Sermon Nuggets Mon Dec 15
Theme- The Burial
Verses- John 19:38-42 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away.
39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
40 Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.
41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.
42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Bruial shows Completion
While the events of Christmas these days has us looking at the birth of Jesus, we come to the place in our devotions from the book of John which records His burial. I want to look at four responses to the burial. The people directly involved in the burial of Jesus Christ were Joseph of Arimathea whose courage was demonstrated, Nicodemus whose commitment was demonstrated, and the women whose compassion was demonstrated.
Matthew records the next day the chief priests and Pharisees showed concern at his burial in order to stop any rumors of the resurrection. They requested of Pilate that guards would be posted for three days around the tomb.
I have preformed services at many funerals in my ministry. Although many people may come to the funeral service, it is only a few people who usually attend a burial. The group around the grave includes immediate family, the pallbearers, other close family and friends, myself, and the people in charge of the burial like the funeral director, and the grave digger. Because of cemetery requirements a vault company provide the heavy vault and workers lower the casket into the ground and seal the tomb.
Sometimes there is a color guard if the person was in the military. The military personnel honors the departed for services rendered to our country. A gun salute, flag folding and presentation, along with the sound of taps is part of the ceremony.
I have been at burials where there were just me and the funeral director and the grave diggers. How burials are done is often cultural and according to religious beliefs. Due to the hot climate of Palestine, dead bodies decayed rapidly, so burial usually took place within a few hours after death. If someone died late in the day, burial took place the next day, but always within 24 hours after death.
When death occurred, the oldest son or nearest of kin closed the eyes of the dead and the mouth was closed and the jaws bound up. After the body was washed, it was usually wrapped in cloth. The wealthy used linen with spices placed between the folds.
For a body not to be buried was considered a great shame and a sign of God's judgment. Part of the practice for bodies of the crucified was to leave them up on crosses where birds would come and eat the remains. If there were relatives around they could take the body for a burial. If the crosses were needed the bodies would be removed and thrown in to a field for scavengers to devour the remains.
There is one thing about putting a body in a tomb. It marks the completion of death. It is the last of funeral ceremonies. It is the completion of formal ritual. Although grieving may follow for years, when the body is disposed of, things are completed.
Paul puts these events as the core of the gospel, 1 Cor 15:3-4 “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”
When we practice the rite of baptism we symbolize our death to our old self, burial as we go under water and we are raised to new life as a person is lifted up from the water. Why do we make a point of the burial? It is the completion of the past. It is over.
Since the work of Jesus was now completed the use of his physical body was thought to be over, but there is more to come. When we are buried in baptism that past is over, it symbolizes the new life to come. “Old things are past away and behold all things become new.”
Pastor Dale
