John 19:38-20:10 “Do You Believe?”

1:10But it's an entirely different kind of disappointment when it comes to a person or a relationship. This is why in counseling, pre-marriage counseling specifically, we talk a lot about expectations. Because it's not always that a person does something wrong. So to speak, but sometimes it's just that your expectations are not met. And this can lead to frustration, discontentment, a loss of confidence, even a loss of hope in a person, in a relationship. And so we find ourselves in the passion narrative in John's Gospel. This is the meat of this book that John is writing. And everything has been leading up to this moment, to these chapters, when Jesus will go to the cross, he will die, he will be buried, and he will rise again.

2:09And one of the refrains, if you remember, throughout this book, is that Jesus's time has not yet come. Well, friends, now the time has come. The time has come. And so this represents a culmination not only in John's Gospel, but in the larger story at hand, really since creation. And so I think this is a helpful summary for where we've been. I want you to listen to this. It'll be on the screen as well. Jesus has been arrested in the garden, interrogated by the leadership of the Jewish high council, the Sanhedrin, and handed over to the Roman governor Pilate.

2:48And he now has been readied for crucifixion. Pilate's present will still be felt as the story continues, and many of the themes we observed will continue in John's record. Despite the apparent tragedy of the scene, Jesus is Israel's king. And Pilate will reinforce this in the strongest terms possible. Jesus' cross does not announce that he claimed to be king, but Pilate writes, Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. This is an announcement to the world. Remember, it's written in many languages. And a challenge to the Sanhedrin leaders who want him to change it.

3:33Friends, the great irony of ironies. That means the result is the exact opposite of what's expected. The great irony is that Jesus is not a victim. He is a victor, a servant of the Father. And the story has been building to this moment. Jesus will not disappoint. He will exceed your every expectations in every single way. For as John the Baptist said earlier in the text, he's the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, bringing peace through his life, his death, and his resurrection.

4:17And so this morning we're going to pick up where we left off. Jesus will be buried as he begins his return to the Father. And so in this first section, the end of chapter 19, John's account. Jesus' burial. It's important to note that the other Gospels also record Jesus' burial, but they do so from a different perspective. Think of it like the facets of a diamond, with each gospel as the turn of the diamond giving you a different perspective of what happened, what was seen, what was heard.

4:52And so, as such, we should consider the differences and similarities of John's writing to the other gospels, but we also must let John's gospel speak for itself. We must consider it as a stand-alone book because John's going to highlight and emphasize certain aspects that the others don't. And I think that's going to come out in this text today. One of those things in particular is that John's highlighting certain people. He's going to focus in on certain people within the Passion narrative.

5:27And we meet one of them as the text opens. We learn that there are these secret believers, and the first is Joseph of Arimathea. He's from Arimathea. That's why they call him that. And he's a resident of Jerusalem. Other gospel accounts say that he was wealthy and a member of the Sanhedrin. That's the final court of appeals in matters regarding Jewish law and religion. Remember, it's the Sanhedrin that is the group that convinced Pierre. Pilate to approve Jesus' death sentence because they didn't have jurisdiction to do so under Roman law.

6:07And Luke 23 tells us some important details about Joseph: that he was a courageous man who was looking. He was looking for the kingdom of God, and that he did not concur with the prosecution of Jesus. That means he was looking, he was waiting with expectation. That tells us something about him. But why a secret believer? Why secret disciple? Well, John adds that Joseph was a secret disciple for fear of the religious leaders who, by a majority vote, executed Jesus.

6:47You see, Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, but he was not included in the vote that crucified Jesus. We learn something here of the fear of God versus the fear of man. Joseph saw Jesus, and he was never the same. No matter the cost or the consequence, he followed, even if it meant that he would lose his standing among his peers, that he might even lose his life. This is the power of God's Spirit at work, and it's instructive to us and a great Challenge to us as well to consider: do we fear God? Do we revere him such that we don't fear man and what people may do to us? Something for us to think about.

7:45Well, next we find Nicodemus, a familiar name and face. He's also a member of the Sanhedrin, and we know that he doesn't agree with the vote as well. We met Nicodemus in chapter 3. He comes in the night so that he's not seen by others. And Jesus tells Nicodemus that the law, of which he is one of Israel's most dedicated and faithful teachers, was unable to bring about the heart change that he needed. Rather, in order to be truly changed, Jesus tells Nicodemus, you need a new heart.

8:22You need to be born again, he tells Nicodemus in John chapter 3. John also seems to imply that Nicodemus is a follower of Jesus, though secretly. And one clue that helps us to see this is Nicodemus's lavish generosity towards Jesus in his death. And I think there's something here for us to see and something here for us to know. And that is this connection between one's heart and one's worldly possessions. You see, heart follows money, and money follows money. Heart.

9:02It's true for Nicodemus, and it's true for us that you and I will treasure and invest in that which we value the most, that which we truly love. And then there's Pilate. He's not done. Or should we say, the Lord is not done with him yet? Because God even uses those who are against him to accomplish his will. Amen. And so, as we've seen, Pilate appears to be sincere and to see Jesus' innocence. He proclaims that three times.

9:40But friends, sincerity does not save. Ultimately, Pilate chooses Caesar, the earthly king, over Jesus, the king of kings. And it's important to highlight that one of the main themes or truths that we've seen throughout John's gospel is this idea that the news about Jesus, the truth of the gospel, it divides the audience. In other words, as people come into contact with this news, no one is neutral. Everyone decides. You're either for Jesus or you're against him.

10:21And friends, I want you to know, we must understand that through John, Jesus is putting that same Thing before us this morning. The same decision is before you and I. We are either for Jesus or we are against him. And this is one of the main reasons I think John focuses on different people throughout this text because he wants you to see and to find yourself in the text. And so some maybe God is calling you to turn from your sin, turn from yourself, and trust in him this morning.

11:03It's not natural to entrust yourself to another. But God through the Holy Spirit can supernaturally change your heart and help you to do so. For others, maybe it's incremental. Maybe there are some areas or some things in your life that you're aware of that are not honoring to God. And in that way, you are against God. Maybe God, through His Word, through these people, is causing you to evaluate and assess your heart. And still, maybe others are able to rejoice in the marvelous grace and mercy of Jesus to work in your heart, to replace your heart of stone with a heart of flesh, such that he's helping you to stand firm in the good times and the heart of God. Times.

12:02He's helping you to remain faithful despite the difficulty. That is great reason to rejoice. So I don't know where you find yourself this morning, but know that John, through his writing, is holding up these people and holding up the truth for us to discern. Are we for or are we against Jesus this morning? Well, the context is the burial of Jesus. And according to custom, they're outside the city. There's a garden tomb, Pastor Mark talked about last week. It's Friday, the day of preparation for the Sabbath, which is Saturday, when no work can be done. And as we learned a couple of weeks ago, Deuteronomy 21 reminds us that dead bodies were forbidden. It was forbidden to leave them hanging overnight and during the Sabbath. And all that reminds us that this process after Jesus' death is quick. It's happening quickly. They must remove the body and begin preparing him for burial. And John notes some specifics here that I think are important for us to consider as they're preparing the body. First, there was myrrh, and that is to embalm or preserve the body. There are spices and aloe, and that's for the smell. There's also linen cloths, which they use to wrap the body.

13:30And then, of course, there is the tomb. The tomb would have been a hole carved out of the side of a hill or a mountain, maybe a rock formation. And inside the tomb, there would have been benches around the perimeter where family members would bring the body in and begin preparing it for burial. Within the walls of the tomb, there were niches or shelves carved. And once the body was prepared, it would be set into one of the niches where it would lie there for about a year until it decomposed completely. And at that point, the family would return and they would gather all of the bones and they would put it in a bone box to secure it for the future.

14:20Well, based on the timeline, what we see in chapter 20, it seems as though the preparation process is begun, but Jesus' body is left prepared but on the bench. And there are a number of things that I want us to see and understand as we consider Jesus' burial. First, I want us to notice the tremendous cost and sacrifice of Joseph and Nicodemus. Other texts talk about other women who are involved, as long as their name was Mary. Does anyone else get confused with all the Marys? Okay, good. I thought I was the only one.

15:00Where Pilate, the Roman governor, shrinks back in fear, Joseph goes to Pilate and he asks for the body. Nicodemus assists by providing an enormous amount of supplies to prepare Jesus' body. But friends, maybe the most significant thing that we learn here is that both, by their actions, identify publicly with the crucified Savior. The cost, the risk, it could not have been greater. And friends, it reminds us that the cost of following Jesus has never been easy, it's always been costly. This is the message of the Bible. Matthew 16 reminds us that we are called to take up our cross and follow Jesus. Romans 6 says that anyone who would follow Jesus must die to sin in himself.

16:10We must beware of those who would distort the gospel by making it about our own health, our own wealth, making it about our own kingdoms rather than his kingdom and his work on the earth. So first, we see how costly it is to follow Jesus. And these men display that. But secondly, the details recorded here are meant to confirm that Jesus is most certainly physically dead. Some debate that, and so that's why this is important. But all the experts are there. The Roman executioners, who had killed many people before, knew that Jesus was dead, confirmed his death. All of Jerusalem, the Jews, as well as those other witnesses who were both for and against Jesus, were all present. The fact that Pilate turns over the body to Joseph was additional proof of Jesus' death. And so we see here that one of John's primary intentions is to let the reader know, to help us understand that Jesus is most certainly dead.

17:25The bodily nature of our Savior, his life, his death, his burial and resurrection, reminds us of the importance of the embodied soul that every single person possesses. The body matters. Additionally, it highlights the consequence of death, of sin, which is death. Though the world crucified him as a criminal, he gave himself up to atone for sin according to the will and the plan of the Father. And so the second operation. Observation is that Jesus died and his death was purposeful. It accomplished something significant.

18:09But I don't want you to miss what Isaiah said many, many years before, Isaiah 53. And they made his grave with the wicked and with the rich man in his death, although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth. Rome and many of the Jews crucified Jesus as a criminal, but some understood that he was the king. He's lifted up outside the city for all to see. Above him is written in three languages. Rome wants this man claimed to be the king of the Jews, but the world gets Jesus, the king of the Jews. The three languages implying that this was for all the world to see and understand, to read and to know.

19:10That Jesus was not just the king of the Jews, but he was the king of all. Criminals were buried in mass graves outside the city, but two wealthy men bury him as a king. The tomb, the spices, all the preparations. And there's no coincidence that all of this occurs just after the Passover. You'll remember that the Passover was the commemoration of Israel's deliverance from Egypt. All those who would be saved would take the blood of a spotless lamb and put it over their doorposts. And when the Lord would see the blood over the doorpost, he would pass over, and thus they would be saved. Well, friends, Jesus is saying and he's showing with his death near the Passover celebration that he is the true and once-for-all Passover lamb. That by his broken body and his shed blood, anyone who would receive him would be spared from the death of sin.

20:22And in relation to John's use of signs and miracles of Jesus, this is the climax of the story. Jesus is the ultimate sign. He is the ultimate miracle that we've all been waiting for, that the history of the world culminates in, that he is the Savior. Since creation, God has been moving the whole timeline of history to this point. And Jesus completes what he set out to accomplish. And now he begins his return to the Father.

21:00Through the cross and by his death, he's now drawing all men to himself. And so, friends, John wants you to see that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. More than that, he wants you to believe and receive eternal life because in him, you will never be disappointed. The question is: do you believe? Well, this brings us to chapter 20. I know you've probably experienced the loss of a loved one, someone close to you. This past Christmas, we lost Chelsea's father, Gary.

21:51And from the moment you receive the news, everything becomes a blur. The phone calls, the interactions, driving to see and support, the prayers, sitting with family and friends, sitting at the bedside of your loved one, seeing them frail and lifeless. In some sense, everything just seems to stop. I think that's why in the movies, they remove the sound from the picture. In moments like these, because they're communicating this silence that seems to occur. It's often in these quiet times when your mind truly and deeply reflects, when God gets your attention.

22:49You face your fears, you search your heart, you ask the hard questions, you consider the meaning of life and of death. I can imagine that what follows Jesus' death is similar. Maybe the space between chapter 19 and 20 is just silence. The teacher, the healer, the friend, he's really dead. I thought he was the hope of the world, but he's dead. I think I'm struck by what they might have felt because it's so fresh for me.

23:46I think that's what John wants you to feel: life for life. But praise be to God. It's not the end of the Story. And friend, it doesn't have to be yours either if you hear and you see what John wants you to hear and see. So it's now Sunday. The Sabbath is Saturday. Mary Magdalene approaches the tomb. Mary is from Magdala, which is a Galilean village, and she appears first at the cross earlier in chapter 19. Luke tells us that she's among other women who followed Jesus and helped to care for his needs. And it appears that she had a special relationship with Jesus. Luke records that Jesus had expelled numerous demons from her. And if you've seen the chosen, listen, I know everyone has their opinion about it. Fine. But I think it captures something significant here. At the end of the episode, featuring Mary's demon possession and healing, she meets Jesus face to face.

25:07And she's never the same. The point is the nature of a transformed relationship with Jesus. And as we'll see next week, Jesus appears to Mary first. We see this juxtaposition of those who seemingly knew in their heads the Sadducees. Pharisees, the Sanhedrin, but didn't know in their hearts. Because knowing Jesus is personal, it's intimate, it's about relationship. Well, then there's Peter and John. Peter's been a main character throughout this gospel and the others. And then there's John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. He never names himself, but the text gives us evidence that this is John.

26:00And the discovery? Well, it's an empty tomb. As Mary approaches, it's still dark. It's Sunday morning, and presumably it's hard to see, but she can at least tell that the tomb is open. Based on her reaction, it seems as though she thinks there's a robbery. The fact that the stone was rolled away either means that someone had been there and taken the body, or that someone was presently there. And given what Mark records in chapter 16 of his gospel, she probably does see the interior and she probably does know that Jesus' body is not there. And so, what does she do? She runs to find Peter and the other disciple.

26:48And notice the word that she uses in verse 2, chapter 20. She uses the word they, probably referring to Jesus's opponents, the religious authorities, whom she thinks have stolen the body. Body. Well, the race is on, literally. Peter and John take off toward the tomb. I mean, isn't this odd? What are we to make of this race to the tomb? Is it that it's merely physical? John was younger, he was stronger. I mean, some of that makes sense because physical training, feats of strength, competition was not uncommon in the Greco-Roman world. Paul talks about that in his writing as well. But is it merely physical?

27:42Some have suggested that it's more of a statement of motivation or desire that reflects what's in one's heart, what's in the soul. That is, Peter's faith and spiritual condition had affected his entire being, right? His lips, his words, denying Jesus, and then, as a result, his feet. Well, my sense is it's probably a combination of all of them. It communicates the truth that our allegiance and our loyalty, the spiritual state of our hearts, will manifest itself in physical and non-physical ways.

28:22Given what we know about Peter, could it be then that Peter had not yet fully resolved in his heart to entrust himself to Jesus? And as a result, we see in his life that he's a bit sluggish in his response to Jesus, the news of the resurrection. One commentator says, love happily supplies swifter wings. Well, regardless, we can know that they become eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Jesus. And John is designed chapter 20 to instruct us about the historical evidence for Jesus' resurrection and the nature of what it means to be a disciple. Since the gospel's earliest chapters, we have observed how John compiles the evidence of Jesus' trial. And as readers, we have been jurors, in a sense, weighing the evidence and making judgments all throughout.

29:23And now John provides the most significant evidence yet, and that is the resurrection, the final testimony of Jesus' divine identity. And so, as they stoop to peer into the tomb, because it's cut out of the side of a mountain, they stoop down to see. And he's not there. He's not there. The burial items are lying there, the linen cloths that were wrapped around him, they're not ripped to shreds. But they're lying there in the shape of a body because his body has escaped them. The facecloth is folded, suggesting that what happened was not chaotic, not a robbery, but it was purposeful.

30:14And what is John's response? Chapter 28 and 9. John saw and he believed. What could this mean? Was it that he believed Mary's word that Jesus was gone? Was it that he believed that Jesus was the Messiah? Given the use of the word still, it seems to mean something like John was beginning to put it all together, though he had not yet fully done so. He's beginning to put it all together that what was prophesied and predicted beforehand was coming true.

31:00His mind is beginning to open up and to grasp the larger picture of what the resurrection means, that Jesus is alive. This is what I think it means that John saw and believed. He had conquered death and sin through his body, just as he had promised. The presence of the angels in other gospels seemed to confirm this or support this idea, that robbers didn't remain. Move the body, but this is none other than the power of God to raise Jesus from the dead.

31:39Friends, the resurrection, Easter Sunday, is the divine historical event that anchors our faith. Remember Paul's emphasis in 1 Corinthians 15? There's a couple of selected passages here that help remind us of how critical the resurrection is. Look at this, 1 Corinthians 15. Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received in which you stand, and by which you're being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preach to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as a first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, and he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. And if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we of all people are most to be pitied. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. The last enemy to be destroyed. Is death, for God has put all things in subjection under his feet. I tell you this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Friends, both are crucial. Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Without the good news of the resurrection, the whole world is left hopeless.

33:41Listen to what Henry Nguyen says. The nearly exclusive emphasis on the tortured body of Christ strikes me as a perversion of the good news into a morbid story that intimidates people, but does not liberate them. And through his literary expertise, John has placed us in this drama by making us view the evidence and case for and against Jesus. John saw and believed, and he's putting it all together. Do you? Do you? As we close, I want to consider what it means for us by zooming out just a bit and John's Gospel. To look at one more application, I want to draw your attention to two texts. The first we see in chapter 1, verse 29. John the Baptist, the next day, he saw Jesus coming toward him, and he said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

34:54And then fast forward to chapter 20. Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. You see, the bookends of John's Gospel are pointing to Jesus as the Messiah, the only Son, whom God sent to save the world from sin. And everything else in between reveals what Jesus came to give.

35:34He came to give peace to all who would receive it. Listen to Matthew Henry's reflection on John chapter 14, verse 27. When Christ was about to leave the world, he made his will. His soul he committed to the Father. His body he bequeathed to Joseph of Arimathea. His clothes fell to the soldiers. His mother he left to the care of John. But what should he leave to his disciples that had left all for him? Silver and gold he had none, but he left them that which was infinitely better, his peace.

36:21Romans 5 reminds us, since we have been justified by faith, we have what? Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our suffering, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

37:06For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die. But God shows his love for us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, Therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation: life, death, burial, and resurrection.

38:10See and believe that Jesus is Savior and Lord, and by believing, you will have life in His name. All of this is the free gift of God's grace. This world, its circumstances, and relationships may disappoint you, but God through Christ never will. The question is whether you will entrust yourself to Him and receive the peace, the peace he came to give. Or maybe you've already entrusted yourself to Him, but as a believer, you feel that your soul is in a state of unrest, things just aren't as they ought to be.

39:02Friends, the prescription from our heavenly physician is to come to him, to cast your cares upon him, for he cares for you. He will give you rest from the toil of your heart, and he will give you peace. He's shown us on the cross that he cares and that he is the one whom God sent. He's fulfilled everything that was written about him. He can be trusted. The question for us to consider this morning is whether or not we will entrust ourselves to him. We hope and pray that you do. Let's pray together.

40:19Father, we're humbled by the truth of your word. That it's sharper than any two-edged sword, that it can cut through the fray of all that's going on in our world, in our lives, and it can get to the heart of what's going on inside us. We thank you for giving it to us that we may know you. We pray through the power of the Spirit that you would help us to believe to see that Jesus is the Christ, He is the Savior, but He's not only Savior, He demands to be Lord, and that requires us to surrender.

41:27But what wonderful news that through His body, through His blood, we have great assurance that there is peace in Him. There is peace and hope, and in contrast to all the disappointments of this world, it brings us great joy. To worship you and serve you as a result. And so we thank you for the work that you've done in our place, that which we could never do on our own. We pray that we would live lives worthy of this work, of your gospel.

42:29It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.