[0:01] We shall now read the Word of God as we find it in the New Testament in the Gospel according to Matthew and chapter 27. And we can read from verse 50. That's Matthew chapter 27, reading at verse 50.
[0:21] Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.
[0:36] And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
[0:46] Now when the centurion and they that were with them, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly, this was the Son of God.
[0:58] And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him, among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the mother of James and Joes, and the mother of Zebedee's children.
[1:14] When the evening was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple. He went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus.
[1:27] Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock.
[1:39] And he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. And there was Mary Magdalene and the other Mary sitting over against the sepulchre. Now the next day that followed, the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that the deceiver said, while he was yet alive, after three days I will rise again.
[2:03] Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead, so the last error shall be worse than the first.
[2:19] Pilate said unto them, He have a watch. Go on your way, make it as sure as you can. So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone and setting a watch.
[2:30] In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn, toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
[2:47] His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him, the keeper stood shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the woman, Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
[3:03] He is not here, for he is risen, as he said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. And behold, he goeth before you into Galilee, there shall ye see him.
[3:17] Lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from his sepulchre, with fear and great joy, and had run to bring his disciples' word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail.
[3:31] And they came and held him by their feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be ye not afraid. Go, tell my brethren that they go unto Galilee, and there shall they see me.
[3:41] Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came unto the city, and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Sage, his disciples came by night, and stole them away while we slept.
[3:59] And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught. And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
[4:11] Then the eleven disciples went away and took Galilee into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
[4:25] Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
[4:39] Amen. May the Lord bless unto us the reading of that portion of his word. Let us sing again in Psalm 16 and at verse 8. Psalm 16 at verse 8.
[4:50] Before me still the Lord I said, Sith it is so that he doth ever stand at my right hand, I shall not move it be. Because of this my heart is glad, and joy shall be expressed.
[5:03] He by my glory and my flesh and confidence shall rest. Because my soul engraved to dwell shall not be left by thee, nor wilt thou give thine Holy One corruption to see.
[5:14] Thou wilt me show the path of life, of joy, as it is for store. Before thy face at thy right hand, before thy face at thy right hand, are pleasures evermore. We shall sing these verses to the Lord's praise.
[5:25] Psalm 16 from verse 8. Before me still the Lord I said, Sith it is so that he... Before me still the Lord I said, Sith it is so that he...
[5:51] God ever stand at my right hand, I shall not move it be.
[6:06] Because of this my heart is glad, and joy shall be expressed.
[6:21] Sith it is so that he... In the name of the Lord I said, Sith it is so that he... In the name of the Lord I said, Sith it is so that he...
[6:38] Because my soul in good dwell Shall not be led by thee Nor will thou give thine holy one God hath come to see Thou wilt be shown the path of life Of joy set his poor store Be poor thy face at thy right hand And bless you evermore
[7:40] Seeking the Lord's help and blessing, let us turn back to the portion of scripture that we read together In the Gospel of Matthew on chapter 27 And we'll read from verse 57 And there was Mary Magdalene and the other Mary sitting over against the sepulchre The whole redemptive plan of God for sinners is centred on the events of Golgotha
[8:42] And is centred on one particular person That of his own beloved son However, as we approach Golgotha There are a number of characters that come into our focus and draws our attention That were involved with the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ There is for instance Pontius Pilate And despite being a very ignorant man He was never the less affected by his contact with Jesus He knew that the charge brought against Jesus by the chief priests and the people were false And that Jesus was innocent He had been warned by his wife regarding Jesus But nevertheless he gave him over to be crucified When his own career as governor was threatened
[9:46] He simply gave way to the desires of the people How many bad actions do I and you commit knowing that they are wrong But for the sake of perhaps popularity We are content to give way to the desire of the majority And that seems to be at least part of the case here with Pontius Pilate And the Lord's conscience must have been stirred For we find that he asked for a bowl of water to be brought And he publicly washed his hands in front of the people saying I am innocent of the blood of this just person See ye to it This action it may have appeased his conscience But it is a lesson for us of how often do we set up some form of ritual Or in some way or other find solace in something That is only there to appease our conscience
[10:47] Another character that comes into our focus is Caiaphas We are told in Luke chapter 3 that in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar That along with Pontius Pilate been governor of Judah That Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests We do not read a great deal about Annas in scripture But his son-in-law Caiaphas or as the historians call him Joseph Caiaphas Leaves behind him a record of great wickedness His position was to share the high priest's office with his father-in-law His father-in-law was very popular with the Jews But not with the Romans His power over the people was virtually absolute The high priest's authority extending to every aspect of the people's lives Caiaphas' privilege was to be high priest during the life of our Lord
[11:49] Which meant that he had an opportunity to hear To evaluate and to believe and to accept the Son of God You will recall that when Pilate brought Jesus into the judgment hall And asked him, Whence art thou?
[12:10] But Jesus gave him no answer Then saith Pilate, And to him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee And have power to release thee?
[12:22] And Jesus answered, Thou couldst have no power at all against me Except it were given thee from above Therefore he that delivered me unto thee Hath the greater sin Well who was it that had the greater sin than Pilate?
[12:40] I believe it is this man, Caiaphas And how did he commit a more heinous or greater sin than Pilate? Caiaphas' privilege was to be high priest Caiaphas was found in a place of great privilege Therefore his rejection of Jesus Christ was far greater And a far greater sin than Pilate's Because Pilate was a man who was steeped in pagan religion The Bible makes it well known to us that the greater our privileges The greater will be our accountability To whom, though to those to whom much is given Much is going to be required Now we could spend all day looking at different characters That was involved with the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ
[13:42] But today I wish to look at one character That was involved with the burial of Jesus And his name is Joseph of Armathia Now the burial of Jesus is not just a filler for Scripture For Scripture it lays great emphasis upon the fact that Jesus was buried In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul wrote 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 Scripture Burial, after all, is a final proof of death It is proof of the completion and finality of death If there is any doubt whether a person has died or not You obviously do not bury that person until you are absolutely certain
[14:44] That death has taken place Burial is the final event Burial is the final event Which proves to a person a certainty of the fact of death And all for the Gospel brings before us the fact that Jesus was buried He died and he was buried His burial is absolute proof of the fact that he died In the fullest sense of the word on the cross His death was true His death was real He died and was buried His burial was the final stage of his humiliation As our Catechism puts it Wherein did Christ's humiliation consist And it answers Christ's humiliation consist in his being born And that in a low condition Made under the law Undergoing the mysteries of this life
[15:46] The wrath of God And the cursed death of the cross In being buried And continuing under the power of death For a time So his burial and the continuing under the power of death For a time Was the final stage Of the humiliation of Jesus Christ Now regarding burial practices The Romans under their law Would normally hand over the bodies of executed criminals To their next of kin Except in the case of those who were crucified for treason They would be quite happy to leave their bodies on the crosses And definitely as a warning to others Leaving the bodies to the elements and to the birds of prey And if they decided to bury them They would put them all into a common pit But Jewish burial practices showed great respect for the body after death
[16:47] The dead must be buried And all persons must avoid contact with dead bodies Lest they become ritually unclean for seven days The Jews made every effort to provide honorable burial for everyone Even for those who were guilty of great crimes In Deuteronomy chapter 21 Israel was told If a man have committed a sin worthy of death And he be put to death And thou hang him on a tree His body shall not remain all night upon the tree But thou shalt in any wise bury him that day For he that is hanged is accursed of God That thy land be not defiled Whos the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance Unburied bodies desecrated the land And there could be a sign also of a divine judgment In Psalm 93 as a sign of divine judgment
[17:48] We are told that there was no one to bury the slain of Jerusalem Jeremiah prophesied in chapter 16 Saying that dead in Judah will not be buried Their corpse will be food for birds and beasts However, Josephus tells us that the Jews never refused to bury any executed criminal But instead of allowing them to be placed in family tombs Where they might desecrate those already buried They provided a burial site for criminals just outside the city Now regarding the burial of our Lord Jesus One would have expected for family members to arrange for his burial If not, one of his followers However, one of the central figures that were involved in the burial of Jesus Was this man by the name of Joseph Who placed him in his own tomb John mentions that another man by the name of Nicodemus
[18:52] Nicodemus also accompanied Joseph in the burial of Jesus Beside these two men There were only another two women Mary Magdalene And the other Mary Who attended the burial of Jesus Now who was the other Mary?
[19:10] Well, I do not think it could have been the mother of Jesus Because we are told that John took care of her And John was not now present And it would seem strange for her to be called the other Mary It could have been Mary, the wife of Cleophas But it is more likely as we see here in verse 56 That it could probably have been the mother of James and Joas Now what about Joseph of Arimathea?
[19:52] Well, he is named from the village from which he came, Arimathea Which has been identified as 20 miles south-northwest of 20 miles north-west of Jerusalem But who had probably come to stay in Jerusalem Because we read that his grave or tomb was near at hand He was a rich man He was a respected member of the Sanhedrin Luke records for us that he was good and a just man As one who was waiting for the kingdom of God He was a man who had embraced the gospel He was a man who had become a disciple or follower of Jesus Christ But he followed Jesus secretly Because he feared the Jewish authorities Nevertheless, despite his fear He was one who had descended from the Sanhedrin's judgment against Jesus
[20:57] John writes for us in his gospel And after this, Joseph of Arimathea had been a disciple of Jesus But secretly for fear of the Jews Joseph's discipleship was not openly announced discipleship He concealed the fact that he was a follower of Jesus Christ He believed that Jesus was the Messiah He believed that Jesus was the promised one But he did not openly identify himself with Jesus Why?
[21:33] Well there, John tells us We are told that he was afraid of the Jews Now you will recall a story that is given to us in John chapter 9 Where we have the case of a man born blind whom Jesus healed And when his parents were asked Is this your son whom you say was born blind?
[21:54] How then did he now see? And they answered We know that this is our son And that he was born blind But by what means he now seeth we know not Or who hath opened his eyes we know not He is of age, ask him He shall speak for himself And they answered in this manner We are told because they feared the Jews For the Jews had already agreed that if any man did confess that Jesus was the Christ That he would be put out of the synagogue Which eventually happened to this man who was healed by Jesus In John chapter 12 We are told that among the chief rulers also many believed on him But because of the Pharisees they did not confess him Lest they should be put out of the synagogue For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God These chief rulers maintained some loose attachment to Jesus
[22:59] Who believed in some sense and of whose faith the Pharisees knew nothing But despite their faith they would not take the step that would threaten their position in this synagogue The praise of men was greater in their hearts than the praise of God And there are many who are happy enough to believe in Jesus in some sense But to displace similar hesitation as the chief rulers did Perhaps after the resurrection they joined other Jewish leaders In becoming true servants of Jesus And becoming true serving Christians Jesus had already warned the disciples If you are going to follow me Then you must count the cost In Matthew chapter 8 we read And when he had called the people unto him With his disciples thought so He said unto them Whosoever will come after him Let him let after me
[24:01] Whosoever will come after me Let him deny himself And take up his cross And follow me In Matthew 10 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men Him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven But whosoever shall deny me before men Him I also deny before my Father which is in heaven Well, are you willing to take up the cross And to follow Jesus?
[24:33] Are you willing to confess Jesus before the people? Are you because of fear not publicly committing yourself to Jesus?
[24:44] Maybe you are saying well what will my family think? Well what will my friends and work associates think? Are you saying well Joseph was a sacred disciple?
[24:57] So I guess that I could also be a secret disciple Maybe you are saying well I will follow the example of Joseph of Armathia And I will be a secret disciple of Jesus Well listen to what C.H. Spurgeon has to say He says Joseph was a great loser by his secrecy He did not live with Jesus as many other disciples did And the many opportunities that he missed to have worked for his master Fear of man keeping him back Scripture says for unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ Not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake But now what a wonderful change takes place in this man's heart The man who was so afraid to have his name associated with Jesus Now acts in such a way that 2,000 years later
[25:59] We are still talking about him His name is recorded not as someone who refused to identify himself with Jesus But as a man who would ever be associated with Jesus Joseph went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus He takes a stand to honour and to love the person of Jesus He did so at a time when it was dangerous for a person to show any allegiance to Jesus And also at a time when the cause of Jesus was considered to have utterly failed It was not an easy time to stand out for Jesus Because there was a threat upon their lives If they showed any allegiance to Jesus And also the cause of Jesus was looked upon as a failure
[27:09] Jesus whom the disciples had followed and trusted was now dead Maybe their thought was well What was the sense or point to continue?
[27:25] We must remember that It is never easy to identify ourselves with Jesus And to take a stand to honour and to love him We open ourselves to persecution and hatred And of course we open ourselves to mockery and ridicule Scorn and laughter of this world The motto of this world is Let us eat, drink and be merry For tomorrow we die Many will say that the cause of Christ is dead That the cause of Christ is a thing of the past That no modern civilised man today believes in God Or believes in the Bible Or believes in Jesus Or believes in Jesus Who was crucified on a cross Who died and was buried Who does not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead They say that the Christian faith is a bygone product
[28:27] That we are to do our best in our day And to enjoy ourselves today Well the Lord sometimes tests us To show us who we really are Joseph as we noted before Dissented from the Sanhedrin's judgement against Jesus But God was now beginning to do our work in him And now God is going to set a test before him In order that Joseph decides and nails his colours to the cause of Christ The Lord does this in a most extraordinary and significant way The death of Jesus on the cross led this man to commit himself to the cause of Christ The crucifixion of this man Jesus was the means of leading Joseph to commit himself to Jesus
[29:29] Many followed Jesus for the sake of what they could gain For example And again in the Gospel of John chapter 6 We are told that Jesus said to the crowd that followed him after they were fed with the loaves and fishes They could not understand him They could not understand his language And we are told that many went back and regarded his sayings as hard sayings Well the reason is that those things can only be received by faith He is speaking figuratively of course When he speaks of eating his flesh
[30:31] And drinking his blood Augustine says believe And you have eaten And he turns to his disciples and he says Will ye also Go away Do you also find this a hard saying When I speak of eating my flesh And drinking my blood Cush as I have already noted He is talking there figuratively He is talking there of exercising faith On his finished work Exercising faith In him As the saviour of sinners Exercising faith in him As the one who was going to die on the cross There are many who find the life of faith A hard saying They claim that it is a life that is so restrictive Jesus crucified The only way of salvation is far too restrictive
[31:33] So they say they should That it is far too much restrictive for them Now that should not surprise us at all Paul writes But we preach Christ crucified Unto the Jews a stumbling block And unto the Greeks foolishness But unto them which are saved Or called both Jew and Greeks Christ the power of God And the wisdom of God Those who have no faith Sees the cross as utter foolishness Sees the preaching of a crucified Christ As utter foolishness It is a stumbling block To them But those who have faith Sees the cross as the power of God Sees the cross as the wisdom of God And Joseph was one of those who had now come to see the death of Christ on the cross
[32:38] As the power of God And as the wisdom of God Well, can you relate to Joseph today? What is your own opinion of the cross?
[32:50] What is your own view of the cross of Golgotha? Do you think it is utter foolishness to believe in such? That it is utter foolishness to preach such?
[33:02] Christ and him crucified Or do you believe and accept that it is a display of the power and wisdom of God? That it is for you the power and wisdom of God Joseph, if he had judged Jesus to be deserving of death as a capital punishment He could have sought his burial in accordance with the Jewish laws We have already noted But Joseph's motivation is far greater Because he believes Jesus to be innocent of the charges that was brought against him And he desires to give Jesus the most honourable burial Love for the Lord Jesus goes further than simply dissenting from the Sanhedrin's judgement against Jesus Which he did But his love for the Lord goes far, far beyond that
[34:03] Beyond that The Sanhedrin judged Jesus as a criminal It is not enough for us to dissent and not agree with the values that the world puts upon the Christian faith But Joseph now comes forward when it seems that the powers of darkness are one And he makes a very courageous request Mark writes for us, Joseph of Matthia An honourable counsellor, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God Came and went in boldly unto Pilate And craved the body of Jesus He went in boldly into the Roman governor A man steeped in paganism And he craved for the body of Jesus It was much easier to align with Jesus on his triumphant entry into the city a few days earlier
[35:04] Than it was now when many were blazing, with blazing hatred against Jesus And to identify oneself with Jesus It was really to many a lost cause When the disciples had fled, you know, it was not easy for him to stand apart with just Nicodemus and two women Along with him That was Jesus' burial Two men and two women Joseph of Matthia and Nicodemus And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary You see, it is easier to stand with the majority Than it is to stand with the minority This was his day and time And now today is your day and time Whether you stand with the majority Or with the minority Joseph of Matthia The Lord is testing him And in his test
[36:05] He stands with the minority He stands there because of his love To the Lord Jesus Because of his faith and his love To the Lord in Jesus Now burial had to be completed by sunset Around 6pm For that matter The beginning of their Sabbath And Jesus died shortly after 3pm So urgent action was required on the part of Joseph He had only less than three hours to perform the burial of the body of Jesus But being a member of the Sanhedrin Gave Joseph immediate access to the governor Pilate And so Joseph acted on this privilege And went to Pilate and sought the body of Jesus And Pilate having certified that Jesus was dead Ordered that his body be given to Joseph And in all this we see the Father's loving hand
[37:08] Looking after the body of his son Much as men did degrading items to this body They degraded the body as much as they could The prophet Isaiah wrote regarding the Lord's servant The Lord Jesus Christ As many were astoned at thee His visage was so marred more than any man And is far more than the sons of men Many were going to be astonished At the massive rough treatment That Jesus experienced at the hands of those In charge of the legal proceedings of that day It plainly says that his appearance was so disfigured That it went beyond that of any man Man did his work They scourged him They spat upon him They pulled at his beard
[38:09] They hid on his face As Isaiah again Wreckles for us the words of the servant I gave my back to the smiters And my cheeks to them that plucked off the head I hid not my face from shame and spitting Even hatred shown to his dead body By the soldier who pierced his side with a spear He is a disfigured figure on the cross of Golgotha But the dead body of God's son Is going to receive an honourable burial Burial Joseph being a member of the Sanhedrin Had this immediate access to Pilate That was not luck But ordained by the unseen hand of God In preparation to look after the body of his son The body of his son was not now in the hands of soldiers Or in the hands of unbelievers But in the hands of those of faith In the hands of the church
[39:12] They were to care and bury the body of Jesus In the hands of Joseph Who was rich to have a tomb of his own Again here we see the fulfilment of scripture The fulfilment of prophecy Isaiah says And he made That is he appointed his grave With the wicked and with the rich in his death Because he had done no violence Neither was any deceit in his mouth After receiving permission And having taken the body down from the cross Probably with the help of Nicodemus For this would be a difficult task And it would entail lowering the cross And removing the nails from the feet of Jesus You know we can only imagine What emotions would have flooded the mind and soul of Joseph How he would look at the battered, bruised, wounded and crushed body of Jesus Given to him now to wash
[40:15] Joseph would be reminded of the cost of salvation Joseph would be reminded of what it cost the Son of God That our sins would be forgiven The words of the Upper Room make sense now does it not?
[40:37] This is my body given for you This is my blood of the New Testament Shed for money for the remission of sins I suppose added to any emotions that flooded Joseph's soul at this time Was his regret As he thought of his unwillingness To associate himself with Jesus While he was alive The many missed opportunities He had to show his loyalty and love to Jesus But by the grace of God He seized this opportunity on showing his loyalty and love to Jesus And the burial of Jesus There was much he had yet to learn regarding our risen Jesus But his love for him at this time was a genuine love His allegiance to Jesus cannot be questioned His commitment to Jesus cannot be questioned But what about yourself today?
[41:36] Today is a day of God's grace given to you To show your love And your allegiance And your commitment to Jesus Having taken the body of Jesus from the cross Joseph wrapped it in a clean linen cloth He applied the spices that Nicodemus had brought As we noted to touch a dead body Would leave them unclean And was offensive to the Jews Nevertheless honouring Christ Was of great higher importance What a display of love and devotion For the Lord Jesus Christ His courage and generosity Evidence his devotion to Jesus He laid him in his own tomb No one had been laid Jesus who began his days of humiliation By entering the world through a virgin womb Was now ending his humiliation By being laid in a virgin tomb
[42:37] He borrowed the virgin womb to enter this world And now he borrows a virgin tomb To leave this world And Joseph having washed and prepared the body of Jesus Laid him in his own tomb And he rolled a large stone to the door of the tomb Here Joseph displays first the nature of true love As one writer puts it While professed attachment will abound in prosperity And live most in sunshine It is only genuine love That will go into the dark shades of adversity And flourish there in sources of poverty, want, affliction and death It shows its genuineness In other words it is easy for us To show outwardly Love when things are abounding in prosperity with us
[43:41] When the sun is shining upon us But for genuine love to have its place In the dark shadows of adversity, of mockery, of ridicule Of poverty, of want, of affliction There love shows its genuineness It is easy to love when everything is going well It is a different thing when everything is against you Whatever was true before now He was not now ashamed Of Jesus and him crucified We are not told what happened to Joseph or to Nicodemus The story ends with the burial of Jesus Were they rejected by the Sanhedrin?
[44:33] We just do not know Were they rejected by their own families Because of their association with Jesus Well we are not told Were they thrown out of the synagogue We just do not know But this we do know That they were willing to count all things lost For the sake of Jesus Christ We are told here that There were also two women Present at the burial There was Mary Magdalene And the other Mary Sitting over against the sepulchre Many women had been there at the cross Watching from a distance But two of them stayed there To see where Jesus was buried And they sat opposite the grave Their sitting here in self Is a sign or gesture of grief In Psalm 137 We read There we sat down Yea we wept
[45:35] When we remembered Zion We hanged out harps upon the willows In the midst thereof For there they had carried us away In the midst thereof The song Sitting down When it was a sign of grief But it also here marked their faithfulness To Jesus Not only was sitting down Over against the sepulchre A mark of their grief Of their mourning But it also marked their faithfulness to Jesus Most of the women had left Joseph has gone away Joseph has gone away No one is present But there are two women And eventually they also went away With the intention Of returning When the Sabbath was over Jesus buried The day before the Sabbath Jesus kept The Sabbath day He did not rise from the dead on the Sabbath
[46:36] But he rose from the dead The day after the Sabbath Which has become Our Sabbath To mark the resurrection Of the Lord Jesus Christ In accordance With the practice Of the New Testament Church There are some of you here today And you need to step out And you need to confess Christ Yes it is difficult Yes it is hard But Christ Is worthy View the suffering And dying Saviour And ask Is anything worth holding back For his sake We are living for something But let us measure it out with the A measure of love And condescension And sacrifice Of Jesus The Son of God For the sake of sinners For the sake of sinners Like me And you Let us follow the example
[47:37] Of Joseph of Amartya Not in being a secret disciple Of Jesus I am sure there were many days In which he regretted That he did not openly Come and confess Jesus But now let us follow his example As shown here for us in the Gospel As he came out At the most difficult time To show his allegiance And his commitment To Jesus And may you also come And show your allegiance And commitment To Jesus Think of the cross Think of the Think of the Immeasurable love The immeasurable condescension The great sacrifice Of Jesus The Son of God For the sake of sinners Like me and you So that we can Be reconciled to God That we can have peace With God That we can have The blessing of God
[48:38] Resting in and upon us Surely then It is worth Even in the midst of difficulty And hardships In the midst of persecution And mockery In the midst of being ridiculed Surely It is a worthy thing It is a worthy thing To come out And show our allegiance And commitment To Jesus Christ May the Lord bless our thoughts Let us pray Eternal and ever-blessed Lord We confess today that It is not easy In a world like ours To show commitment And allegiance to thee For there is mockery And ridicule And persecution Attending those things But oh Lord When we weigh those things
[49:39] In the light of what you have done for us When you receive the mockery And ridicule And persecution of men And when our sins Or what our sins desired Were laid upon you You took it willingly In order that we could have life And in the light of that Oh Lord Thou art worthy to be Confessed And before men And you are worthy Of being shown Allegiance and commitment And we pray oh Lord That thou would bless each one of us That those who have already Shown their allegiance and commitment And that they would be encouraged To continue in that path And for those who have not yet Shown that allegiance and commitment We pray oh Lord That you would work in their hearts And still them up in their hearts And that they may become like Joseph of Marthea And that they would show their
[50:41] Commitment and allegiance to thee We ask oh Lord That thou would continue with us Sure in the day And forgive us for all our sins In Christ's name Amen