The Liberating Power of Messiah's Death - John 19:38-42

1:11We see a civil unrest. We see the rise of a Marxist ideology tearing down statues and history. And among amidst all that, We have a church that is confused on how to respond, and even seeing churches and even seeing individuals turn against each other, and it's a time of alarm. I think America is tired of some of the stresses, right? We feel the tensions, and if we're not careful, we could become paralyzed by fear. And then you get the news this morning that our beloved church was burned to the ground last night or this morning, and investigations going on, and even that can be a cause for great alarm.

2:25Well, what is the response? What is the Christian response supposed to be to all of this? How are Christians to respond to these events that are taking place? Well, I can give you a couple of things we are not to do. Number one, we are not to be overcome by fear. We are not to become fearful. There's only one that the Bible's made it very clear, there's only one individual we're supposed to fear, and that sure simplifies everything. Fear God, right? I'm glad he wrote that in there because then that kind of. Sets me at liberty what not to fear, which is everything else.

3:06So we're not to fear, nor are you to allow people to shame you into joining their movement. I think a lot of our young people and many of our older people that ought to know better are getting caught up in the shame society that says, your silence is violence, and if you don't join into my group, and if you don't join on the wagon with me, you're the problem. Okay, I'm in. No, no, don't let people shame you into their movement.

3:44Silence is not violence, nor is the American flag a symbol of tyranny. Don't let anybody tell you differently. Oh, I we just sang the songs about America the beautiful. America has its flaws, right? And yet, it is not tyranny. Listen, the problem is not in the system, the problem is in the heart of man. Israel was given a perfect system. Israel was called out. Of the bondage of Egyptian tyranny. You remember Exodus 7:16? And Moses was to go and tell Pharaoh, Let my people go that they may serve me.

4:49God brought them out with a mighty hand, and he gave them a perfect law. There was nothing wrong with the law, but there was something wrong with their hearts. Fast forward to the time of Christ, and the Jewish machine had become as tyrannical as the Egyptian regime. Evidence in the cross, perversion of justice. You see, if something doesn't change in the heart, it'll only we can throw off one tyranny and take on another tyranny, and we will become the tyrants that we once despised.

5:41America, we pray for America. The song we sung about America the beautiful, a dream that sees beyond the years a time when our alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human. In tears. It's not a statement of a past, but a prayer for the future. No, the flag is not a symbol of tyranny. Now, the rainbow flag is. I think a lot of our young people are getting caught up and missing the rise of tyranny on this land. No, it's not the American flag that is a symbol of tyranny.

6:41The homosexual movement, which is not gay, by the way, it's not gay at all, has co-opted several other movements, including the Black Lives Matter movement. Go on the website. Read the tenets. Fundamentally, it is a hypocritical movement because it argues for civil rights, but then denies a more fundamental right to the unborn. Lives matter except those in the womb. Hypocrisy, and don't be ashamed to call it out. We are free. Not because we are part of some governmental system, but because we belong to Christ. And let me tell you about the liberating power that there is in Messiah's death.

7:42It's powerful, it changes us. Say more on that. I want to get to the solution. How do we deal with the pressures to conform to a lawless movement? And even broader than that, fear can paralyze. We have fears about many things, fears about our circumstances, fears about some of our relationships, fears. We have fears about what's going on in our world. We have fears what's going on in our own lives. And we can easily bow under a yoke of tyranny, of fear.

8:38How do we deal with the pressure to conform? How do we deal with the pressure to give in? Where does the strength to stand for what is right come from? And I don't mean just be on the right side. I mean when your soul engages what is right and is in liberty to stand on it and move forward with it. How do we get there? How do we respond to what's going on around us with a heavenly boldness and a heavenly kindness? How do we get there?

9:16I say all this because I'm not interested in entering into the political arena. I'm not trying to make libertarians, independents, Republicans out of anybody. I would say stay away from the Democratic Party. Hypocrites to the core. We want to take down monuments. How about the monument that fought to keep slavery in place to begin with, the Democratic Party? A detail we tend to forget. We're going to start taking down structures. How can we talk about civil rights and deny a more fundamental right to the most helpless in society?

10:02Is there not a hypocrisy there that is gross? But I'm not trying to enter into this world, in the political world. I see many of our young people and older people who should know better getting caught up. Don't black out the American flag. It's not you, it is not a sign of tyranny. But how? How, in light of all of what's going on, my concern is for the church. My concern is for y'all that you would exhibit a heavenly boldness and a heavenly kindness, and that you will know where that comes from. Where does it come from? How do we get there? I'm so glad you asked.

11:21Because today we encounter two men who exhibit an unusual bravery, an uncommon courage, a heavenly kind of boldness mixed with a heavenly kind of kindness. Let me read our text to you this morning, beginning in verse thirty-eight, we're at the cross. Jesus has been pierced. And then we read these words: After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one. For fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus, who had first come to him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 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. Therefore, because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

12:47Well, my goal this morning is for you to see the liberating power of Jesus in the lives of these two men. How did they get so bold? How happened? Well, they saw Jesus' death, and it absolutely transformed them. So, the first individual I want to look at is Joseph. Joseph, Joseph of Arimathea. Now, if you remember, Jesus was crucified with two criminals. Their bodies would have been taken down and thrown into a common grave or a criminal grave. So that's where Jesus' body was heading. As the Jews asked for the legs to be broken, even though Jesus' legs were not broken, he died, they would come, take the bodies down, and they would throw them into this common grave.

13:55Except Joseph intervened. Look at verse 38. After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews. So we meet a secret disciple. This is the only place we're connected with Joseph of Arimathea. It's here at Jesus' burial. He doesn't show up anywhere else, and he just goes silent from the literature and scripture. But we do know this. He's from Arimathea. Maybe a reference to Rama location is unsure. He was a rich man, according to Matthew, and a disciple.

14:51According to Mark, he was a prominent member of the Sanhedrin. He was waiting for the kingdom of God or looking for the kingdom of God. And he had to muster courage to go to Pilate. We also know he had not consented to their plan or the action in Luke. He did not consent to what had happened. John also refers to him as a disciple of Jesus, but he adds a secret one for fear of the Jews. Literally, a concealed disciple.

15:34Concealed for fear of the Jews. If you remember back in John chapter 12, verse 42, John had made this stinging indictment about some of the rulers. In John 12, 42, he says, Nevertheless, many, even of the rulers, believed in him, but because of the Pharisees, they were not confessing him for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. That's a stinging indictment. That's a stinging indictment. Joseph would have been among these, right? Who loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. He was drawn to Christ. He was listening. John says he was a disciple of Jesus, listening, being convinced.

16:30Growing, but at least at this juncture, if he has part of this mix, he's quiet because of fear of the Jews. We might label him a secret Christian today, right? And we should pay attention. The power of the fear of man is great. The power of fearing fear is great. How much of our lives is motivated by fear of something? I mean, we live, we can go to the worst-case scenario very quickly in our minds, and then that taints everything we do, taints the way we relate to one another. We can get fear, we can be afraid very quickly, and we can go to an extreme, and especially when you fear what other people think about you.

17:28Fear can be a tyrant. I'm glad God simplified it. Just fear me. Okay, great. But it paralyzes. And fear comes in all shapes and sizes. How do we overcome fear? How does your soul, and I don't mean just intellectually, how do you grasp a change to where you will not be characterized by fear? How do you go there? Well, it's by faith. It's by faith. Faith in the Son of God. Faith in the Christ revealed in Scripture. When you get a glimpse of him, and when you see him, you will be transformed. And the ruin of a soul, and the ruin of a people, and the ruin of a nation begins when there is discouragement to listen to the Christ of Scripture. When you get led away, when you get pulled away into or shamed into following something other than the Christ of Scripture, you can be sure that fear of some sort will take hold.

18:49But notice what Joseph of Arimathea did. Look back at verse 38. He asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away his body. He came and took away his body. You know what Joseph did? In that moment, he came forward and identified himself as a friend of Jesus. That's what he did. Listen, you can always tell the difference between the friends of Jesus and those who hate them, hate him, by the way they treat his memory.

19:32The Jews in verse 31 break his legs, get him off the cross, bury him, get him out of sight, out of mind. We don't care how violent you have to be. And yet, contrast that with Joseph. I'm going to take care of that body. I'm going to be kind to it. I'm going to show, I'm going to honor him. I'm not afraid to be identified with him. But that's the difference. And they're not hard to pick out. Those who hate him will treat his memory with contempt. Those who love him will treat his memory with love and affection.

20:14Several observations you need to make about Joseph here. Joseph used his rank. He spent his political capital to identify himself as a friend of Jesus. And this was very costly for him. He's slow coming on to the scene, but you know, some of the best, the strongest trees are the ones that grow the slowest. And here is a guy emerging who has been trained, who has been thought, and he has thought through, and he has come forward. He had much to lose. He had much more to lose than a fisherman from Galilee. He was on the Sanhedrin, prominent in his life. Position in society. And he honored Jesus by being there when many people had fled, even some of his closest.

21:11He was bold to approach Pilate and ask for the body of a criminal be given to him. Quote, criminal. You know, Joseph probably had not heard Jesus speak about him being raised from the dead. You think about this, he served Jesus at a time when there wasn't apparently anything Jesus could give him back. Jesus was a lifeless body or his body lifeless. He didn't come to him when Jesus is performing all kinds of miracles. Jesus, will you do this for me? He didn't come to him at that time. He didn't come out to hear a great sermon. Boy, I want to hear that. He didn't. No, he came and he served Jesus. He befriended Jesus at a time when Jesus apparently could give him nothing in return.

22:06This is a noble man. He was simply moved to honor his king. Something liberated him from the fear of his associates. Something liberated him at the deepest level. Something moved him out of that. Secret disciple mode. What was it? That's what I want to talk to you about. But before we go there, let's meet another individual: Nicodemus, another secret disciple. Look at verse 39. Nicodemus, who had also first come to him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.

23:00John is the only gospel writer that tells us about Nicodemus, by the way. Nicodemus was also a ruler of the Jews. He was also a member of the Sanhedrin, that supreme court that had religious jurisdiction over every Jew and world. He was the best man that Jewish life and society could produce, yet he himself still needed to be born again, as Jesus made very clear in John chapter 3. But his trajectory is noteworthy because in chapter 3, we meet him as an inquirer coming under the canopy of night, asked the question, how can one be born again?

23:44And Jesus' answer basically comes in chapter 3, verse 14 and 15. As the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever looks upon him will have eternal life. There, that is how a person is born again. To the resurrect, the crucified Lamb of God. And then we meet Nicodemus again in chapter 7, verse 50. This time, he's this timid voice trying to restrain the council from prejudging Jesus before he is even heard. And then we come, and then we come to our text this morning. No longer is Jesus, or no longer does Nicodemus come to Jesus at night and in secret, but he comes in the light and in the open. And he confesses his love for Jesus at a time, just like Joseph, when many had forsaken him. We know he was also rich because of the amount of spices he brought, which, by the way, and I won't get into all the details of it, but it's enough to bury a king. It's enough to bury a king.

25:05God was working in the hearts of both Joseph and Nicodemus through the ministry of Jesus. It's exciting to see that the friends of God show up in some of the most unsuspecting places. Don't be afraid to boldly proclaim. Do not be afraid. Do not be ashamed of Christ in whatever circles you're in. Some friends may show up in some of the most unsuspecting places as they do here. I want you to see what they did. So we've looked at Joseph of Arimathea, we've looked at Nicodemus. Now I want you to see what they did together. They worked together. Look at verse 40. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. They took all these spices, and you can imagine Jesus' body being severely lacerated, susceptible to quick decay because of all that. They brought all these aloes, an antiseptic, perfume. They perfumed the body, perfumed the wrappings, and they even perfumed the grave to keep the stench. That was the custom. It was probably Joseph's own tomb based on Matthew 27, 60, even though it, and an apocryphal book, by the way, Gospel of Peter also recognizes the tomb as being Joseph's.

26:4442, or I'm sorry, verse 42. I'm sorry. Verse 41. Now, in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden, and the garden, a new tomb, in which no one had been laid. That tomb was probably Joseph's, as I Just mentioned. Emphasis, I won't get into all the details about is it garden tomb, sepulchre tomb, or whatever. It was a tomb. I mean, it was a garden, it's a place. And then the emphasis being upon tomb, being that no one had laid there, significant, because if it's empty on resurrection day, there's only one possibility of who came out.

27:28Verse 32, or 42, therefore, because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. See, there was no time for searching for another place. So Joseph's tomb was close to the crucifixion place, so they placed his body there. But I want you to listen to the precision of the words spoken by Isaiah. Isaiah 53:9 says this: His grave was assigned with wicked men. Where is he headed? Into a grave with wicked men. Yet he was with a rich man in his death, because he had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in his mouth.

28:19Jesus was headed to a criminal's grave, yet because of the intervention of Joseph of Arimathea and a Nicodemus. He was with a rich man. He was buried in a rich man's place. So, what do these two do? Well, they came forth and they gave Jesus a kingly burial. That's what they did. And this speaks volumes about the men. But several observations need to be made about both Joseph and Nicodemus, applies to both of them. First of all, they must have been close to the cross during this whole event. Jesus dies around 3 p.m.

29:09And they've got it to about 6 p.m. to get him in the grave. So think about what has to happen in those three hours. And they don't have a, you know, they can't call a taxi. None of that's there. I mean, they've got to get from the crucifixion site into the chambers with Pilate. They've got to approach him, and then they've got to get back. They've got to make all their preparations. That's a lot of time. That's a lot to have happen in a short amount of time. So they had to be close by. They couldn't have been someplace else. And then they couldn't have lost any time, what I'm saying. So they had to be close.

29:43Second, they probably had witnessed all that had taken place during the trial. They saw the mistreatment of Jesus. They saw the injustice that was done to him. They saw it all. And they watched how. Jesus could resolutely face death and in kindness. They may have even heard the words, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. Listen, if you're following the Christ of Scripture, you will have a forgiving disposition. You're not going to be looking for people to pay you back, to give you what they owe you. You don't know the Christ of Scripture if that is the way you go about life.

30:34Are you a forgiver? Can you let things go? He did. They had watched this. They probably even heard Jesus' words to Caiaphas. Remember that great moment when Caiaphas just simply says, I adjure you, you tell us, Are you the Christ? Are you the Son of the Blessed One? And Jesus said, I am. And you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. I am. And they believed.

31:24Something else, both of these men would have had to utterly ruin their relationship. With Caiaphas. They're on the Sanhedrin. They're there. They would. This wasn't a good political move for them. Not only that, they would have to become ceremonially unclean to touch the body. And that would have implications for all the festivities and all that, maybe their duties and their roles that week, the following week, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and all that would take place. They would be unclean.

32:08But isn't this a beautiful scene? In the blackness, and the chaos, and the misjustice, and all that you see, two bright figures coming forward, friends of Jesus. It's like they just come out. Something greater than their fear moved these men to act. And there was a lot to keep them silent. There was a lot that pressured them just to go with it. But something greater than their fear of man took hold in their soul. What was it? What brought these two prominent Jews to the conviction that Jesus was the Son of Man destined for power and glory? What moved these two to give him a king? Burial. What was it?

33:04John has already told us. They looked upon him whom they had pierced. And these two prominent Jews, and I think of foretaste of the whole Jewish nation, they looked, they saw, and it transformed them. They watched the way Jesus died. And that liberated them. There's something liberating about a king who would die for his people instead of extract from them, but that would give to them. Remember in Zacharias, we looked last time, chapter 13, shortly after this statement. They will look upon him who they pierced, as John cites in verse 37.

34:13In that day, a fountain is going to be opened, a fountain for sin and impurity. You know where fear comes from? From an impure heart. That's where it comes from. But what changed them? They looked. It was his death. They saw the way he died. It wasn't the miracles. You think about what all they had witnessed. They saw miracles. They were aware of the miracles, but you know what? That didn't bring them out of their fear. The miracles.

34:49It wasn't a good sermon, and they heard Jesus teach. That's not what brought them out. You know what brought them out? Was watching the Messiah die. That's what brought them out. That's what transformed them. You see, if you fear there's something not right, if you fear anybody other than God, there's something that's not right going on in your heart. And the power of Jesus' death liberates a person from every kind of fear. Let us not cease to gaze upon the ugly beauty of the cross.

35:46Listen, the power of Jesus' death liberates a person from the guilt within. Listen, we need a sacrifice. We need someone to pay the debt that we owe, and we can't pay it back. There's a guilt for our sin that has to be dealt with. In fact, Jesus had to be buried. You remember Leviticus 16 speaks about the scapegoat. And remember, in verse 21, Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the scapegoat, the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgression in regard to all their sins. And he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of the man who stands in readiness. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land, and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. It's a picture of the removal, the complete removal of sin. The goat was a pattern, a picture of the greater scapegoat, the one who would remove sin. And where does he take that sin? He takes it into the grave. He takes it so far away that you and I can't get back to it, even if we tried, because we can't go there.

37:12And so he liberates us from the guilt within. We have a sufficient sacrifice, way in abundance. He also, the power of Jesus' death, liberates a person. From the tyranny within. Not only do we need to be, our sin needs to be removed, the guilt of our sin, we need a, someone, but we also need to change. We need a new disposition. We need to be liberated from the smallness of our own little world, from our little tyrannical selves. Otherwise, we will just be tyrannical.

37:57If I was given absolute power without being in a state of permanent holiness, I would become an absolute tyrant. And that's the world we're in. But it's not just that he liberates us from the guilt within and the tyranny within. He also delivers us from the fear of underperforming, from the fear of failure, from the fear of loss, from the fear of man, from the fear of circumstances. We can get so wrapped up and so driven, and we can go to the worst-case scenarios in our minds.

38:44Listen, we're loved. The Messiah who dies for his people, the king who gives himself for his people liberates them from the performance. He gives us true grace. He also. Jesus' death liberates us from the fear of death. Listen, that grave has been perfumed. Listen, for the believer, it is not a place of decay, it is a place of reunion. Union. There's also, we have a fear of submitting to God's will. Don't we? God, I don't want to submit to that standard. I don't want to take on that role. I don't want to be this. I don't want to say that because we're afraid of God's will. But Jesus' death liberates us as we see our Messiah. And as he goes through death, he shows us that the Father's will can be embraced and loved, cherished, and submitted to with great joy.

39:59The power of Jesus' death also liberates us from our fear of trusting God for the future. I don't care what happens in and around us. I don't care what happens. We can trust and not just trust, we can rest, even in turbulent times. As we go here today, I hope you'll be characterized by rest and peace in him. You remember? What took place, what brought about this? I find it interesting that this phrase, the hour has not yet come. You remember in John chapter 2, his mother wanted him to do something at the wedding, and he basically said, Look, woman, my time, my hour has not yet come. And then in John chapter 7, no one would lay his hand on him because his hour had not yet come. Then in John 8, same thing. As he taught in the temple, no one seized him because his hour had not yet come. And then something really strange happens in John chapter 12, verse 20. Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast. These men came to Philip, who were from Bathsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. So here come some Greeks, some Gentiles want to see Jesus. And look at Jesus' response. Philip came and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come.

41:38The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Now, what in the world? Why would the coming of the Gentiles precipitate Jesus saying, okay, now the hour is here? That's John chapter 12. Chapter 13, he's in the, we're in the upper room and the washing of the feast and explaining why. That's it, the hour has come. Do you want to see Jesus? Jesus says, it's time for me to go to the cross. The Gentiles want to see Jesus? They're going to have to see him on the cross.

42:17You see what's happening here? And as Jesus goes to the cross, you start beginning to see some first fruits coming out. A thief on the cross. He looks at the way Jesus dies and what happens. Remember me. You didn't deserve any of this. Remember me. Jesus says, Today you're going to be with me in paradise. And this centurion, he sees everything going on, and what does he say? Truly, this man was the Son of God. And then two prominent Jews from the Sanhedrin come forth.

43:01Now, what does a thief and a centurion and two prominent Jews have in common? They were all transformed as they watched the Messiah die. A transformation. Jew, criminal, Gentile. What do they have in common? One humanity. That is Jesus' answer for racism. Come to Jesus. Come to Jesus. It says that up here to Manuel: we don't try to reconcile those God has already reconciled. We are one in Christ, a new people that have been transformed by Christ.

44:05Let us never cease to gaze upon the ugly beauty of the cross because it brings an everlasting flow of blessing. Jesus is the perfect king, forgiving king, benevolent king, kind king, loving king, sacrificial king. He's the perfect king, and his kingdom is perfect. Isn't that what we're looking for? A perfect system with a perfect king. He has conquered the soul's greatest enemies. He reigns over a perfect government, and there will be no End to it. He conquers the sin and decay within us so that we can be a people who are bold in a heavenly way and kind in a heavenly way, who can lovingly and trusting and in peace submit to the perfect King who rules over a perfect government. His way is perfect.

45:35Let's go to Him. Heavenly Father, let our hearts all be meld as one in truth. Forgive us, Father, where we have sinned against you. Forgive us, where we have been driven by fear. Father, where we have not been bold because we have not looked upon you. Forgive our failings of not taking in your cross. Father, may it totally shape us, renew us, may we come forth with a heavenly boldness and a heavenly kindness. I thank you for the work that you're doing. Many here today among us on your way, we ask in Jesus' name, Amen.