Parkwood Baptist Church

“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.  Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.” (John 19:41, 42)

After Joseph and Nicodemus finished the preparation of the body they placed Jesus in a garden tomb close by because the Sabbath was about to begin.  The Savior who was arrested the night before, dragged from courtyard to courtyard all night long, beaten and tortured and, finally, nailed to a cross…is laid to rest.  The quiet of the garden is in such contrast to the chaos of the cross.  So peaceful.  No one shouting insults.  No more accusations.  No more pain and anguish.  It is done.

Today marks the final day of our lenten journey.  We have walked through the last few days of Jesus’ life with His disciples and now we sit in the stillness with them…waiting.  What was the purpose of the silence of the tomb on that Saturday?  Why didn’t Jesus come back from the dead immediately?  What was gained by His delay?  Be assured that this was no coincidence that Sabbath began the moment Jesus was laid to rest.  Since time began, God used the Sabbath rest as a scheduled time to stop and reflect on our life and our dependance on our Creator.  I believe that God, in His sovereignty, knew that the disciples needed some time to digest the events that had just occurred.  What did they really believe?  “He did tell us that this was coming, remember?  What else did He say?  Something about three days later…He would…uh-mm…He would…rise?”

As they regrouped in the upper room they had to ask themselves what they believed.  It is this day, between the cross and the empty tomb, that defines “faith” for every disciple of Jesus.  When things haven’t gone the way you expected and things are not clear…before you get an answer…what do you believe?  Or…WHO do you believe?  Before you see His comforting hand…do you know it’s there?  Faith is believing in things unseen (Hebrews 11:1).  We want to shout out to those questioning disciples, “Hey guys!  Sunday’s coming!  Wait till you see!”  Jesus would say to Thomas a few days later,

“Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

Between the cross and the empty tomb is a day in a quiet garden where we can sit and decide what these things mean to us.  It is an opportunity for us to make the events that have happened up until this point…personal.  The cross was about you.  It was about your sin and His great love for you that would not let you die but, instead, would die in your place so that you might live.  For forty days and six Sabbaths you have been on a journey which has included discipline, sacrifice, failure, weakness and “inconvenience”.  This day is a day of faith.  Today we ask what difference it has made and will make in our daily lives.  Know this as you sit in the quiet garden struggling with what to believe…Sunday’s Coming!

It has been a blessing to me to be able to walk with you during this season of Lent.  It is my prayer that you have also been blessed and that this Easter will find you closer to God and each other.

“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. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.” (John 19:38-40)

It is Friday evening and the Jewish custom states that no one should hang on a tree into the Sabbath which begins at sundown. When looking at the accounts in each Gospel we find that Joseph, a prominent person among the Jews, has “boldly” gone before Pilate to request permission to be responsible for the body of Jesus. He was a member of the Sanhedrin which was the council that condemned Jesus to death although, Luke’s gospel tells us that Joseph had not “consented” with the decision.  He is described as a “secret” disciple of Jesus.  He is joined in this effort by a Pharisee named Nicodemus who was also one who followed Jesus “under the radar”.  Now, however, their fear of exposure and its consequences was overcome with their love and respect for the Savior.

This act of mercy was done for all to see as they received the dead body of Jesus from the soldiers who took Him down.  The body was dirty and as they carried it away the precious blood that had been shed for them was smeared on their hands and stained their religious robes.  Their feelings for Jesus were not “secret” now.  In fact, by touching the dead body they were making themselves unclean and, therefore, unable to participate in the Sabbath events which would occur later.  Their faith had now become “inconvenient”.

The other Gospels tell us that a group of devoted women (including Mary, mother of Jesus) were watching this preparation and burial.  They had been there all day.  They had witnessed the nailing of Jesus to the cross.  They had heard Him speak words of forgiveness and mercy.  They had watched Him breathe His last breath and now they watch as He is taken down.  They could not help Joseph because a woman was not permitted to approach this sacred act or these religious leaders.  I wonder what they were thinking as the body of Jesus was washed and wrapped in strips of cloth.  Did Mary think of that night when Jesus was born in the stable and she washed His body and wrapped Him in strips of cloth (Luke 2:7)?  Maybe she thought of the words spoken by the priest when Jesus was dedicated as a baby, “…and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:35).  Her soul had certainly been “pierced”.  This crucifixion was up close and personal.

What about you?  In this 39 day (plus 6 Sabbath rests) journey, has the cross of Jesus become a little more up close and personal?  Have you been challenged to come out into the open with your faith, like Joseph and Nicodemus?  Have you come to understand better that God calls us to a faith that can sometimes be “inconvenient”?

“Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but found none.  They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” (Psalm 69:20, 21)

“Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’  A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.  When He had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’  With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” (John 19:28-30)

What a wondrous declaration!  There is nothing else left to do.  It is done!  Mission accomplished!  There is a certain satisfaction that comes when we finish a task.  There is relief and joy when we have washed the last dish, folded the last towel or ran the last lap.  The Scripture above tells us that Jesus knew when He was hanging on the cross that this was the “home stretch”.  It says that “all was now completed”.  There is another Scripture fulfilled as Jesus expresses His thirst and they give Him vinegar to drink…now He can die.  Nothing left undone.  Even a small Messianic prophesy from Psalm 69.  Every detail…no loose ends.

God had been weaving the threads of the tapestry of our salvation from the very beginning.  For thousands of years He had spoken of this moment through the Prophets.  He had laid out a detailed description of the Messiah and His mission and now it was finished.  God always finishes what He starts and He covers all the bases.  What does that mean for us?

First, it means there is nothing left for you to do…it is finished.  Jesus has done all the work for your salvation and you only need to accept it as your own.  Paul said,

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Second, God will continue the work that He has begun in you (your salvation) by empowering you to do the Kingdom work that we were created to do.  So, we can do nothing to earn our salvation because Jesus has finished that work but, through our faith we can fulfill God’s plan for us.

Today commemorates the last supper of Jesus with His disciples.  Jesus used this meal to be a reminder of what He was about to do.  “This is my body…this is My blood”.  He gave it all up for you.  He didn’t hold anything back and didn’t leave anything undone so that…

“Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)