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.

On Resurrection Day, we trace the gospel down into the tomb—and discover why the burial of Jesus magnifies the greatest miracle of all.

The Foolishness of Preaching

As Paul writes to the church at Corinth, he speaks of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In considering the gospel, we must consider the importance of its preaching. Earlier in 1 Corinthians, Paul said that God has chosen what we might consider a foolish method to send forth His message—the foolishness of preaching. Of all the ways God might reveal Himself, He has chosen to use earthen vessels such as you and I to proclaim the message.

Paul said to the church at Rome in Romans 10:14, "How then shall they call on him whom they have not heard, or on whom they have not believed? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" So Paul says, "I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you." The good news about what Jesus did for us twenty centuries ago is celebrated every year on Resurrection Day.

Received, Standing, Saved—If

The gospel, though greatly powerful and essential, is only effective in those who receive it. Notice Paul says, "the gospel which I preached unto you, which you also have received." Many, if not most of you, have at some point received the gospel. But furthermore, he says, "wherein you stand." We don't merely receive the gospel at one point in time; we must continue to stand in it. It is no accident that in Ephesians 6, describing the armor of God, Paul says we are to shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

For all the problems the church at Corinth had, Paul here commends them for standing fast in the gospel. Then in verse 2 he says, "by which also you are saved." But he adds a very interesting word: "if." There is a conditional statement here, a warning that someone could believe in vain. In Matthew 13, Jesus spoke of the parable of the sower. The seed scattered on stony ground, among thorns, and on the wayside—three quarters of it—did not produce fruit. So clearly some believe in vain.

The church at Galatia, one of the first churches Paul planted, was actually losing its faith in the true gospel, following after a gospel of works. Paul said, "That is another gospel. It's not from God." So he urges this church: you must hold fast to the gospel; you must continue to stand in it.

The Three Historic Facts of the Gospel

Paul then explains what the gospel is. "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received." Notice that the three facts he is about to give are set forth first of all. The gospel may be much more than verses 3 and 4, but these things must come first. And this is what Paul received—he did not make it up. In Galatians 1, Paul says he received the gospel by revelation of Jesus Christ. The risen Christ revealed the good news to him.

Three things: 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, the content of the gospel. The gospel is not insightful teaching, good advice, philosophic abstractions, theological ideas, religious opinions, myth, or fairy tale. As Paul reveals it, the core of the gospel is three historic events that actually took place in time and space. Because of that, we can have great confidence in proclaiming it.

Not a Matter of Personal Opinion

There are many critics and unbelievers in our day who seem to think that when we proclaim the gospel, it is merely our own personal opinion. It is not. The preponderance of evidence, even twenty centuries later, points to the reality of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

Consider this: today is the forty-second anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. If you were sharing about the civil rights movement and Dr. King's assassination, and someone stopped you to say, "Well, that's just your personal opinion," you would rightly be taken aback. It happened. It is a historic event.

Those who deny things that actually happened we call crazy or foolish. Some in our day deny the Holocaust of the Second World War, though the generation that saw it is still alive and there is tons of evidence. A denial does not mean it did not happen. The same is true of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus told us many would reject Him, but rejection does not demean the fact that it happened.

Turning to the Burial

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 there that Jesus bore our sins to free us from the penalty and guilt of sin. Just as significant is the resurrection of Christ, the most awesome miracle that has ever taken place. When we think of Easter, we think of Jesus' death on Good Friday and His resurrection on Sunday. But Paul spoke of three events—that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. So I want to take our remaining time to consider the burial of Christ. Is it important? Yes, it is.

All four gospel writers include a summary of the burial of Jesus. Mark 15:42–47 tells us that Joseph of Arimathea, an honorable counselor who waited for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and begged for the body of Jesus. Pilate marveled that He was already dead and confirmed it with the centurion. Joseph bought fine linen, took Him down, wrapped Him, laid Him in a rock-hewn tomb, and rolled a stone to the door, while the women beheld where He was laid.

John 19:38–42 adds that Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds in weight. They wound the body in linen cloths with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury, and laid Him in a new tomb in a garden near the place of crucifixion. The other accounts are in Matthew 27:57–61 and Luke 23:50–55.

Joseph and Nicodemus

Joseph was a man from Arimathea, a city in Judea, probably not far from Jerusalem. The Scriptures tell us he was a secret disciple of Jesus, but also a prominent member of the council—likely the Sanhedrin, the leading religious body, comprised of seventy rabbis along with the high priest, seventy-one in all. It was that body that declared Jesus must be put to death. Joseph did not agree, but it is plausible he did not openly share his disagreement out of fear of the others.

The Scriptures say Joseph was waiting for the kingdom of God—he was looking for its King—so much so that he spent his own money to have a tomb prepared near Jerusalem rather than in his own hometown. He is described as rich, honorable, good, and even just, meaning righteous. The very same Greek word used for Jesus' righteousness is applied to Joseph.

After the brutal death of Jesus, Joseph courageously went before Pilate. Mark says he went boldly. Though once a secret disciple, he was now willing to openly associate himself with a man condemned of sedition against Rome. Pilate was surprised Jesus had already died and asked for confirmation, which the centurion gave. Jesus had been crucified at nine in the morning and died by three in the afternoon—remarkable, because some lingered on a cross three or four days. One required the Roman governor's permission to remove a body, because the Romans liked bodies to remain as a public billboard of what happens to those who resist Rome. Historians tell us some thirty thousand Jews were crucified in and around Israel in this first century, many left to decay until they fell.

Nicodemus came to help. We first meet him in John 3, the one who came to Jesus by night, to whom Jesus preached the gospel. He did not receive it then, but now he comes openly, bringing a hundred pounds of spices. They wrapped the body in fine, clean linen according to Jewish custom, laid Him in the tomb prepared for Joseph, and sealed it, while the women from Galilee watched.

Tending the Broken Body of the King

But this is a sparse description. When we consider it in detail, the burial of Jesus weighs heavily on our hearts. When Joseph and Nicodemus came, the body was still hanging on the cross; the Roman soldiers would not take Him down. Mark seems to indicate Joseph removed the body himself. Jesus was fastened by iron nails six to nine inches long, which had to be removed before He could be taken down.

These were rich, well-known leaders who never intended to do such work—especially on the highest, holiest day in Israel. By touching a dead body, they would become ceremonially unclean at the Passover. As the nails were pried out, the body would slump over Joseph's shoulders. Never was a body so carefully and tenderly removed from a Roman cross.

Then they prepared Him for burial, washing and examining His body, probably beginning at His head. They had to remove the crown of thorns—thorns likely one to two inches long, which the soldiers had beaten onto His head with a stick. They removed the broken thorns, His hair matted and bloodied. Isaiah 50 tells us His beard was pulled out, so large areas of His face were torn. His lips were dry and cracked. Isaiah also tells us His appearance was marred more than any man—you could not even tell He was a man.

Moving to His shoulders and back, His arms would have been riddled with splinters; the cross was made deliberately rough to inflict a terrible death. Before His crucifixion the Romans beat Him with the flagellum, the cat of nine tails, leather straps embedded with broken clay, bone, and sharp rocks. After forty lashes, historians tell us His back would have been one giant gaping wound—they could likely see His ribcage, spine, and even internal organs. Turning Him over, they found the gaping wound beneath His ribcage, where John 19 says a soldier thrust a spear into His heart and blood and water came out, a wound three to four inches wide and very deep. Thomas was not the first to inspect Jesus' wounds.

Worst of all that day were the eyes that didn't open and the voice that didn't speak. As they worked, they were probably hoping and praying, "Wake up, Jesus." But He did not. Imagine the tears that filled their eyes; I think they didn't say a single word the whole time. The Jews did not embalm but anointed the body with heavy spices to cover the smell of decay. Nicodemus brought a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes—where 1 Chronicles 16 records sixty-five pounds for King Asa, here a hundred pounds were used, for Jesus is the King of Kings. Could Joseph and Nicodemus ever smell those spices again without being brought back to that moment?

Why They Came Out of the Shadows

When we think of this humble burial, that the King of Kings submitted to it—in John's Gospel He told Pilate, "You don't take my life from me; I lay it down on my own accord." We will go to great lengths to avoid shame and embarrassment, yet Jesus hung naked on the cross, and these two men delicately washed and anointed Him. As experts in the law, did Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, which speak of the Messiah's death, run through their minds?

What caused Joseph and Nicodemus to finally and publicly identify as followers of Jesus? Every one of the twelve had departed; they weren't there. But these two were. We know nothing else of Joseph from history, yet he made himself known. Perhaps it was the earthquake at Jesus' death, or the darkness over the earth, the graves of the patriarchs opening in Matthew 27, or the temple veil torn in two. Perhaps it was horror at the injustice he had seen before the Sanhedrin. After outing himself as a disciple, he was no doubt dismissed from the council—probably much to his liking.

Devastated by what had been done to Jesus, his love was so great that he wanted to spare Him the final indignity. Usually a criminal's body was cast into the refuse heap of the Valley of Hinnom or thrown casually into a common tomb. Perhaps Joseph wanted to rise above a guilty conscience, or understood Deuteronomy 21, that people need an appropriate burial even under punishment. Ultimately it was God who moved Joseph and Nicodemus to do this deed—often without their knowing, in fulfillment of prophecy.

Why the Burial Matters

Jesus' burial is important because it fulfilled the Scriptures. Isaiah 53:9 says His grave was assigned with the wicked, but He was with the rich in His death. He should have been cast out with the two robbers, but instead He was buried in a rich man's tomb. The burial also fulfilled Jesus' promise in Matthew 12: "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 demonstrated that Jesus was truly dead. Could anyone ever convince Joseph and Nicodemus that He had merely revived in the tomb? Yet to this day some hold the swoon theory—that Jesus revived, tore Himself out of a hundred pounds of spices and grave clothes, rolled the stone away, and fled. Far from it. The burial emphasizes the resurrection and makes it all the more glorious. After His death the atonement was finished; within seconds He could have burst from the cross like a superhero. Instead He hung lifeless long enough for Joseph to gain audience with Pilate and laboriously remove and bury Him.

The burial gave Joseph and Nicodemus a way to proclaim their relationship with Jesus, calling them out of the shadows. It tested the faith and devotion of the disciples, who were despondent and in despair, dying a kind of death those three days. And it proved that at the cross Jesus defeated not only sin but death. The burial and the empty tomb show that Jesus conquered both.

Buried With Him, Raised to Newness of Life

What does it mean for us? In Romans 6:4 Paul says, "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, was buried, and rose again 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—abundant and eternal life in Him.

Paul continues in verse 5: "If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." His broken, scarred, bloodied body was laid in the tomb, but three days later He rose victorious in a new body. The scars remained, but the stench of death was gone. When Lazarus came forth, he stank; 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." "Likewise reckon yourselves also to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Have you been buried with Christ today? Have you by faith laid aside the old man, reckoned him dead, that you might live unto God? Remember Paul's words: "I declared unto you the gospel which I preached, which you also received, wherein you stand." Have you received it? Do you stand? If so, you are saved.

In Romans 10, just before saying the gospel must be preached, Paul wrote in verse 9, "If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall 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." Believe on Him who two thousand years ago bore your sin and our shame, who knew no sin yet became sin for us that we might receive His righteousness. Joseph of Arimathea was called righteous not by nature but by grace through faith, receiving the imputed righteousness of Christ. Clothed in His righteousness, we stand. If you want to stand with Christ on that day, then, just as Nicodemus and Joseph boldly stood, you must do also.

The Empty Cross, the Empty Tomb, the Occupied Throne

God calls to you from the empty tomb, calling you to place your faith in Him. Many believe the garden tomb at Gordon's Calvary, just outside the city walls of Jerusalem, is where Jesus was laid. I have been there. It is empty. A sign on the door says, "He is not here, He is risen." What a glorious truth.

I must admit—and I say this not to demean anyone—it bothers me to 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.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You that You demonstrated Your love toward us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We thank You that You are alive and on the throne today. Lord, I pray that You would occupy the throne of my life and the lives of my brothers and sisters here this morning. I pray for any who have been a disciple secretly, or who have refused to receive, or who have denied—Lord, 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 as we fellowship and spend time with friends and family this afternoon—some who may even believe 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.