The Grave of Jesus (Isa. 53:9)

This sermon was preached on 21/10/12

Sometimes I take a walk through a graveyard and read the inscriptions. Every one of them has a message, even if the words have faded beyond recognition. They all tell us that we will end up there eventually. Every grave has a message, and that includes the tomb of Jesus. But his grave has a different message for us and it is important that we listen to what it has to say.

The apostle Paul, when specifying the contents of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1ff., includes the burial of Jesus as an important element of what is to be proclaimed. He says that it is of first importance: ‘For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures’ (1 Cor. 15:3-4). At the very least, this would indicate that we should consider the significance of the burial of Jesus.

Who is in the verse?

To begin with, we should work out who is being spoken about in this verse. Who are the ‘they’ in the first clause? Perhaps we wonder why the pronoun is ‘they’ rather that ‘he’ as found in other versions. The answer to that question is that it could be translated as ‘he assigned...’ or as ‘it was assigned...’ (a passive rendering) or ‘it assigned..’ with the ‘it’ being a reference back to ‘my people’ in the previous verse. It can also be translated as ‘they’ if the pronoun is interpreted impersonally rather than specifically. Whoever it refers to, it is evident that it describes those who were against Jesus and wanted him to be buried with the wicked.

Could it refer to those in charge of the execution, whether the soldiers who were at the cross or their superiors? Obviously it could, and perhaps it does. Yet the stress on the ‘they’ points to persons who wanted Jesus to be so identified and it is doubtful if the Roman authorities would be that concerned about where a dead body would go. If they were, then Pilate would not have released it when Joseph asked him for it. So I suspect the ‘they’ are the Jewish leaders who wanted Jesus punished as an evildoer.

Who are the ‘wicked’? This is a description of condemned criminals who had been crucified. Once they had died, their bodies were probably thrown into a common pit and forgotten about. That is where the Jewish leaders wanted Jesus to be thrown and it is the place where those involved in the crucifixion expected him to be thrown. But it was not to be. It is worth noting that the intended pit for Jesus and the two criminals who were crucified with him would have been very close to where he was executed. Yet nearby was the actual grave where his body was laid (John 19:41). God can prepare his place right in the faces of those who are determined to do their worst.

One other detail is worth pointing out and that is that the word ‘death’ in this verse is plural. ‘There is a reason for this plural, and consequently there is no justification for emending the text. The plural serves to bring out the intensity and violence of the death and thus to contrast the violent death of the Servant and His association with a rich man’ (Edward Young). It would not make sense in English  to translate the word in a plural form, yet it is good for us to know that it stresses the awfulness of what Jesus went through.

Seven aspects of the tomb of Jesus

Perhaps the first detail that comes to mind is that his burial reveals the accuracy of biblical prophecy. Isaiah predicts that the Messiah would be buried in a rich man’s grave. If we were reading for the first time the accounts of the death of Jesus in the Four Gospels, we would not expect them to say that he would be buried in such a place. Yet we know that Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man and a ruler of the Jews, obtained permission from Pilate to take down the body of Jesus and bury it, which he did by putting it in his own tomb. In order to fulfil his own word, God can move unlikely people, such as secret disciples and government officials, to act in certain ways. The fact that the burial of Jesus reveals the accuracy of biblical prophecy is also a reminder of the sovereign rule of God over all events, including the wicked acts of men when they crucified Jesus.

A second detail, therefore, of which the burial of Jesus reminds us, is the authority of God over all earthly powers. The verse means that the human authorities who arranged for and supervised the death of Jesus intended to place the dead body of Jesus where they placed the dead bodies of executed criminals. Yet their intentions were overruled and his body was placed instead in a rich man’s grave.

A third detail that we can see is that the burial of Jesus testifies to the actuality of his death. The Gospels tell us that the government, in order to prevent the disciples of Jesus stealing his body and pretending that he was alive, arranged for a seal and for a guard to be placed so that this would not occur. Some, down through history as well as today, allege that Jesus was still alive when he was taken from the cross (perhaps he had swooned), but we know that government permission was only given after an accurate check was made to certify death. It was a dead body that was placed in a rich man’s grave.

Fourthly, his burial reminds us of the anomaly of his death. The rest of the verse reminds us that Jesus was sinless in action and in speech, and we also know that he was sinless in thought as well. Death is in the world because of sin, and it is only sinners who die. Yet here a sinless man dies and is buried. The grave had an unexpected guest when Jesus of Nazareth was placed in the rich man’s tomb. Here was a victim who was sinless, and such a person had never been in the grave before. Everyone else who had been buried had been sinful.

Fifthly, the burial of Jesus is another example of the willingness of Jesus to associate himself with sinners. We know that he was numbered with the transgressors when he was baptised by John the Baptist, whose ministry was that of baptising persons who were willing to state publicly that they had repented of their sins. Jesus had no sins about which he could repent, yet he aligned himself with sinners when he was baptised. Further he was numbered with the transgressors when he was crucified at Calvary. Only criminals were subject to such an awful death, and in going through that experience Jesus identified himself with the worst of sinners. And here he is now being identified again with sinners as he is placed in a grave. At Jordan, he identified himself with baptised sinners; at Calvary he identified himself with awful sinners, and in the tomb of Joseph he identified himself with the race of sinners.

Sixthly, we can say that the burial of Jesus in a rich man’s tomb was testimony to the admiration given to his Son by the heavenly Father. It is almost as if God said, once Jesus had stated that he had finished his work and placed himself into the care of his Father, ‘The first matter that I need to do is take care of his body. And I will therefore arrange for it to be placed in a rich man’s grave, but not only a rich person’s tomb, because it will be a tomb in which no other body has yet been placed. Although his death was worse physically than that of most other men, and his reputation sunk lower than that of other men, and his body more marred than that of other men, I will begin the process of his journey to the highest glory by ensuring that his body is placed in a unique grave.’

Seventhly, the burial of Jesus in a rich man’s tomb is a source of both challenge and comfort for his people. Jesus shows the attitude with which we should face the last enemy: he died by placing himself into the hands of his Father, knowing that he would take care of the body. None of us knows how we will die – it may be suddenly in an accident, or through a prolonged disease, or through old age – but what we do have is a perfect example of how to approach our own demise. We can only do so by placing ourselves into the hands of God. That is the challenge.

The comfort is to know beforehand that Jesus has been in the grave before us and for us. As one of the old divine put it, ‘In his burial Jesus warmed the bed of death for his people.’ He will take care of our bodies. The rich man’s tomb is for us a sign that Jesus was on the way to glory. Similarly, when we lay a believer in the grave, it is a sign that we believe he/she is already in glory with Jesus and will yet be raised from that grave by Jesus.

So we should not be surprised that Paul regarded the burial of Jesus as one of the matters that were of chief importance as far as the gospel is concerned.

The reason why?

The prophecy gives two reasons as to why the dead body of the Messiah was not placed with the wicked. They are that ‘he had done no violence, and there was no deceit found in his mouth.’ John Brown’s comments about these reasons are very perceptive:

‘In these words we have a description of the faultless excellence of the character of the servant of Jehovah. I can scarcely persuade myself that there is not, in these two clauses, a reference to the twofold charge brought against our Lord as a mover of sedition, and as a blasphemer and impostor. Before Pilate he was accused of treason against the Roman government, pretending to be a king, and stirring up sedition. That accusation was  unproved, and was groundless. Neither his conduct nor his  doctrine was revolutionary. He was no demagogue. He did “not strive, nor cry; neither did any man hear his voice in the streets.” So far from thus doing violence, he checked every tendency in his audience towards tumult – refused to be their leader – withdrew when they would by force have made him a king – and commanded to “render unto Caesar the things which were Caesar’s.” He was charged before the Sanhedrim with making false pretensions to Messiahship, – with being a blasphemer, an impostor, a deceiver of the people. This accusation was equally unfounded. “There was no guile found in his mouth” when he said he was the Son of God; he but spoke the truth – the truth confirmed by abundant evidence. There would have been guile in his mouth had he denied this.’

As Brown observes, ‘These are striking correspondences.’ But he further points out that ‘we ought to consider the words as also an assertion of the spotless innocence – the absolute perfection – of the character of the servant of the Lord.... His life was perfect holiness, his doctrine pure truth. Instead of doing violence, his life was a constant tenor of acts of beneficence. He went about doing good. Instead of guile being in his month, as the sent and sealed of the Father, he spoke the words of eternal verity. Not violence and guile, but grace and truth, were the leading features both of his character and his doctrine.’

The rich man

Joseph of Arimathea showed his love for his Saviour at a crucial time and buried him in his own tomb. He is a reminder to us that God has his person for every emergency. Joseph is an example of a person who has been in the background spiritually but who comes to the fore when the cause of Christ seems to have been abandoned by everyone else.

The only details we have about Joseph are in the incident recorded in connection with Christ’s burial. No mention is made of him elsewhere in the New Testament. Arimathea, his hometown, has not been found with certainty. His life can be summarised as follows: he was a prominent man because he was an honourable counsellor; he was a pious man because he is described as being good and just; and he was a hopeful man, waiting for the coming of the kingdom of God.

Joseph served Jesus at an unlikely time. The cause of Christ was at a low point. All his disciples had fled. There seemed to be no one to take care of the body of the Saviour. Despite all the good he had done, it was too dangerous to identify with him.

Joseph was an unlikely disciple. He was an important man, a member of the Sanhedrin. He was also a rich man. He had his reputation to think about. Yet he used his position for Jesus – he had access to Pilate and so he went and asked for permission to take down the body of Jesus from the cross.

John’s Gospel was written last of the four Gospels. By the time it was written, about AD 90, Joseph is not remembered for his status in society or for his riches, but for what he did for Jesus. At the end of the day, that is what each of us will be remembered for. God had his eye on Joseph that he would do something for Jesus. No doubt, he has his eye on us to see what we will do for him!

Joseph was also an unlikely disciple from another point of view. Involving himself in the burial of Jesus would have made Joseph ceremoniously unclean, so he was depriving himself of participating in the Passover. This was an important occasion, something that he no doubt valued. But he was prepared to put Jesus before his own interests. In this he is a challenge to us.

Joseph’s actions also involved him in taking part in an unusual gathering. When he and Nicodemus went to the cross they would have met there the Roman centurion and the penitent robber. It is not too much to imagine that they would have told Joseph all that had taken place. The penitent thief could speak of his assurance of heaven because of the promise of Jesus. The centurion could describe how watching Jesus led him to realise that he was the Son of God. Nicodemus would recall his evening meeting when Jesus spoke to him of the new birth. In a sense, this gathering was just like a church, in which different people tell what Jesus has done for their souls. It is a picture of the spiritual unity that exists, between Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, noble and ignoble, all forgiven by the Saviour who died for them.

Earlier we mentioned Paul’s inclusion of the burial of Jesus as among the matters that were of first importance as far as the gospel is concerned. While it is customary for lavish headstones to be placed on the graves of the great, no-one regards their graves as a place to find good news. Even if they had given their lives to set others free, all the others can do is miss them from the freedom they provided. How different it is with Jesus! While his burial was the depth of his humiliation, he was not defeated by death. He was in the grave as its Conqueror. That is its message.