminals were just thrown into mass graves and abandoned; they weren’t worthy of anything. But this man takes and with the deepest concern and highest dignity, takes Jesus’ hands off the nails and his feet off the nails and wraps him in a costly linen cloth. I think there’s a significant truth here for us and that is that God has his elect children hidden out all over the place. Jesus was not to be just buried in a mass grave, then there could be some argument about, “Well, who really left the grave? Whose body really was it?” No, he was laid in a tomb alone which only the very wealthy had in that day. But God needed someone of stature and wealth to have a tomb like that and so God summoned one of his servants, Joseph of Arimathea.

In Psalm 83:3, the Bible speaks of true disciples as hidden ones. That encouraged me as I thought on this this week that God has his hidden ones. Have you ever gone out into the public and maybe been doing business somewhere, for me, often it’s been in a doctor’s office here and there and bump into somebody and begin to talk to them and find out they love Christ and they are devoted to Christ and you just kind of bond with them and you think, “Wow, God just had them there.” It’s kind of the way Joseph of Arimathea, nobody would have ever dreamed a member of the Sanhedrin had become a true disciple of Jesus Christ but he was.

I believe God has more hidden ones than you know. Remember the Lord speaking to Elijah as Elijah was hiding in the cave scared to death, scared for his life? And God speaks to Elijah and says, “Elijah, why are you hiding away in this cave?” And in 1 Kings 19:10, he says, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” Elijah says, “There’s nobody else.” But then God responded back in 1 Kings 19:18, “Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.” God says, “You don’t understand. I’ve got 7,000 hidden away.” I believe that’s the way Joseph of Arimathea, well, he was a hidden away disciple until God needed him.

God has hidden sheep planted in many places, some in low places, some in high places, and at the right moment, he can infuse them with strong grace to come forth unafraid and stand for Christ and with the saints. I believe that in the United States of America, God may have a strong witness and a strong man that in these perilous times will stand up and state the truth of God in the national arena. God can do it just like that. No one would have ever dreamed a man of the stature of Joseph of Arimathea taking this common, vile criminal, that’s the way they viewed Jesus, body off. You just didn’t do that and yet have permission to do it.

It reminded of, I think it was last year during my study break, I was studying the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a rare and unique man in Germany. This was during the days of right before WWII. Dietrich’s family was one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in Berlin. His father was head of the psychiatry department at the University of Berlin. I mean, he was part of the German aristocracy. But Dietrich Bonhoeffer felt God’s calling on his life and of all things he journeyed to America during his early spiritual pilgrimage and do you know where Dietrich Bonhoeffer visited among other places? He visited an African American church in Alabama and this brilliant, wealthy intellectual in his testimony indicates that that’s where he came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Who would have ever figured that out? He could have stayed here and missed the whole war but he goes back to Germany and he begins an underground movement in Germany to help and encourage and protect the true underground church there from the Nazis and the regime because most of the churches had gone lockstep with Hitler. By the way, you know, it’s the modern trend just to go along with what’s happening in the culture if you’re the church today, but not true churches and not true men of God. They stay with God and the culture can go where it wants. And Dietrich Bonhoeffer with his wealth and his influence was a great respite and help and care to the true pastors of the true churches in Germany under Hitler’s regime. Eventually, Hitler did have him executed but God had a hidden disciple and used him when he needed him.

This man now, Joseph of Arimathea, unashamed now, claims Christ’s body, asked for that permission and just says what will be will be. We have learned a lot from Joseph of Arimathea. 1 John 4:18 tells us, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” And that’s what we want in our lives, we want the love of God to be perfected in our hearts where if called upon and if needed, like Joseph of Arimathea, we cast fear to the wind, reputation to the wind, fortune to the wind and say, “I must do what’s right in honor of my Lord.” I hope, I believe by grace I’m willing to do that. Do you believe in grace, you’re willing to do that? And I say in grace because you don’t do this in the flesh. Oh, there are a few demented fleshly zealots who cast all of life away and they are completely proud, wicked fleshly ones but they live in this drastic extreme denial because they want attention for themselves. I’m not talking about that demented fringe, I’m talking about people who genuinely grow to love Christ and say, “If called upon, Lord, I’ll lose it all.” Church, I want to challenge you on this Sunday morning, be praying, “God, give me the grace in this God-forsaken, post-Christian era that if called upon, I’ll be a Joseph of Arimathea. I’ll cast it all aside to honor you.” Well, in verse 53, “he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.” Again, a lot of details about Jesus having died and what happened to him when he was dead. Again, Rome’s plan was to just cast Jesus’ body into a mass grave with other thieves and forget him but divine providence provided a friend who had a new tomb fit for wealthy ones. Of course, this was in fulfillment of God’s prophecy of his Son’s death in Isaiah 53:9, “His grave was assigned with wicked men,” and it was. Rome had just decided to assign him to the mass graves of the other criminals yet, the Bible says, he was with a rich man in his death because he had done no violence nor was there any deceit in his mouth.

Just a word or two about the doctrine of Christ’s death now. The Scriptures give such strong evidence that he was dead and, by the way, he had to be dead to atone for sins. The Centurion on the cross watched him died, breathe his last. Joseph of Arimathea and whatever friends may have been with him took the body down and wrapped it in linen cloths and laid him in a tomb and he was dead. The women, the Bible text tells us, follow along closely. They are watching his lifeless body. They watch it as he is taken off the cross. They watch it as he’s wrapped in the linen. They watch him as he’s carried with all the dignity Joseph of Arimathea could give the dead body of Christ. And they watched him as he was laid in the tomb. The priests had ordered that a seal be put upon the tomb. His body was dead and the soldiers, of course, witness his entombment and they guarded the tomb.

The doctrine of Christ’s death reminds us that Jesus Christ was fully human. He was God but he became man. He had to be fully human or he could not be the Savior of men. You see, death is the lowest common denominator of the human experience and he experienced all aspects of the human experience. His death was indeed a part of the atonement or the payment for our sins or the payment that we might have our sins passed over, atoned for, if you will. The great sacrifice including his death was actually literally offered and paid. The Lamb’s life was actually taken away because he was the Lamb who became the vicarious offering in our place. The doctrine of the death of Christ is essential because if he’s to be resurrected and prove he has power over death and can go to heaven and intercede for us forever securing our salvation, it required first, of course, that he was dead.

So we see here some insights into the doctrine of death but we see some interesting things about Joseph of Arimathea. Let me say two sides to this because here’s where the Scriptures are not like us. We think about the commendable parts of Joseph of Arimathea but we’re not God. We as fellow humans find a rightful place to commend Joseph of Arimathea but God points out very clearly he had been living in the fear of man. He had been actually denying Jesus publicly for a season of time. So though he’s commendable in some ways, the Scriptures require us to admit he also had fallen short. He had fallen short.

Now notice secondly here, notice the devoted women who saw him there. The devoted women who saw him there. This covers quite a number of Scriptures. Verse 54 says, “It was the preparation day,” that’s the day when you prepare for doing nothing on the Sabbath, “and the Sabbath was about to begin,” and the Sabbath begins at nightfall and goes through the following nightfall. That’s the way they viewed their days.

Verse 55, “Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid.” I think, again, they saw it all. The death literally actually happened.

Verse 56, “Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.” So they’re in a hurry in their deep devotion to Christ to get their spices and perfumes. Spices would be dry herbs, fragrant herbs. Perfumes would be oils that had fragrance in them. They got everything ready for the proper and most dignified and honoring burial they could give Jesus. Now, again, I’ll say it now and I’ll say it again, there is much to commend about these ladies, their devotion to the end, but right now they have completely lost sound doctrine. They’re not going to find the resurrected Lord, they’re going to bury Jesus, and we remind ourselves that the most sincere and genuine devotion if it’s not based on truth is not good. Though it’s commendable that they’re so devoted, they had fallen short; they had forgotten that he taught, “I’m going to rise again.”

You know, as we look through all of this and we follow the Gospel narratives, it seems like one place there would be one person who would say, “I’m not worried about the tomb. I’m not worried about the soldiers. I’m not worried about how he died. I know how really it looks. He said he’s rising again, he’s coming back, don’t worry about it.” We didn’t see one record of that. Not one. Not one. They all keep falling short. They’re just living in the moment.

The other day I preached about how religion can become mere sentimentality where our emotions are kind of in charge instead of our minds grasping the truth. Now, ladies, listen to me, men too, some of you men get a little bit effeminate on me sometimes. Don’t get mad at me. You take the truth in your minds and guide your emotions. Are you with me? You take the truth from the word in your minds and you don’t let your emotions guide your mind. Well, bless their hearts, these women are commendable from a human perspective but in many ways they’re just sentimental, not functioning on truth. That’s why a lot of ladies get caught in false doctrine, they’re following their hearts instead of following the truth. Nowhere does the Bible say to follow your heart. Do you know what’s in your heart? Your heart is rotten and wicked and depraved and desperately wicked. You follow that thing and you’ll get in all kind of trouble. We’ve got right here a heart correcter. We take this book and say, “Heart, Heart, this is what we’re going to get excited about right here.”

Do you know what we’re finding as we look at Joseph of Arimathea? As we look at these devoted ladies? As we look at the apostles who are skeptical and say, “That’s nonsense”? As we look at Peter running to the tomb and who knows what Peter was thinking? Do you know what we find? Some of each of them in us. We find some of the same weakness and same failings and same sentimentalism and same shortcomings.

Joseph had already prepared Jesus’ body with his wealth in the most noble and dignified way he could but these ladies aren’t going to have that. They want to do it too. They love him. They really love him. They rest on the Sabbath. Can I just say a word or two about this? You know, nothing is in the Bible by coincidence so they’ve gotten all their spices ready, I mean, their hearts are racing. They love this Jesus. Now, what’s funny is they don’t really grasp all of his doctrine, even essential doctrine, but they love him. They want to show some love and respect for his body and they want to anoint it with the spices for a proper burial. They can’t do it though because at nighttime the Sabbath starts and you can’t do it on the Sabbath so they honor the commandment.

Look what is says there in verse 56, “Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.” That is, they were not going to break the commandment that you must rest on the Sabbath even to go anoint the body of Jesus. Now, we don’t know but perhaps one could argue that they’re out of balance here. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath and they perhaps were under some legalisms but could I take this time as your pastor to exhort us in this modern age and exhort us who are not under laws, you are not under a Sabbath law, but you are under Sabbath love and there is a truth here that is wise and good of keeping the Lord’s day. The Lord’s day is a day to be set apart like the old Jewish Sabbath was. It’s where we not under law, not condemned by breaking the law, but yet we are to purpose in love for our God and in honor of his wisdom, recognize, we should strive to have that one day a week where we set it apart to enjoy our rest in Jesus; to do all we can to separate from worldly concerns, even worldly amusements, to commune with God and with God’s people. Again, we are not under law. If you go play golf on the Sabbath, I’m taking pictures, we’re putting it on the screen, but you won’t go to hell. No, I’ve never done that yet, have I? Mine would be the first. I’ve never played golf on the Sabbath, I don’t like to play golf. I may have deer hunted on the Sabbath. I don’t remember, I might have, but I was on vacation and I was out of town. One of our guys went out one morning before church turkey hunting, had one of the easiest shots he ever had and missed it. I said, “That’s a Sabbath gobbler. You’ll learn not to hunt on the Sabbath.”

I’m not suggesting that all of that is evil, that’s not my point. My point is in our hearts there should be a dedication that though we are not under law we are under grace, we should strive to honor the Lord’s day. There are still some wise obligations and certainly blessings connected to the Sabbath day. You need a day where you set apart and say, “This is about God.” Yes, going to work is about God, loving your husbands and keeping your home is about God and working men and providing for your family, that’s all about God too. I’m not saying that but there is a needful respite from that part, the Lord’s day. Someone said when you abandon the Lord’s day, it’s just one short step to abandoning the Lord. That’s something to think about.

Well, verse 1 of chapter 24 says it’s the first day of the week, “on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb,” that’s our Sunday, “bringing the spices which they had prepared.” What a new day this first day is. This was the first day of the new creation. This was the day the resurrection cast a brilliant dawn over the whole earth and its beams never end but fill timeless eternity with its light. The Bible says it’s early dawn, that means these ladies were up before the sun came up and at the very precise moment in their Jewish legal minds they could say, “Okay, we’re no longer breaking the law,” they burst out the doors and headed to the tomb. They go with loving devotion to pay their last respects to a dead Jesus. Again, sincere but shallow in their understanding. He had been teaching them his resurrection. They heard it. They have faith but faith without understanding. Isn’t it true we all need to keep growing?

Verse 2, “And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.” Matthew reminds us that an angel rolled the stone away but it’s an old statement but very true, the angel did not roll the stone away to let Jesus out, he rolled the stone away that we might look in and see that he’s already out.

Verse 3, “when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” Verse 4, “While they were perplexed,” why are they perplexed? He said he was rising again. Now, you know from another Gospel record, they see an angel standing there and they think he’s the gardener and they say, “Where did you put the body? If you’ll just tell us, we’ll go and find it.” They just can’t come into faith here.

“While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing.” The Bible says in verse 5, “and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces.” And by the way, be a little skeptical if you hear some guy on tv talk about seeing angels and seeing visions and he just talks about it like he went through the line at McDonald’s or something. Just no big deal. I’m telling you, if you see a holy angel, you’re going to be terrified. Now, I do think angels do disguise themselves to become messengers unaware. I think that happens but if an angel appears in his glory, you are going to be terrified. That’s the normal reaction.

Then the angel says to them in verse 5, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?” What a question. The angels are rebuking these dear devoted precious ladies. “Why are you ladies doing this? This is not the place to find the Author, Creator and Giver and Lord of Life.” If you want to find Jesus, don’t go to the graveyard. It’s not the kind of place he hangs out. He may have submitted to death but listen to me, he submitted to death in Lordship and Lordship even over death. And while he did in his Lordship submit to death to pay for our sins, he did not and could not be held by death. He had a purpose in his death. He used his death for his own means to save his people from their sins that they might know him, love him, treasure him, and glorify him for all eternity. But be not confused, death has no power over him and he has no place in death.

Hebrews 2:9 told us, “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” Jesus tasted it, defeated it and went on. Revelation 1:17-18, “When I saw Him,” John is seeing this vision, he sees Jesus, “I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.'” Christ is not here, he’s absent and for the first time and the only time in history, Christ’s absence is a ground for unspeakable joy.

He’s not there. I mean, I wish we could have seen if they had full faith and then their eyes confirmed the faith of their hearts, can you imagine the scene those ladies would have had running around in circles around that tomb shouting, “He’s not here! He’s not here! He’s not here! He’s not here!” They’re just not there yet, though. They have fallen short. With all that is to be commended from our perspective, and it is, they fall short. He’s just not here. We don’t know, we’re perplexed.

Verse 6, the angel continues, “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember,” remember, remember, “how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee.” Romans 4:25, “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” Jesus taught them these things. We saw it going through the Gospel of Luke. It’s kind of like when Jesus said to them, “I’m going to Jerusalem. I’m going to be betrayed. I’m going to be arrested. I’m going to suffer. I’m going to die. I’m going to rise again.” They couldn’t get past betrayed, suffer and die. They just couldn’t get past it. Do you understand when you don’t remember his word, you always get in trouble? They couldn’t remember. They knew it, they just didn’t…it’s one thing to know it, it’s another thing to remember it. They just didn’t remember it.

Death is conquered because he is risen. Death is but a defeated foe. Listen: Jesus entered death, he defeated death, he walked out of death’s house and he left death’s house in complete ruins, at least as far as the ultimate sense and power of death is concerned. Death is now brought in complete submission to Jesus Christ. Did you hear that? Death is a servant to Jesus Christ. It is not some foe that Jesus is fighting with and hopefully one day he’ll get death. No, death is a servant. He has brought death into full submission. Wow. So now the only thing death can do is serve Jesus to his perfect ends, for his glory and the good of his children. Death for us is a servant to help us now. I’m not saying it’s a joy but it is a servant to help us. Death is in submission but death is not yet abolished but soon death will be abolished, it’s only a matter of time. Revelation 20:14 says, “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”

The ladies are perplexed but I believe the light is beginning to dawn on them. Verse 8, “And they remembered His words.” You might say, “Well, that’s cheating. When I’m struggling in my faith why doesn’t a glorious dazzling angel appear and quote the Scripture to me and help me?” Well, it could happen. I’m not saying it’s not going to happen but God has ordained that God calls men to preach to you God’s word to remind you.

I believe the seeds of faith and joy were just beginning to germinate in a special way in their hearts and beginning to grow beyond those weeds of fear and doubt that they had had before in their hearts and minds.

Quickly, number 3. We see the secret disciple who laid his body there. We see the devoted women who saw him laid there. Thirdly, we see the skeptical apostles who reject that he’s not there. Skeptical disciples who reject that he’s not there. These ladies run now to the apostles. Verse 9 and 10, “and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.” I don’t know if they’re reporting he is resurrected or if they’re just reporting he’s not there, or they’re just reporting is he resurrected. I think they’re kind of somewhere probably in between.

Verse 10 says it was “Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.” Now, I think this is interesting that these women are chosen by God to school the apostles. On the one hand, Scripture tells us that there is hardly anything worse on earth than ungodly and what the Bible calls silly women. They’re not dependable. They’re the kind of women that follow their emotions here, then they’re there, then they’re here, then they’re there and it’s hard to live under a person like that. But on the other hand, these are not worldly silly women, these are godly, devoted, maturing, spiritual women and God uses them to inform, teach and even rebuke these apostles. It must have been humbling for these apostles to know that God chose women to come and exhort them about his resurrection. I just find that kind of interesting. This culture would have found that very, very, very strange.

But notice these skeptical disciples, “But these words appeared to them as nonsense.” In their understanding, they would not believe them. They had seen Jesus raise Lazarus, at least some of them probably did. He had raised Jairus’ daughter. He raised the man who was in the coffin in the funeral procession. They heard him clearly teach, “I’m going to be betrayed, suffer, crucified, die, and I’m going to rise again,” but they just couldn’t believe. Unbelief had just settled in.

Then, lastly, verse 12, the backslidden disciple who ran to see if he was there. “Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.” Actually, it’s he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went home marveling at what had happened. Boy, wouldn’t you just like to know, “Peter, what did you think at that moment?” We don’t know what Peter was thinking. Scripture does not tell us exactly. I think it’s likely a mixture of hope and joy with fear and dread. He loved Christ and in hope and joy he thought maybe he’s alive, but he’s just failed Christ miserably, lied boldly, used profanity to say, “I don’t know him and I don’t follow him!” So I think it’s very possible that he’s saying, “Well, if he is alive, what is he going to do to me?” All kinds of emotions.

So here we have the Bible narrative talking about Jesus’ tomb and his glorious resurrection and the Bible goes to some length to show us Joseph of Arimathea, commendable from our sight, has a love for Christ yet the Scriptures point out he lived in the fear of man and was very hesitant and late in professing his faith in Jesus Christ. Joseph of Arimathea fell short. These devoted women, to be commended for their devotion, but the angels rebuke them for their lack of faith in remembering the word of God. They are wrapped up in too many human sentiments and not in spiritual truths. Like Joseph of Arimathea, these devoted women fell short. The godly apostles, these apostle, the elect out of the elect, Spurgeon calls them. They saw more miracles than they could possibly remember. They heard his teaching and they knew this doctrine and yet when the ladies tell him he’s not in the tomb, the only thing they can come up with, “That’s nonsense.” They fell short. And Peter denies the Lord three times, cursing, using profanity and he falls short.

You see, we might find commendable things and I don’t think that’s wrong, but I think the Bible makes sure we understand something. James 2:10 reminds us, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” You see, the law is a seamless tapestry, you tear one small part, you’ve ruined the whole. The law is like a grand symphony, if there’s one discordant note, the symphony is ruined. The law is like a golden chain around your neck, if just one link fails, the chain is worthless. And that’s the way the law is. You might say, “I’ve got a thousand things I did right,” but James says, “If you offend one tiny part, you’re guilty of all.” You fall short. God’s standards are exacting. God demands perfection. It is perfect obedience that God requires, not partial obedience and all fall short. Joseph of Arimathea fell short. These devoted women fell short. The godly apostles fell short. And the leader of the apostles, Peter, fell short. Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Because, my friends, listen: that’s why Jesus died. He died because Joseph of Arimathea falls short. He died because devoted women who loved with all their hearts yet fall short. He died because even the most esteemed apostles fall short. He died because Peter, the leader of the apostolic band, falls short.

And I want to tell you something: Jesus never falls short. Based on the preponderance of biblical truth, we could surmise that Jesus enters into heaven, he stands before the Father after his resurrection carrying with him his own priceless precious blood and he says, “Father, of all the ones that you’ve given me, every one that you gave me, every one of them, Father, has fallen short. All the ones that are ours, they’ve all fallen short but I have suffered, I have bled and I have died, Father, to make up their shortcoming.” And the Father looks at Jesus and says, “Son, based on your perfect obedience to the law and your perfect execution of the office of Savior that I have assigned you to in now divine justice, I declare that all of them now measure up.” That’s why he bled. That’s why he suffered. That’s why he died. And that’s why he rose again. We all fall short.

That’s the message of his tomb and his resurrection. It’s more than just hallelujah, we live again, it’s, hallelujah, he makes us acceptable to the Father and that includes we live again. Don’t you love the Bible? Nothing else has this in it. Nothing else. I want to tell you on the authority of the word of God and based on the immutable merits of Jesus Christ, in the standard of an infinitely holy and just God, you now measure up and are fully accepted if your faith is in Jesus Christ.

Let’s stand together in prayer.