1 Corinthians 15:1

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel, which I preached unto you, which also you have received and wherein you stand, by which also you are saved, if you keep in memory or hold fast what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received: how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

Let's pray. Father, as we look into Your Word, we ask that You would guide us into all truth, that You teach us all things, just as Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would do. Lord, we ask on this Resurrection Day that You would remind us once again of that greatest of all miracles. When You led captivity captive, when You ascended, Lord, when You raised from the dead, death could not hold You. We praise You. We thank You. Would You speak to us? We ask in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

As Paul is writing to the church at Corinth, he speaks here about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He says there in verse 1 of 1 Corinthians 15, "You see, in considering the gospel, we must consider the importance of the preaching of the gospel." Paul, earlier in 1 Corinthians, said that God has chosen, in reality, to use what we might consider a foolish method to send forth His message, His good news. He's chosen the foolishness of preaching. Of all the ways that God might be able to reveal Himself and give forth the message, He's chosen to use earthen vessels such as you and I to proclaim and preach forth the message.

Paul would say to the church at Rome in Romans chapter 10, verse 14, "How then shall they call on Him whom they have not heard, or on whom they have not believed?"

And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? Paul says, "I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you." The gospel is so very important; it is the good news about what Jesus did for us 20 centuries ago, which is celebrated every single year on Easter, what we would call Resurrection Day.

However, the gospel, although it is greatly powerful and essential, is really only effective in those who receive it. Notice he says, "the gospel which I preached unto you, which you also have received." Furthermore, he states, "wherein you stand." Not only do we receive the gospel at one point in time, but I would say that many, if not most of you, at some point in your lives have received the gospel. We have to continue to stand in the gospel.

It is not an accident that Paul, in Ephesians chapter 6, when describing the armor of God, said that we are to shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We need to stand and continue to stand fast in the gospel. Now, for all the problems that the church at Corinth had—and they were many—Paul here commends them for having stood fast in the gospel. They received the gospel and continued to stand fast in it.

Paul says in verse 2, "by which also you are saved." The message that we preach is a message that brings salvation. He states that by the gospel you are saved, but he adds a very interesting word: "if." There is a conditional statement here. "By which you are saved also, if you hold fast what I have preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain."

There is a caution, a warning given in verse 2 that there is a very real danger that someone could believe in vain. Jesus, in Matthew chapter 13, spoke of the parable of the sowers. He spoke of the seed that was scattered on the stony ground, some that was scattered among the thorns, and some that was scattered on the wayside. Three-quarters of that seed sown in Matthew chapter 13 did not produce fruit. Clearly, there are some who believe in vain.

Paul said, "You must hold fast. You must keep in memory the gospel which I have preached to you. Continue to stand in there, lest you have believed in vain." The church at Galatia, one of the first churches that Paul planted in his missionary journeys there in Galatia, also faced similar challenges.

They actually were losing their faith in the true gospel. They began to follow after a gospel of works, believing that they had to do a certain list of works in order to be saved. Paul said that is another gospel; it is not from God. He tells this church, "You must hold fast to the gospel. You must stand in the gospel. Continue to hold on to it."

Then he begins to explain to us what the gospel is in verse 3. "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received." Notice that in verse 3, the next things he discusses concerning the gospel—the three facts of the gospel—are to be set forth first of all. The gospel may be much more than just what is revealed in verses 3 and 4, but what is revealed in these verses should be prioritized.

Paul emphasizes that he received this message; he did not make it up or learn it from man. In Galatians chapter 1, he states, "I received the gospel by revelation of Jesus Christ." The risen Christ revealed the good news to the Apostle Paul, and now he sets forth for us what the gospel is all about, very simply and succinctly.

He delivers three key points: how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. This is the core and content of the gospel—these three historic events that Paul presents. While they may not encompass the entirety of the gospel, they should be emphasized first: that Christ died, was buried, and rose again.

The gospel is not insightful teaching, good advice for living, or merely philosophical abstractions. It is not a list of theological ideas or religious opinions, nor is it myth or fairy tale. As Paul reveals it here, the core of the gospel consists of three historic events—events that actually took place in time and space. As a result, because these are three historic events, we can have great confidence in the proclamation of the gospel.

What are those three events? Well, he says that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried in a tomb, and that he rose again the third day. There are many critics and unbelievers in our day, just as there have been for many centuries. It is interesting that a lot of those critics, as we proclaim the truth of the Gospel, seem to think that it is in some way just our own personal opinion. It is not a matter of personal opinion.

You see, the preponderance of evidence, even twenty centuries later, points to the fact, to the reality, of the death, burial, and resurrection of one Jesus of Nazareth. Let me put it to you this way. This is the 42nd anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination. On April 4th, 1968, some of you remember the event—the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis, Tennessee. Some of you also remember the riots that ensued immediately after that.

Now, could you imagine if you were sharing about the civil rights movement and discussing Dr. King and his assassination? Could you imagine that as you're sharing with someone, they stop you and say, "Well, that's your own personal opinion"? You would rightly be taken aback by that statement, by that response. Because it's not a matter of personal opinion; it transcends the idea of personal opinion. It happened. It is a historic event.

There are those who deny or reject things that actually happen. We call them what? Crazy. We call them foolish. There are some in this day who deny that there was a Holocaust in the Second World War, despite the tons of evidence that points to the fact. The generation that witnessed the Holocaust is still alive and breathing, and yet there are some who say, "No, it didn't happen." It's foolishness. A denial or a rejection does not mean that it did not happen.

The same is true for the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. There will be those who deny. There will be those who reject. In fact, Jesus told us many would reject. But it does not in any way diminish the fact that it happened.

Now, anyone knowledgeable of the Christian faith is aware of the significance of the cross. It has become the symbol by which the church is recognized. It was on that cross that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, where our sins were borne by the Lord Jesus Christ to free us from the penalty and the guilt of sin.

Just as significant is the resurrection of Christ. It is, in fact, the most awesome miracle that has ever taken place. When we consider Christianity and the celebration that we commonly call Easter, we think of the death of Jesus on Good Friday and the resurrection of Jesus on Sunday. However, Paul spoke of three events: that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again the third day.

I wanted to take the time we have remaining today to consider the burial of Christ. Is it important? I would say, yes, it is. All four Gospel writers include a summary of the burial of Jesus. We're not going to look at all four; we don't have enough time today. But if you would turn to Mark chapter 15, we'll just look at two of them.

Mark chapter 15 picks up the account in verse 42. Mark writes, "And now when evening was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, an honorable counselor who also waited for the kingdom of God, came and went in boldly unto Pilate and craved or begged for the body of Jesus. Pilate marveled if he were already dead. Calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead a while. When he knew it from the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.

Joseph bought fine linen, took him down, wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in the tomb, which was hewn out of the rock, and rolled the stone unto the door of the tomb.

Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joseph, beheld where He was laid. Turn from there to the Gospel of John, chapter 19. In verse 38, we read the account of John. After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him leave, and he came and took the body of Jesus.

There came also Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night. He brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. Then they took the body of Jesus and wound it in linen cloths with spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now, in the place where He was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden, a new sepulcher or tomb wherein never a man was laid. There laid they Jesus, therefore, because of the Jews' preparation day, for the tomb was nigh at hand.

If you'd like to read the other accounts of the burial of Jesus, you can find them in Matthew chapter 27, verses 57 through 61, and in Luke 23, verses 50 through 55. The story is easy to sum up for us here. We read that Joseph was a man from Arimathea, a city that was in Judea, probably not far from Jerusalem. We don't know the exact location of Arimathea, but the Scriptures tell us that Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus. He was also a prominent member of the council, likely the Sanhedrin.

The Sanhedrin was the leading religious body in Jerusalem, comprised of 70 rabbis and other good teachers, as well as the high priest. The chief priest would sit on the council, making a total of 71 members. It was that body of men that declared that Jesus must be put to death.

Now, Joseph did not agree with the council's decision to put Jesus to death, but it's plausible that he did not openly share his disagreement because he was afraid of the others and what they might think. The Scriptures tell us that Joseph was waiting for the kingdom of God, which means he was looking for its king. He was waiting for the kingdom of God so much that he spent his own money to have a tomb prepared for himself in the city of Jerusalem. This indicates that he did not have a tomb prepared in his own hometown; he wanted to be close to Jerusalem.

He is described by the Gospel writers as being rich, honorable, good, and even just, meaning righteous. The very same Greek word that is used to describe Jesus' righteousness is applied to Joseph of Arimathea. After the brutal death of Jesus, Joseph was courageous enough to go before Pilate. Mark's Gospel states that he went boldly before Pontius Pilate, the governor of Rome in that region. Even though he had been a disciple secretly, he was now willing to openly associate himself with a man who was condemned for sedition against Rome.

When Joseph came, Pilate was surprised that Jesus had already died. Because of his surprise, he actually asked for confirmation about Jesus' death. The centurion, the Roman guard who oversaw the execution of Jesus, confirmed that Jesus was, in fact, dead. Apparently, the lifeless body of Jesus remained on the cross for some period of time. He had been crucified at nine in the morning, and by three in the afternoon, he had died. Pilate was amazed at this because sometimes people would linger on a cross for three to four days before they died.

One required permission from the Roman governor to remove a body from a Roman cross. The Romans preferred that bodies remain on crosses because they served as a very public billboard of what would happen to anyone who resisted Rome. Historians of first-century Judea tell us that during this period, some 30,000 Jews were crucified on Roman crosses.

In and around Israel, many crucified bodies were left on the crosses until they decayed to the point where they fell of their own power. Joseph, we're told, did not prepare the body of Jesus by himself. John's Gospel tells us that Nicodemus, another prominent leader in Jerusalem and apparently a secret disciple of Jesus, came to help. We meet Nicodemus for the first time in John chapter 3. He is the one who came to Jesus by night. There, Jesus preached the Gospel to Nicodemus, but he did not receive it at that point in time. However, by this time, he now comes openly and brings a hundred pounds of spices and other materials used for burial preparation. They wrap the body in fine and clean linen cloth according to the burial customs of the Jews.

Following that preparation, Joseph and Nicodemus put the lifeless body of Jesus into the tomb that was near where he was crucified, a tomb that had been prepared for Joseph of Arimathea. They sealed the tomb while some of Jesus' disciples and some of the women who had followed him from Galilee watched on. This is, however, a very sparse description of the story, just a report of what took place.

If we take some time to consider it in more detail, what does it mean when it says that he was buried according to the manner and customs of the Jews? When we look into it and think about the burial of Jesus, it weighs heavily upon our hearts and minds. When Joseph and Nicodemus came to take the body of Jesus, it was still hanging on the cross. One or both of them would have had to remove Jesus from the cross, as the Roman soldiers would not have done that. Mark chapter 12, verse 46 seems to indicate that Joseph of Arimathea was the one who removed the body of Jesus from the cross.

Remember, he was fastened to the cross by iron nails six to nine inches long, and Joseph would have had to remove those nails before he could have taken Jesus down. Joseph and Nicodemus had never intended to do a job like this before. In fact, given their position and who they were—rich and well-known leaders in Jerusalem—they faced a daunting task.

This is not the kind of work they would have ever done, especially on what is considered the highest and holiest day in Israel. The Passover was coming, and by touching this dead body, they themselves would have become ceremonially unclean for the Passover. One or both of them had to remove the nails; perhaps they had some sort of tool to pry those nails out. As Nicodemus or Joseph did this, probably Joseph, the body of Jesus would slump over his shoulders. Never was a body so carefully and tenderly removed from a Roman cross as was Jesus' that day.

After removing Jesus' body from the cross, they would begin to prepare him for a proper burial. They would have had to wash his body, carefully examining it. I imagine that they probably began at his head. There, at his head, they would have had to remove the crown of thorns. There's one on the wall right back here; you can take a look at it after the service if you want to. The thorns that they used were likely one to two inches long, and they didn't just place it on Jesus' head. The Gospels tell us that when they put it on Jesus' head, some of the Roman soldiers took a stick and hit it onto his head. Joseph and Nicodemus would have had to remove the broken thorns from the head of Jesus, his hair no doubt matted and bloodied.

His face, as the prophet Isaiah tells us in Isaiah chapter 50, was marred. His beard was pulled out, so there were probably large areas of his beard that had been torn from his face. His lips were dry and cracked. Isaiah also tells us that his appearance was marred more than any man; you could not even tell that he was a man by looking at his face. Here, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus look at the beaten face of Jesus.

They move from his head, from his face, down to his shoulders and back. His shoulders and arms would have been riddled with splinters. They didn't have some nice carpenters come out and plane down that crossbeam before they hung him there or sand it down to make it nice and smooth. They wanted it to be a terrible death, and so he likely had splinters.

All through His back and shoulders, Jesus endured severe punishment, which the Romans would have removed with care. Before His crucifixion, they had beaten Him with a flagellum, or the cat of nine tails, a whip that had multiple leather straps. Embedded in those leather straps were pieces of broken clay, broken bone, and sharp rocks, designed to lay open the back of the subject being beaten. Jesus received 40 lashes, and historians tell us that after that beating, His back would have been one giant gaping wound. They likely could see the bones of Jesus' ribcage and spine, maybe even some of His internal organs. They probably had to remove some of the pieces of rock and clay that had been stripped from the leather straps as they washed Him.

Turning Him over, Jesus had a gaping wound just underneath His ribcage. John chapter 19 tells us that one of the soldiers, to test and see if Jesus was dead, took a spear and slid it in underneath His ribcage, hitting His heart. Blood and water came out. That gaping wound was probably three to four inches wide and very deep. Thomas was not the first to inspect the wound of Jesus. I think the worst of all that day were the eyes that didn't open and the voice that didn't speak. As Joseph and Nicodemus tended to Jesus, they were probably hoping and praying, "Wake up, Jesus, wake up." But He did not.

Can you imagine the tears that filled their eyes as they worked? I think they didn't say a single word to each other the entire time. The Jews did not embalm their dead; instead, they would anoint the body with very heavy-smelling spices to try and cover any sort of smell of decay as a body would decay. We are told that Nicodemus brought a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes. In 1 Chronicles chapter 16, we read about the death of King Asa, where they used 65 pounds of spices. But Jesus is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and here, a hundred pounds were employed. Myrrh was more of a liquid, while aloes was like a powder. They would mix the two together and apply it to the body.

As they wrapped the body with linen, they applied the spices as well. And there is Jesus. Do you suppose that Joseph and Nicodemus could ever have smelled those spices again without immediately being brought back to that moment? What a deep, lifelong impression that must have left on these two men.

When we think of this humble burial that Jesus had 2,000 years ago, we remember that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords submitted Himself to this. In the Gospel of John, He told Pilate, "You don't take my life from me; I lay it down on my own accord." I will do almost anything, go to great lengths to avoid shame and embarrassment, won't you? But Jesus hung upon the cross naked, and then these two men delicately washed, anointed, and wrapped His body for burial.

Joseph and Nicodemus were experts in the law of Israel. I wonder, did Isaiah chapter 53 go through their minds as they prepared His body? What about Psalm 22, which also speaks of the death of the Messiah? You wonder what it was that caused Joseph and Nicodemus to finally and publicly make themselves known as followers of Jesus. Every one of Jesus' other disciples, the twelve that we read of so much in the Scriptures, left; they departed. But Joseph and Nicodemus were there, and they prepared the body for Jesus.

What motivated a man like Joseph? We don't know anything else about him other than what is read in these accounts of the burial of Jesus. We don't know anything about him from history, but he made himself known. Why did he go seeking the body of Jesus at this time? Perhaps it was the earthquake that happened right as Jesus died or the darkness that came upon the earth. Matthew chapter 27 speaks of the graves of the patriarchs opening in Jerusalem or the veil that was torn in the temple. Perhaps it was because he was so horrified by the injustice he had seen before the Sanhedrin and the ruling body. After he outed himself as a disciple of Jesus, there is no doubt that he was dismissed.

From the Sanhedrin and probably much to his liking, I imagine he didn't want to be a part of it any longer. Devastated by what they had done to Jesus, his love for Christ was so profound that he wanted to spare Him that final indignity. You see, most of the time, a common criminal killed on a cross, when they did remove his body, would be cast into the dump, into the refuse heap there at Hinnom, the Valley of Hinnom, or just thrown casually into a common man's tomb.

His desire, perhaps, to rise above a guilty conscience because he had been a secret disciple may have been eating away at him, and he finally wanted to declare his faith in an open way. Maybe he understood what Deuteronomy chapter 21 said: that people need an appropriate burial, even if they are under punishment. As I mentioned, he didn't want Jesus' body to be dumped in the dump. Ultimately, it was God who moved Joseph and Nicodemus to do this deed. They did so in many ways, perhaps without their knowing, in fulfillment of prophecy.

You see, Jesus' burial is important because it fulfilled what the Scriptures said. Remember what Paul said: that Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose from the dead the third day according to the Scriptures. What Scriptures? Well, in Isaiah chapter 53, we read about the death and burial of Jesus. In verse 9, it says that Jesus' grave was assigned with the wicked, but He was with the rich in His death. It was a sign that He would have been cast out with the two robbers who had died on either side of Him, but really, in His death, He was buried in a rich man's tomb. The burial of Jesus fulfills Isaiah 53.

It also fulfilled Jesus' promise from Matthew chapter 12. There, Jesus promised and said, "Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." The burial of Jesus, furthermore, demonstrated that Jesus was truly dead. Could you imagine that anybody, for years after that point, would ever be able to convince Joseph and Nicodemus that Jesus was not dead and that He had just revived in the tomb?

Far be it. There's no possible way. And yet, even to this day, there are fools who say that there is this swoon theory, claiming that Jesus revived while he was in the tomb. They suggest he was given enough strength to tear himself out of the hundred pounds of spices and grave clothes, roll the stone away, and then flee alive. However, this theory only demonstrates that Jesus was truly dead and emphasizes the significance of the resurrection.

You see, the resurrection of Jesus is all the more glorious because of His burial. Conceivably, after Jesus had died on the cross, the atonement for our sin was finished, and the sacrifice had been made. Within five minutes, or even five seconds after He had died, He could have burst from the cross like a superhero. But instead, He hung lifeless on the cross for some period of time, long enough for Joseph to gain audience with Pilate and receive permission to take His body. He hung lifeless on the cross until His body was laboriously removed and hurriedly buried according to Jewish custom.

The burial of Jesus gave Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus a way to proclaim their relationship with Him. It called them out on that day to no longer remain in the shadows as followers. The burial of Jesus also tested the faith and devotion of His disciples. After Jesus had been buried, they were despondent and in despair. They figured He was gone, even though He had proclaimed to them that He would rise again. It made His disciples experience a certain kind of death for those three days while Jesus was in the tomb.

Jesus' burial was a way to prove that at the cross, He defeated sin and also defeated death. The burial in the empty tomb shows that Jesus conquered sin and death. What does this mean for us? In Romans chapter 6, Paul says in verse 4, "Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death."

That, like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we should walk in newness of life. Because Jesus died according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, we, by grace through faith, can die to our old flesh, be crucified with Christ, and rise to walk in newness of life. By grace through faith, because of the work that Jesus did on the cross that day, we can have abundant life, eternal life in Him.

We are buried with Him by baptism, so just as He was raised from the dead, we should rise and walk in newness of life. Paul continues in verse 5, "For if we have been planted, or if we have been buried together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection." His broken, scarred, bruised, bloodied body was laid in the tomb, but three days later, He rose from the dead victorious in a new body. The scars remained, but the stench of death was not there. When Lazarus came forth, he stinketh. When Jesus came forth, He shone with glory.

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed. The body of sin is destroyed because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For that He died, He died unto sin once, but that He lives, He lives unto God. Likewise, reckon yourselves also to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Have you been buried with Christ today? Have you, by faith, laid aside and reconciled that old man, reckoned him dead, that you might live unto God? Remember what Paul said to the church there in Corinth: "I declared unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which you also received, wherein you stand." Have you received it? Do you stand? If so, you are saved. I mentioned the verse in Romans chapter 10 that the gospel...

Must be preached. Just before Paul said that in verse 9, he stated that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart, man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. The scripture says, "Whosoever believes on Him shall not be ashamed." Believe on Him—He who, 2,000 years ago, bore my sin, your sin, our shame on the cross. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might receive His righteousness.

You see, Jesus was righteous in nature, but the scripture says that Joseph of Arimathea was righteous. How was he righteous? By grace through faith, he received the imputed righteousness of Christ. We are not righteous by nature, but we receive His righteousness, and clothed in His righteousness, we stand. If you want to stand with Christ on that day, then just as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea boldly stood, you must do so as well.

Let's all stand together. God calls to you; He calls to me from the empty tomb, urging us to place our faith in Him. Your bulletins this morning have a picture of the tomb that many believe is the tomb where Jesus was laid—the Garden Tomb, Gordon's Calvary, located just outside the city walls of Jerusalem. I've been there; it's empty. There's a sign on the door that says, "He's not here; He is risen." What a glorious truth!

I have to admit, and I don't say this to demean, but it bothers me when I see a cross with Jesus still on it. The cross is empty, the tomb is empty, and the throne in heaven is occupied. He is risen indeed.

Father, we thank You that You demonstrated Your love towards us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ, You died for us. We thank You that You are alive. You are on the throne today. And Lord, I pray that You would occupy...

The throne of my life and the lives of my brothers and sisters here this morning is a sacred place. I pray for anyone who has perhaps been a disciple secretly or has refused to receive the truth. Maybe they have denied You, Lord. Would You call out to them now by Your Spirit, that they would place their faith in You and confess You as Lord?

I can think of no better day to do so than Resurrection Day. We thank You that You have called us to rise and walk in newness of life. Give us boldness like Joseph and Nicodemus had as we fellowship with one another and spend time with friends and family this afternoon. Some may even believe that Easter is all about eggs and bunnies.

Give us boldness, Lord, to speak clearly the truth that the tomb is empty and the throne is occupied. We praise You in Jesus' name. Amen.