A Royal Burial

[0:00] Well, with the Lord's help this evening, we're actually going to be looking at the passage that we read last in John, but by, we have introduction, just turn to Isaiah chapter 53.

[0:19] So Isaiah chapter 53, and then we'll jump to John after that. And we'll take the words of verse 9 there.

[0:33] And they made his grave with a wicked, and with a rich man in his death. So we're very familiar with the words of Isaiah chapter 53.

[0:48] They're very well known to us, probably the most well known words in the Old Testament. The kind of words that Christians often try and memorize. And maybe if you were in Sunday school, that's something you did.

[1:01] You maybe memorized or learned the particular verses that you find here. And like many well known words, we can sometimes become so familiar with these kinds of passages that we perhaps miss something of what's going on or fail to understand exactly what's been said in the passage itself.

[1:21] And if you read Isaiah chapter 53, it's a passage that clearly shows us the humiliation of the suffering servant. I think every one of us would be able to see that.

[1:32] That is clear. But the passage also turns. It turns on a hinge moment. And after this hinge moment, it begins to speak in fairly exalted terms about this suffering servant.

[1:47] So you have this trajectory of humiliation, but then there's a turning point. And then it starts to speak in terms of the exaltation of this suffering servant.

[1:57] And that hinge moment comes there in that verse that I read a moment ago in verse 9 there. And they made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich at his death.

[2:09] That is the hinge moment. That is where this path or trajectory of humiliation turns. And all of a sudden then you start to see the exaltation of the servant.

[2:20] That little word, but there, is the hinge really for the whole passage. And it's a strange verse when you think about it, isn't it? You actually look at the verse itself. His grave being made with the wicked, yet at the same time with the rich in his death.

[2:36] You know, it sounds almost like a contradiction, doesn't it? If you were coming to that, it would be hard for you to understand it. Aside from the New Testament, it would be hard to understand it. And I imagine that many of the Old Testament Jews must have wondered when they read this particular prophecy, how is this going to be fulfilled?

[2:54] How does this actually make sense? How can both these things here actually be true? How can he be having his grave with the wicked, but at the same time with the rich in his death?

[3:06] But, of course, we have the account of the death and burial of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is exactly what we find. We find that this verse is absolutely perfectly fulfilled in the gospel itself.

[3:22] Because there he had his grave, his place of death with the wicked. Because he died the death of a criminal. He died the death of a wicked person.

[3:34] But, of course, amazingly, in the providence of the Lord, he actually receives a royal burial. It's amazing, those two things. He dies the death of a criminal, but he has the burial of a king.

[3:50] A royal burial. And I'll say a little more about that in a few moments. But this evening, as we prepare for our communion weekend, I want us to jump now forward to John chapter 19.

[4:04] So you can jump forward to John chapter 19. And we're going to think about this burial scene of the Lord Jesus Christ. So in verse 38 down to verse 42 there.

[4:19] So John 19, verse 38 down to 42. The burial scene of the Lord Jesus Christ. The fulfillment of that passage that we referred to just a few moments ago in Isaiah.

[4:31] And this burial scene is a scene that draws our attention to two characters. We find two characters here. One character who we've met before a couple of times.

[4:44] And another character who we're really meeting for the first time in the pages of scripture. And these two characters are Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.

[4:54] And what I want to do tonight, just for a few moments, is I want to look at three things with you. I want to look at Joseph of Arimathea, first of all.

[5:05] And then I want to look at Nicodemus in relation to this burial scene. And then thirdly, I want to ask the question, what kind of burial do they actually give Jesus?

[5:19] So these three things. We'll look at Joseph first, then Nicodemus. And then ask the question off the back of that, what kind of burial do they actually give to the Lord Jesus Christ?

[5:30] So first of all, let's look at Joseph. So you see there in verse 38, he's the first character that we find in this scene.

[5:40] So what do we know here about Joseph of Arimathea? What do we learn here? Or what do we learn when we put all the gospel narratives together? Well, we know, first of all, that this man was a rich man.

[5:53] And we know that because Matthew tells us that. In Matthew's account of this, Matthew describes Joseph of Arimathea as a rich man from Arimathea.

[6:03] So we know he's a rich man. That's one thing we know. But we also know from Mark's account that he was a member of the Sanhedrin. So he's a member of the Jewish council, the Jewish council, of course, which ultimately put Christ to death.

[6:21] And because he's a member of that Jewish council, that means he's quite a powerful man. He's quite an influential man. So he's a rich man and he's quite a powerful man in terms of the nature of the religious committees.

[6:35] But John here, John doesn't describe Joseph of Arimathea here. He doesn't describe him as a rich man. He doesn't describe him as a powerful man either.

[6:47] He doesn't highlight the fact that he was in the Sanhedrin. That's not how John introduces us to this man, Joseph of Arimathea at all. Amazingly, John describes him by highlighting the most important aspect of his identity.

[7:02] And the most important aspect of the identity of this man, Joseph, is not that he is rich. The most important aspect of his identity is not that he's powerful.

[7:13] The most important aspect of his identity is not that he's part of the Sanhedrin, this Jewish council. The most important aspect of this man's identity is that he is a disciple of Jesus.

[7:26] That's what we read here. Joseph, a disciple of Jesus. This rich man, this relatively powerful man, this man who sat on this Sanhedrin, who put Jesus to death, he was a disciple.

[7:40] That's quite remarkable. He was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. But John also makes the important point that he's not just a disciple.

[7:53] He's a secret disciple. We read there, he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews.

[8:06] So he's a secret disciple. You see, John has already previously hinted to us about the fact that there are a number of Jewish religious leaders who are actually secret disciples.

[8:21] He's already told us that before. Back in John chapter 12 and in verse 42, we read, So John's already told us there's some amongst the religious leaders, amongst these Jewish people, who actually do believe.

[8:52] But they're not saying anything. They are secret disciples. And here, this man, Joseph, he is one of these. He believed Jesus, but his faith was weak.

[9:04] His faith was weak. And he didn't have the boldness to make his allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ, to make that visible. He didn't have the boldness to tell others about his faith.

[9:19] And the main reason for this was fear. Fear, just as I mentioned in the previous verse. He was scared. He was scared of the other Jewish leaders.

[9:31] He was scared how the other Jewish members of the Sanhedrin, how they would relate to him if he came out and said that he was a disciple. He's scared of what other people are going to think.

[9:44] And ultimately, he's scared that he's going to get thrown out of the synagogue. He has this kind of fear. And perhaps as well, he's scared of losing this sense of honor and prestige that he has amongst the people.

[9:58] Because you would have that being a member of the Sanhedrin. You would have this sense of honor. And perhaps he's scared if he came out on the side of Christ that he would lose that sense of honor. Perhaps even lose that sense of honor and prestige in the sight of his own peers in the Sanhedrin.

[10:13] He's scared, fearful of losing these things. So Joseph, he keeps quiet. And even when Jesus is on trial in front of the Sanhedrin, he doesn't say anything.

[10:26] He doesn't intervene and he doesn't come in and try and defend him at that point. He doesn't at all. Joseph remains quiet initially, first of all.

[10:37] And that's, of course, something that continues to be a stumbling block to people today. This kind of fear. You know, there are some people who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

[10:50] They believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. But because their faith is at a very early stage, because their faith is perhaps quite immature, they don't make that known.

[11:01] They have faith in the Lord, but they don't make that faith known. They hide it. And very often the reason that they hide it is just like what we have here because of fear.

[11:14] And perhaps there might be some people in here tonight. And that may well be the case for you. Perhaps you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps you have faith in the Lord.

[11:25] Perhaps you're a disciple in the Lord. But you have this fear that's holding you back from actually stepping out and actually telling others that you are one of the Lords. And that fear can be different things.

[11:38] Perhaps you are fearful of how others might react. That's quite a common one. Fearful perhaps for how your family might react.

[11:50] Fearful perhaps for how your friends might react. Or fearful for maybe how your colleagues or your neighbour might react to this news if you show that your faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ.

[12:03] Now, the kind of fear that we experience in our culture, it's not the kind of fear which we're fearful of being ostracised by our families and our friends.

[12:16] That's not really a fear that we have, generally speaking. There are parts of the world, different cultures, where that is a genuine fear. That if you put your faith in Christ, you will be ostracised.

[12:27] But for us, generally speaking, that's not our fear. We're not scared that we're going to be ostracised by our family or ostracised by our friends. But the fear that we experience is generally this fear of our losing respect in the eyes of others.

[12:44] And that's something that keeps people from actually professing faith. Fear of losing this respect in the eyes of others. Or fear perhaps of being seen as weak.

[12:56] Being seen as weak in the eyes of other people. Because if we put our faith in Christ, others might see us as weak. And that can prevent us from showing our faith.

[13:07] And like Joseph here, we can try and hide our faith. But the thing is, you cannot hide your faith forever. You cannot be a secret disciple forever.

[13:20] There's some people that'll say there's no such thing as a secret disciple. And you may have heard that. I've heard that plenty of times. There is such a thing as a secret disciple.

[13:31] Because we're reading about a secret disciple here. There's no question that there's such a thing as a secret disciple. You can get a secret disciple. But what people are getting at when they say there's no such thing as a secret disciple.

[13:43] Is that when you come to faith. When you have faith in the Lord. And when you believe. When that seed of faith is there in your heart. It will grow. It has to.

[13:53] If you're one of the Lords, it will grow. That love for the Lord Jesus Christ. That will grow. Your love for the Lord and God. That will grow. And as these things grow.

[14:04] It becomes impossible to hide your faith. So you can start off as a secret disciple. Absolutely. But if you're truly the Lords. You cannot keep that secret forever.

[14:15] There comes a point where you have to show it. Where that faith and that love for the Lord. Just explodes out. And there's nothing you can do to hide it at all.

[14:25] And here Joseph reaches that point. And what is it that tips him over the edge here? What is it that brings him to publicly make known his allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ?

[14:38] What is it? The cross. That's exactly what's happened. It's the cross. The cross is the point at which he now has to show his allegiance to the Lord.

[14:50] Because Joseph has obviously seen the events of the cross. He has seen the Lord Jesus Christ die. And as he has seen everything that Jesus has done.

[15:01] He is compelled. Absolutely compelled. To take a stand for Christ. You see. When you realize.

[15:13] What it is that Christ has done for you. When you realize the extent. To which he has suffered. When you realize all these things. You cannot but take a stand for the Lord.

[15:26] You can hide initially perhaps. But the more you see of what he has done. The more you see of the significance of his death and his suffering. You get to a point where you cannot but. You cannot but show your allegiance to this man.

[15:41] Like the psalmist in Psalm 116. What shall I render to the Lord? For all his benefits towards me. In other words. What will I do? When I think about all that the Lord has done for me.

[15:54] What will I do for him? I will take the cup of salvation. And call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord. Now in the presence of all his people.

[16:08] And here in this passage. We see Joseph. He goes from fearful silence. To incredible boldness. And he tells. Finally he tells.

[16:20] And it's quite remarkable. Because not only does this man now. Make his faith known here in this passage. He makes it known in quite an amazing way. He doesn't just tell his neighbor.

[16:31] Or tell someone in his family. He goes to Pilate. He goes to the governor himself. The Roman governor. And he asks for the body of Jesus. And by doing that.

[16:41] He's effectively showing his allegiance to this man. In the most public of ways possible. He asks for the body of Jesus. Now that wasn't normal procedure.

[16:55] To go on to ask for the body of those who had been executed. Usually for the bodies of those who had been killed in this way.

[17:06] Usually they'd be thrown in some kind of common burial plot. Or if they weren't thrown in a common burial plot. They would be thrown in a rubbish heap. Outside the city.

[17:16] A place which continually burned. But here. Joseph. Who isn't even a family member. You can maybe understand if it was a family member. A man who's not even a family member.

[17:28] He comes. And he asks for the body. He asks for the remains of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he might have expected to have been laughed out of Pilate's sight.

[17:39] When he asked for that. There's no way I'm going to give the body of Jesus to you. But amazingly. The Lord was at work there. Even in Pilate. And Pilate allowed Joseph. To take the body.

[17:51] And the remains of Jesus. So Joseph here. He's gone from being a fearful. Secret disciple. Who won't even speak up. For Jesus.

[18:02] To a fearless. Bold disciple. As he makes his allegiance. To the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes that known. In a very public way. And that's exactly.

[18:13] What the Lord expects. Of all of his people. Every single one of us. Who have put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what the Lord expects. The Lord does not expect.

[18:24] Us. To have a fear of anyone. Or anything. Or for us to allow that fear. Of anyone. Or anything. Stop us. From taking that stand.

[18:35] And showing people. That our faith. Is in the Lord. Jesus Christ. When we see. What Christ has done for us. When we see. The extent.

[18:45] Of what he's done for us. We can't do anything. But. Step forward. And show. Our faith. In Jesus. So that's Joseph. But I want to turn now. To this other man.

[18:57] This man. Nicodemus. So look at verse. Verse 39. There. We read about Nicodemus. There. Nicodemus. Also. Who earlier. Had come to Jesus. By night.

[19:09] Came. Now. Unlike Joseph. We know. A little more. About. Nicodemus. We know. A little more.

[19:19] About Nicodemus. Because. He actually appears. In the gospel narratives. A couple of times. Before this. We read of him. A number of times. In the scriptural account.

[19:30] And the first time. That you read of him. Is back. In John. And chapter. Three. That's a well-known. Chapter. In the gospel of John. John three.

[19:41] And in John. Chapter three. In that passage. We actually read. That. He also is one of the rulers. Of. The. The Sanhedrin. He's one of these. Council members.

[19:52] So. Nicodemus. Is one of these. Council members. As well. A part of the. The Sanhedrin. But even early on. Even early on. In the. In the ministry. Of the Lord.

[20:03] Jesus Christ. But way back. In. John chapter three. Even then. Nicodemus. Shows. Some signs. Of having an interest. In the Lord.

[20:13] Jesus Christ. He shows. Some signs. Of being curious. To learn. From. Jesus. And. In that passage. In. Back in. John chapter three. We actually read.

[20:24] That. Nicodemus. He came. To Jesus. By night. And he. He came. To Jesus. For a reason. Because he wanted. To inquire. Of Jesus.

[20:35] He wanted. To learn. Something. Of Jesus. So he's inquiring. Here. Now. At that particular. Point. We. We can't be sure.

[20:45] Whether he was born again. It doesn't. It doesn't. Read us. Though. He was a born again believer. At that point. Back in. John chapter three. And I think you can infer that. From the fact. That when Jesus.

[20:56] Goes on. To. Ask him. Or to. To tell him. About being born again. Remember. Nicodemus. Doesn't understand. What he's talking about. And Jesus is explaining. The need to be born again.

[21:07] And Nicodemus thinks. What. Do I need to go back. Into my mother's womb. And be. Be born again. He's not understanding. These things. And the fact that he's not. Understanding. What it means. To be born again. That suggests that.

[21:18] Perhaps more than likely. By this point. He wasn't. Actually. A believer. But. Although he wasn't. Perhaps a believer. As early as chapter three. You can. At the very least.

[21:29] See that he's got some. Kind of. An interest. In. Jesus. But of course. He keeps. That interest. Hidden. And. Some people will say. That's why he came to Jesus.

[21:41] By night. You often hear that. That he came by night. Because he didn't want others. To see. That. That. He was interested in Jesus. And. That may be something that.

[21:51] We can relate to even. In here. Maybe there are some in here. Who. Maybe you have an interest in Jesus. But you don't want others to know that. And you have an interest. And maybe you have questions.

[22:02] That you. You want to ask about the faith. But again. You don't want others to know that. So you don't. You don't let on. You maybe. Find out about these things. In the privacy of your own home. But you don't want anyone else.

[22:13] To know that you have. An interest in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well that's. Very much. What Nicodemus was like. Early on. And then after. John chapter 3. You don't.

[22:24] Really hear much more about. Nicodemus. Until. Chapter. Seven. Chapter seven. Now. That's when. The chief priests. And the Pharisees. They're coming together.

[22:35] And they're trying to figure out a way. To get rid of Jesus. They're trying to figure out a way. To kill. Jesus. And interestingly. During. That particular debate.

[22:46] Nicodemus. He steps in. Nicodemus. Steps in. And he actually tries to stand up for Jesus. He tries to stand up. Well. In a tentative kind of way anyway.

[22:57] And he says. Does our law. Judge a man. Before it hears him. And knows. What. He is doing. So. You know. That's a defense.

[23:08] Of a kind. It's a tentative defense. Yes. But it's. At least it's more than. For what we know. That Joseph did. We don't read that Joseph. Did anything at all. By way of defense. But at least here. Nicodemus.

[23:18] He's trying to do something. Some kind of. Form of defense. And that. Did not go down well. With. The other. Jewish. Leaders at all. But. What it does is.

[23:30] It shows us that. Nicodemus. He was being drawn. To the Lord. He was being drawn to the Lord. We have seen him. Inquiring. We have seen him. Asking questions.

[23:41] We have seen him. Showing. Some kind of an interest. In the Lord. Jesus Christ. But now. It's kind of gone up a level. By. By chapter seven there. Now he's.

[23:52] At least in some way. Standing up. For Jesus. And trying to. To defend. Jesus. In some way. The man. Who was. Meeting. Jesus. By night.

[24:03] A few chapters ago. Now. It's almost like he's. Starting to. Step out into the light. Not. Not. Fully. Walking out into the light. But it's. You sense.

[24:13] As though he's starting. To take steps. Into the light. There's a change. Going on here. In Nicodemus himself. And the next time. We come across Nicodemus.

[24:24] Is here. In chapter. Nineteen. And this time. Through the actions. Of Nicodemus. He. He's effectively. Making public.

[24:36] Profession of faith. By what he's doing. In this passage. He's showing. By his. Role. In the burial. Of Jesus. Yet. He is showing. His allegiance.

[24:47] To the Lord. Jesus. Christ. Now. You'll notice. In this. Passage. Here. That. Neither. Joseph. Or. Nicodemus.

[24:57] Neither. Of them. Actually. Make a. Verbal. Confession. Here. To say. That. Jesus. Is their Lord. Neither. Of them. From what we read. Anyway. Neither. Of them. Do that.

[25:08] But their actions. Speak. And actions. Speak. Don't they? Actions. Speak. And their actions. Here. They speak. They both. Stand. Out. Of the shadows.

[25:19] They were. Hidden. Away. For a time. But by this. Point. In the gospel. Narrative. They're out. Of the shadows. And they're. Stepping. Forward. And they're. Acting. For.

[25:30] The Lord. Jesus. Christ. And they're. Publicly. Showing. Their allegiance. To him. Now. Of course. It's important. To confess. With our mouths.

[25:41] Of course. It's important. And what we say. And confessing. With our lips. These things. Are. Very. Important. But. So. Also. Is.

[25:51] Our. Actions. Because. We can testify. By our actions. As well. We can testify. By our. Coming out. On the side. Of the Lord. We can testify.

[26:02] By. Stepping. Ourselves. Stepping out. Of the darkness. Out of the shadow. And. Into. The light. And showing others. Of our faith. In. The Lord.

[26:12] Jesus Christ. Now. God. Willing. That's. Exactly. What we'll. Seek to do. On this. Lord's day. As we. Seek to. To come. To the.

[26:23] The banqueting table. Of our king. And as we seek. To. Take the. The cup. That our king. Has prepared. As we seek. To take the. The bread. That has been broken.

[26:34] For us. As we come. And as we take our place. At that table. In a very public way. By our actions. We haven't necessarily. Said anything. With our. With our mouths. But. By our action.

[26:45] Of actually doing that. We are showing. That this. Man. The Lord. Jesus Christ. Is indeed our king. We are professing. Our faith. In him.

[26:56] The one who died. To save us. And here. That's what Nicodemus is doing. You see it. In his actions. You see it. In his actions. He has gone. From. Being a mere inquirer.

[27:07] Back in chapter 3. To. Tentatively. Defend. In chapter 7. Now. He's. He's boldly. Proclaiming. By his actions. In.

[27:18] John. Chapter. 19. Here. So you see. A process. You can follow. A process. Taking place. In the life. Of. Nicodemus. Here.

[27:28] And that's. A process. Which many of us. Have. Experienced. You know. Maybe you remember. A time. Here tonight. Before. You came to. Saving faith.

[27:39] In the Lord. Jesus Christ. And maybe you remember. A time. When you were. An inquirer. Like. Like Nicodemus. In John chapter 3. You were an inquirer. You had questions. You didn't have saving faith.

[27:50] But you had questions. You were interested. To know. And. Like Nicodemus. You were hiding. You were hiding. You were hiding. These things. But then the Lord. Began. To work. In your heart. And a little later on.

[28:00] Perhaps. You started to be aware. Of yourself. Almost defending. Christ. And if somebody. Said something. Against the church. Or a Christian. Or Christ. You would say something. You didn't like it.

[28:12] You didn't like it. When people slandered. The name of the Lord. Jesus Christ. So you see yourself. Growing from just inquiring. To defending. Tentatively. Perhaps. But defending.

[28:23] And then. The Lord. Eventually. Brings you to the point. Of saving. Faith itself. And then you're able to stand out. On the side of Christ. Perhaps. Many of you. Can follow.

[28:34] That kind of. Process. In your own lives. And that's exactly. What happens here. With Nicodemus. And. Like. Joseph. It seems as though.

[28:45] The death of Christ. Is. It's what's. Brought Nicodemus. To this point. Of making. His. Faith. Public. It's the death of Christ. That seems to be the. The final catalyst.

[28:57] That makes him. Show. His faith. In the Lord. But. You might say. Well yes. But. How do you actually know. That Nicodemus.

[29:08] Is a believer. Because. When we read about Joseph. We're told in the passage. Joseph the disciple. So there's no doubt about Joseph. But Nicodemus. We don't read here. That Nicodemus is a believer.

[29:19] We don't read here in the passage. That Nicodemus is. A disciple. You could argue. Well maybe. Maybe Nicodemus is just helping Joseph out. Maybe he's a friend of Joseph. And.

[29:30] Maybe Nicodemus feels sorry for Jesus. And everything that's happened to him. And. Maybe that's why. Nicodemus is helping out. Joseph here. With this. Burial process. But that's.

[29:41] To seriously misunderstand. The actions. Of Nicodemus. Here. And to better understand. The actions of Nicodemus. Here. I want us to move on to a. Third point.

[29:53] This evening. And. Much more briefly. Our third point. What. Kind of burial. Do they actually give. To Jesus.

[30:03] What kind of burial. Do. Joseph. And Nicodemus. Give. To Jesus. Well. You'll notice. When Nicodemus. Comes. He comes with something. He doesn't come empty handed.

[30:14] Does he? He comes with. Something. In verse. Thirty nine. We read. Nicodemus. Also. Who earlier. Had come to Jesus. By night. Came. Bringing.

[30:25] A mixture. Of myrrh. And aloes. About. Seventy five. Pounds. In. Weight. Now. That was common practice. To.

[30:36] To. Take spices. And to. To apply. Spices. To the remains. Before a. Burial. That was. Very simply. Just to take away. From the. The stench. Of death. Itself.

[30:46] As the. The body. Would. Become corrupt. It was something. That was often. Done. But. What. Wasn't common. Was the sheer. Amount. Of spices. Used here.

[30:57] This was. This was. An unbelievable. Volume. Of spices. That were used. Seventy five. Pounds. An enormous. Amount. And so much. That Nicodemus.

[31:08] Probably. He couldn't. Even. Carry this. Himself. He would. No doubt. Have had. I've had. Servants. To help him. To carry all this. There was. That much. Of it. That is not. Normal. That did not. Normally.

[31:18] Happen. So. The question. That that. Leaves us. With us. Why. So. Many. Spices. Why. So. Much. Of. These. Spices. And the.

[31:29] Only. Time. That. That. Kind of. Amount. Of. Spices. Were. Used. Were. For. Royal. Burials. The. Burial.

[31:40] Of. A. King. The. Only. Time. The. Only. Time. And. That's. Exactly. What's. Happening. Here. In. This. Passage. Here. Nicodemus. And. Joseph. They're.

[31:50] Not. Treating. The. Body. Of. Jesus. As. Just. Some. Criminal. They're. Not. Treating. The. Body. Of. Jesus. Even. As. Just. Some. Religious. Leader. They're.

[32:00] Treating. The. Body. Of. Jesus. As. A. King. And. They're. Giving. Him. A. Royal. Burrier. Unbelievable. So. By. Coming. With. These.

[32:10] Masses. Of. Spices. Nicodemus. Is. Telling. Us. Here. Exactly. What. He. Thinks. Of. This. Man. He's. Telling. Us. Here. This. Man. Is. My. Lord. And. This.

[32:21] Man. Here. Is. My. King. So. Yes. We. Don't. Read. Nicodemus. Was. A. Disciple. We. Don't. Read. Nicodemus. Was. A. Believer. But. You. Can. See. In. His. Actions.

[32:31] And. All. The. Spices. That. He's. Taking. The. Way. He's. Treating. This. This. Man. As. A. King. You. Can. See. That. Jesus. Is. His. Lord. And. Is. His. King. By. His.

[32:42] Actions. And. You know. We. Have. To. Ask. Ourselves. Tonight. Is. That. Through. Our. Actions. Our. Actions. Should. Always. Show. That. The. Lord. Jesus.

[32:52] Christ. Is. Our. Lord. And. Our. King. You know. Others. Should. Be. Able. To. See. How. We. Act. How. We. Are. How. We. Speak. And. They. Should. Be. Able. To. To. Say. Well. His. King. Is. The.

[33:02] Lord. Her. King. Is. The. Lord. Jesus. Christ. And. You. Can. See. That. Here. Through. The. Actions. Of. Nicodemus. So. The. Body. Of. Jesus. Which. Has.

[33:12] Been. Beaten. And. Spat. On. And. Pierced. Now. Here. All. Of. A. Sudden. It's. Been. Treated. As. The. Body. Of.

[33:23] A. King. A. Royal. Burial. And. In. Verse. 41. You. See. There. That. Near. The. The. Place. Of. Crucifixion. Was.

[33:33] A. Garden. And. In. The. Garden. A. New. Tomb. In. Which. No. One. Had. Yet. Been. Laid. So. Because. Of. The. Jewish. Day. Of. Preparation.

[33:44] Since. The. Tomb. Was. Close. At. Hand. They. Laid. Jesus. There. Now. We. Know. From. The. Other. Gospel. Writers. That. That. Was. Actually. Joseph's.

[33:56] Own. Tomb. And. Again. The. Fact. That. It. Was. Empty. That. It. Was. A. Rich. Man's. Tomb. Because. Poor. People. Were. Were. Mass. Buried. But. This. Tomb. Was. Empty. A.

[34:06] Rich. Man's. Tomb. A. Tomb. Fitting. For. A. King. And. Here. That's. Exactly. What's. Happening. Nicodemus. Comes. With. The. Spices. Joseph.

[34:18] Comes. With. The. Tomb. And. They. Give. The. Lord. Jesus. Christ. A. Royal. Burial. He. Was. With. The. Wicked. At. The. Moment. Of. His. Death.

[34:29] On. The. Cross. But. Now. That. The. Work. Of. The. Cross. Is. Over. Now. That. His. Death. Has. Come. Now. The. Father. Is. As. It. We're. Ensuring.

[34:39] That. The. Body. Of. Jesus. Is. Treated. In. An. Exalted. Fashion. It. Is. Treated. The. Way. A. King. Would. Be. Treated. Now. We. Often. Think.

[34:49] Of. The. Exaltation. Of. Jesus. Starting. With. His. Resurrection. But. But. In. A. Sense. The. Exaltation. Begins. With. A. Burial. Doesn't. It. Because. It's.

[34:59] The. Burial. Is. The. Burial. Of. A. King. He's. No. Longer. Treated. As. A. Criminal. At. That. Point. With. The. Burial. Itself. He's. Been. Treated. As. A.

[35:09] King. So. Tonight. We've. Seen. These. Two. Men. Who. For. Different. Reasons. Stepped.

[35:20] Out. Of. The. Shadows. Away. From. Being. Secret. Hidden. Disciples. And. They. Came. And. They. They. Showed. Their. Allegiance. To. The. Lord. Jesus.

[35:31] Christ. And. They. Felt. Compelled. To. Do. That. Even. If. It. Meant. They. Might. Lose. Their. Status. Even. If. It. Meant. It. Might. They. Might. Lose. Their. Respect. Of.

[35:41] Their. Fellow. Sanhedrin. Members. Even. If. It. Meant. They. Were. To. Get. Thrown. Out. Of. The. Synagogue. Doesn't. Matter. At. That. Point. They. Are. So. Compelled. To. Take. A.

[35:51] Stand. For. The. Lord. Jesus. Christ. That. All. These. Other. Things. Become. Insignificant. When. They. Considered. What. Jesus. Had. Done. For.

[36:01] Them. Then. It. Was. A. Small. Thing. For. Them. To. Stand. Out. To. Step. Out. Of. The. Shadows. And. To. Show. Their. Love. And. Their. Allegiance.

[36:12] To. The. Lord. Jesus. Christ. And. God. Willing. This. Lord's. Day. At. The. Lord's. Table. We. Will. Do. The. Same. Thing. We. Will. Step.

[36:22] Out. Of. The. Shadows. Of. This. Dark. World. And. It. Is. A. Dark. World. Feels. Like. It's. Getting. Darker. Every. Day. But. As. We. Come. To. The. Table. We. Will. Step. Out. Of. The. Shadows. Of. A.

[36:32] Dark. World. And. We. Will. Show. Our. Allegiance. To. Our. Lord. And. Savior. Jesus. Christ. And. If. Our. Faith. Is. In. Christ. Tonight. Then. We. Must. Be. Obedient.

[36:43] To. That. Command. For. It. Is. A. Command. To. Come. And. To. Find. Ourselves. Sitting. At. That. Table. Of. The. Lord. Jesus. Christ. Let's. Bow. Our. Heads.

[36:53] In. A. Word. Of. Prayer. Heavenly. Father. We.

[37:04] Give. You. Thanks. For. The. Gospel. We. Give. You. Thanks. That. In. The. Gospel. We. See. A. Suffering. Servant. A. Suffering.

[37:14] Saviour. Suffering. For. Our. Sins. The. Sins. Of. Your. People. But. Yet. We. Don't. Just. See. A. Suffering. Servant. And. A. Suffering.

[37:25] Saviour. But. We. See. An. Exalted. Servant. And. An. Exalted. Saviour. And. Even. Now. You. Are. Risen. At. The. The. Very. Right. Hand. Of. The. Majesty.

[37:35] On. High. And. Your. Ears. Bowed. Down. To. Us. Even. As. We. Gather. In. This. Place. Tonight. As. We. Come. And. As. We. Seek. To. Worship. You. We. Know. That. Our.

[37:45] Saviour. Is. Not. One. Who. Is. In. A. Tomb. Is. Not. One. Who. Is. In. A. Grave. But. You. Are. One. Who. Is. Alive. And. Alive. Forever. More. The. Risen.

[37:56] Living. Saviour. So. Help. Us. To. Remember. That. Even. This. Weekend. We. Remember. Not. Only. The. Death. But. Also. The. Victorious.

[38:06] Resurrection. As. Well. So. We. Ask. Oh. Lord. That. You. Would. Continue. With. Us. Throughout. The. Remainder. Of. This. Weekend. Do. Us. Good. Strengthen. Us. We. Pray. For. Jesus.

[38:17] Sake. Amen. We'll. Bring. Our. Service. To. A. Close. By. Singing. In. Psalm. 45. Again. This.

[38:28] Time. In. The. Sing. Psalms. Psalm. 45. That's.

[38:38] Page. 60. 6.

[38:50] To. 9. That's.

[39:04] The. A. Version. Page. 57. Sorry. Verse. 6. To. 9. Your. Royal. Throne. O. God. Will. Last. Throughout. Eternity.

[39:15] Your. Kingdom. Scepter. Will. Be. One. Of. Truth. And. Equity. Anointing. You. With. Oil. Of. Joy. Your. God. Has. Made. You. Great. Because. You. Care. For. Righteousness.

[39:26] And. Wickedness. You. Hate. With. Aloe. S. Myrrh. And. Cassia. In. Fragrant. Robes. You. Clad. From. Palaces. Of. Ivory. Stringed. Music. Makes.

[39:37] You. Glad. Among. The. Women. Of. Your. Court. Kings. Daughters. Take. Their. Stand. The. Royal. Bride. And. Finest. Gold. Appears. At. Your.

[39:47] Right. Hand. So. We'll. Sing. The. Verses. Six. To. Nine. There. To. God. Spirit. We'll. Stand. To. Stand. To. Stand. To. Stand. To. Stand. To. Stand. To. Stand. To. Stand. To. To. To. God. Give.

[39:58] Skybatht. Terku. SBEND Ok.

[40:11] flick. Take it.luca.

[40:24] Of truth and equity Anointing you with oil of joy Your God has made you great Because you care for righteousness Of wickedness you hate With the Lord's murder and cassia In fragrant groves you clout From palaces of thy body

[41:33] String music makes you glad Among the poor men of your court King's daughters take their stand The royal bright in finest gold Appears at your right hand The grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ The love of God the Father And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Continue with you all now and forevermore Amen Amen