GOSPEL READING:
Luke 23:50-5650 Now there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51 who had not consented to their purpose and deed, and he was looking for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud, and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb, where no one had ever yet been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. 55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid; 56 then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
Meditation: Jesus not only died for our sins (1
Corinthians 15:3); he also, by the grace of God, tasted death for
every one (Hebrews 2:9). It was a real death that put an end to
his earthly human existence. Jesus died in mid afternoon and the
Sabbath began at 6:00 pm. Since the Jewish law permitted no work
on the Sabbath, the body had to be buried quickly. Someone brave
enough would have to get permission from the Roman authorities to
take the body and bury it. The bodies of executed criminals were
usually left unburied as carrion (dead flesh) for the vultures and
dogs. Jesus was spared this indignity through the gracious
intervention of Joseph of Arimethea.
Isaiah foretold that the Messiah would be buried in a rich
man's tomb - but no tomb could contain him for long
Who was this admirer and secret disciple of Jesus? Luke tells us
that Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish
council that condemned Jesus. We are told that he did not agree
with their verdict. He was either absent from their meeting or
silent when they tried Jesus. What kind of man was Joseph? Luke
tells us that he was "good and righteous" and "looking for the
kingdom of God". Although he did not stand up for Jesus at his
trial, he nonetheless, sought to honor him in his death by giving
him a proper burial. This was to fulfill what the prophet Isaiah
had foretold: "He was cut off out of the land of the living
..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" (Isaiah 53:8-9).
The power of God kept Jesus' body from corruption so he
could rise victorious on the third day
In the Book of Revelation, the Lord Jesus speaks: "Fear not, I
am the first and the last, and the living one: I died, and
behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and
Hades" (Revelation 1:17-18). No tomb in the world could
contain the Lord Jesus for long. His death on the cross purchased
our redemption and his triumph over the grave on Easter morning
defeated death. What preserved the Lord Jesus from corruption? He
was kept from decay and he rose from the dead by divine power.
"My flesh will dwell in hope. For you will not let your Holy One
see corruption" (Psalm 16:9-10). The mystery of Christ's
lying in the tomb on the sabbath reveals the great sabbath rest of
God after the fulfillment of our salvation which brings peace to
the whole world (Colossians 1:18-20). Is your hope in this life
only, or is it well founded in the resurrection of Christ and his
promise that those who believe in him will live forever?
Lord Jesus, you died that I might live forever in your kingdom of peace and righteousness. Strengthen my faith that I may I know the power of your resurrection and live in the hope of seeing you face to face for ever.
Psalm 16:1; 8-11
1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
8 I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also dwells secure.
10 For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your godly one see the Pit.
11 You show me the path of life; in your presence there is fulness of joy, in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The victory of the Lamb of God, sermon by Melito of Sardis, died 180 A.D.
When the Lord had
clothed himself with humanity,
and had suffered for the sake of the sufferer, and had been
bound for the
sake of the imprisoned, and had been judged for the sake of the
condemned,
and buried for the sake of the one who was buried, he rose from
the dead,
and cried aloud with this voice: "Who is the one who contends
with me?
Let him stand in opposition to me. I have set the condemned man
free; I
have given the dead man life; I have raised up the one who had
been entombed.
Who is my opponent? 'I', he says, 'am the Christ'. I am
the one who
destroyed death, and triumphed over the enemy, and trampled
Hades under
foot, and bound the strong one, and carried off man to the
heights of heaven'.
'I', he says, 'am the Christ'.
"Therefore, come, all families of men, you
who
have been befouled with sins, and receive forgiveness for your
sins. I
am your forgiveness. I am the Passover of your salvation, I am
your light,
I am your savior, I am your resurrection, I am your king. I am
leading
you up to the heights of heaven, I will show you the eternal
Father, I
will raise you up by my right hand".
This is the one who made the heaven and the
earth,
and who in the beginning created man, who was proclaimed through
the law
and the prophets, who became human through the virgin, who was
hanged upon
a tree, who was buried in the earth, who was resurrected to the
heights
of heaven, who sits at the right hand of the Father, who has
authority
to judge and to save everything, from the beginning of the world
to the
end of the age.
This is the alpha and the omega, this is the
beginning
and the end - an indescribable beginning, and an
incomprehensible end.
This is the Christ. This is the king. This is Jesus. This is the
general. This is the Lord. This is the one who sits at the right
hand of
the Father, to whom be the glory and the power for ever. Amen.
