My name's Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,
and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today.
A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us.
We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,
but because we're following Jesus together as one community.
And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced there's no one so good,
they don't need God's grace, and no one's so bad that they can't have it,
which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word.
We're continuing our series on the Gospel of Mark,
although what I'm about to say has nothing to do with the Gospel of Mark.
One of my favorite things over the last couple years, I think maybe it was two or three years ago,
we started saying the Lord's Prayer together as a congregation every Sunday.
And one of my favorite things is when we do that, hearing small little voices join in.
And I say that just as a reminder to us of what a great privilege it is to be in a church where we have squirming kids.
And some of you have been in churches that don't have young children.
That's a very sad thing.
You may remember earlier in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus rebukes His disciples
because they find children to be an inconvenience.
So I say all that to say, you know, when we have young children who are screaming with us,
our response is, you know, praise God.
Praise God that He's blessed our congregation with the next generation.
And praise God that we have the privilege of having them with us in worship.
So that's just one of my favorite things about this church.
Of many, right? Of many.
We're grateful that God's allowed us to be part of raising up the next generation.
We are continuing our series in the Gospel of Mark, which will be our series for not so long.
So we're coming to the very end.
And as we're coming to the end, as we're wrapping things up,
you may remember earlier in the Gospel, I told you, you know, as we come near the end,
we're going to see things close in.
At the beginning, we're going to see three different types of people.
We're going to see people who love Jesus, people who hate Jesus, and people who don't care.
And as we get near the end of the Gospel, that middle category is going to disappear.
We're going to see people who either embrace Jesus or they reject Him.
And of course, that's what we're seeing here at the very end.
And so this passage here with Joseph of Arimathea asks us this question, really,
of what are you going to do with the Gospel of Mark?
We've been in the Gospel of Mark for two years now.
And I think maybe one of the saddest things would be if we moved on and we just sort of forgot about it.
That was a series, you know, that we did at some point and glad to move on to another series,
but it didn't make a difference for us.
I told you at the very beginning, Mark doesn't mean for his Gospel to be an intellectual exercise.
Mark doesn't want his readers to get away with just hearing about Jesus and then to walk off and do something else.
Mark means for his Gospel to change us.
He means for it to make us different.
He means for us to see Jesus and be transformed.
And so as we are at really the very end of the Gospel, the question is this,
what are you going to do now?
What are you going to do with everything that we've looked at the past two years?
What are you going to do with the vision of Jesus that we've had over and over again?
That's the question this passage asks.
That's what Joseph of Arimathea challenges us with.
And so I'm going to invite you to turn with me in your Bible.
You can turn in your worship guide.
You can turn on your phone.
You can turn in your Bible itself.
No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word.
And God tells us that His Word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold.
And it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.
And so that's why we read now.
Mark chapter 15, starting at verse 42.
And when evening had come, since it was the day of preparation,
that is, the day before the Sabbath,
Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council,
who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God,
took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died.
And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead.
Verse 45.
And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead,
he granted the corpse to Joseph.
And Joseph bought a linen shroud and, taking him down,
wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb
that had been cut out of the rock.
And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joseph, saw where he was laid.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.
Our Father in heaven, we praise you again for your mercy to us,
that you have caused these stories, these true stories, to be written down,
that we could hear them, that we could meditate on them,
that we could know them 2,000 years later.
We ask that they wouldn't be merely an intellectual exercise for us,
but that you would show us Jesus.
And as we see Jesus, that we would be transformed,
that we would change to look more and more like him.
We ask that you would do that this morning by your word,
by the power of your spirit,
that you would make us people who are transformed in our hearts,
in our minds, in our lives.
And we would grow in our love and our affection for Christ.
We'd grow in our reverence and our awe for him.
And we'd grow in our obedience to him.
We ask these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Many of you know, if you've been in the world for any length of time,
that if you make the wrong move or say the wrong thing
or make an alliance with the wrong person,
you might face the end of your career.
You might face the end of a social circle
if you support the wrong person or voice the wrong opinion.
Of course, it's easy to think of times in history this has happened.
We might think of the 1940s and 50s
when Hollywood stars were blacklisted for their potential ties
with the Communist Party.
But Hollywood's not the only industry
where someone might get blacklisted.
Today, you face the risk of being what's called canceled
if you say the wrong thing or support the wrong person.
Of course, the opposite can also be true.
Courage has its own attractiveness to it.
Sometimes people have become famous over the last few years
for their willingness to say unpopular things.
But today, as we look at the end of this chapter, Mark 15,
we're going to see a man, Joseph, who is willing to risk it all.
He's willing to risk being canceled.
He's willing to risk losing his status and his wealth.
We see him for the first time in verse 43, this new character,
and we find out he's a respected member of the council.
And that means that Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin.
And so you just have to think back to the last chapter.
Remember, Jesus had two trials.
He had his religious trial, and he also had his civil trial.
And you remember the religious trial.
It was the Sanhedrin, which sort of functioned as the supreme court of the Jews
that actually tried him.
In other words, Joseph was a member of the court
that referred Jesus to Herod and ultimately resulted in his death.
Okay, so just let that sit with you for a minute.
Joseph was part of the court that condemned Jesus.
That in and of itself is a bit of a bombshell.
Now, we're told about Joseph in the other Gospels as well.
Mark does not tell us this, but Luke says this,
that Joseph had not consented to their decision and action,
and he was looking for the kingdom of God.
So apparently, Joseph actually disagreed with what the Sanhedrin did.
We're not told whether Joseph was there in person,
whether he happened to miss the event.
Wherever he was, Joseph was not there to stand up for Jesus.
Okay, so we learn something about Joseph here.
Joseph is a member of the power elite among the Jews.
And that causes it to be even more surprising
that he does what he does.
Now, what he does here, we can know that he's in a rush.
Verse 42, when evening had come,
since it was the day of preparation,
that is the day before the Sabbath.
In other words, Joseph is on a tight schedule.
The Jewish holy day is coming up.
He's not supposed to be doing any work on the Sabbath.
He probably should not be touching dead bodies.
And so he has just a short amount of time to work with
to get Jesus off of the cross.
And so we see him then in verse 43.
He goes, he takes courage, went to Pilate,
and asked for the body of Jesus.
Now, you might wonder why it is that Joseph has to ask for the body here.
And the reason is that if someone was crucified,
the expectation was that they would be dishonored in every way.
So there was no guarantee that this person would have a normal burial.
Part of how you honor someone is by taking good care of their body
after they're gone.
If someone's crucified, the worst death the Romans can offer,
that's a way of saying this person deserves no honor.
And so for someone's body to be released after they've been crucified,
a special request has to be made to the magistrate,
and the request has to be granted.
Now, this request is supposed to be made by the family of the person that's killed.
Joseph, to state the obvious, is not Jesus' family.
Joseph is not a member of Jesus' inner circle.
And so that reminds us of how unusual this request is.
It also reminds us again of what we saw when Jesus was abandoned in the Garden of Gethsemane.
He dies all alone.
He dies without his family and his closest friends there to support him.
And it reminds us of what a courageous act this is by Joseph.
Now, you'll notice verse 44,
Pilate's surprised that here that she should have already died.
Remember, we talked about this last week.
Jesus, as a crucified man, should have died sort of like a dimmer switch going out slowly.
And instead, Jesus dies like this on and off switch,
which is why he's able to cry out right before he dies.
Remember, that's why the Roman soldier said,
oh, this must be the Son of God,
because Jesus dies in a way that is not supposed to happen on a cross.
Jesus is able to give up his life,
still having the strength to cry out,
rather than just slowly fading away.
And so that's why Pilate here is surprised.
Like, wait, it doesn't make any sense that Jesus has already died.
We need to go send some people to certify.
Now, as an aside,
this is Mark's way of telling us how reliable the gospel accounts are.
He is saying, look,
if you think that Jesus didn't rise from the dead
because he actually didn't die,
well, you need to take that up with Pilate,
because Pilate certified that he died.
Okay?
So Mark's throwing in this aside here just to say,
hey, this is a true account,
and if you don't believe me,
you can go talk to other people about it.
By the way, he's doing the same thing in verse 47,
when he says,
Mary Magdalene and Mary and the mother of Joseph
saw where he was laid.
He's saying, hey, there's some witnesses you can go talk to
if you don't really think Jesus died and was buried.
Same thing, I didn't talk about this last week,
but same thing going on in verse 40.
Mark is listing these names over and over,
and I put this in your worship guide under that doubt sidebar.
He's listing these names over and over to say,
hey, I'm not making this stuff up, okay?
There's a lot of other people who saw this happen.
If you doubt me, you can go talk to them.
Regardless, Pilate's surprised, right?
Joseph is asking for the body,
and Pilate grants it.
Joseph has just come out of the closet as a Jesus supporter.
It is possible to say here
that it is an understatement in verse 43
that he took courage.
Yeah, of course he took courage.
In fact, he probably had to take a lot more than courage.
Here is someone who is a member
of the team that contend Jesus.
So he had to take courage in the sense
that he's standing against his own social group,
his own team.
As you know, you can quickly lose your place
among the elites of a society
by siding with the wrong people.
And here, Joseph is an elite.
Joseph is in the inner circle
of the inner circles of the Jews.
We're told in the other Gospels
that Joseph is actually very wealthy.
He has quite the place in society.
He has quite the wealth to work with.
In fact, this is part of the reason
he's got an empty tomb
that he can just offer to Jesus.
Joseph has done very well in life.
In fact, Matthew tells us this in his Gospel.
He says,
there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph.
He doesn't even tell us his name first.
He says, look, this guy had a lot of money.
So it shouldn't surprise us, right,
that he also has a large tomb
to go along with it.
Not everyone in the ancient world
just had a spare tomb lying around
that they could hand off
to someone who had been crucified.
Joseph, who happened to have a lot of money,
did have that.
And so that raises the question for us
of why did Joseph take the risk?
Why did Joseph take courage
and go to Pilate and ask for the body of Jesus?
In fact, everything would point against him doing that.
Upton Sinclair has famously said,
it is difficult to get a man to understand something
when his salary depends on his not understanding it.
Joseph's standing in society
depends on him not understanding
what's going on with Jesus.
And yet, against all odds,
he comes out here
and publicly expresses his support for Jesus.
It is not a secret anymore.
Why?
Joseph certainly knows he has a lot to lose.
And Joseph somehow has become convinced
he has a lot more to gain.
Joseph has a tremendous amount to lose.
And somehow, in his following of Jesus,
he has become convinced
he has even more to gain.
Christian,
are you willing
to lose your kingdom
for the sake of God's kingdom?
Joseph
gave up
one of the spaces in his tomb
and he went
and he bought new linens
to put Jesus in.
Are you willing
to sacrifice your resources
for the kingdom of God?
Joseph
was willing
to make a bold
and unpopular stand.
Joseph
was willing
to come out of the closet
as someone who supports
Jesus.
Are you willing
to stand against your team?
Against your friends?
Against your people?
By letting them know
that you stand with Jesus.
Are you willing
to lose your reputation?
Are you willing
for people to think
that you're stupid
or even worse,
dangerous
because you follow Christ?
Are you willing
to jeopardize
your vocation
to miss
an opportunity
to advance
because people know
that you stand
with Jesus?
Are you willing
to lose relationally?
Do you believe
that it is better
to be single
than to be with someone
who doesn't share
your beliefs about God?
do you know
that you have
a lot to lose?
Do you know
that you have
even more to gain?
That's what happened
to Joseph here.
Although,
we know
it didn't happen
right away.
Now,
the other Gospels
tell us,
in fact,
John 19 says this,
Joseph was a disciple
of Jesus
but secretly
for fear
of the Jews.
Joseph
kept his love
of Jesus
under wraps.
And so,
what changed
for Joseph?
Joseph.
How do you
become a Joseph
of Arimathea
type person?
How do you
change
that you're
willing
to give up
your kingdom
for the kingdom
of God?
Well,
you have to believe
that there's
something
in the future
that's better
than what you have
in the present.
You have to believe
there's something
you don't have
that's better
than what you do have.
There's a basic
principle in life
which is that
the greater
the vision,
the greater
the sacrifice.
And so,
somehow,
somewhere,
Joseph had
caught a vision
for what the
kingdom of God
actually was.
Joseph had seen
how beautiful
Jesus actually was.
I told you guys
before,
you don't get
over that old
crush
until you get
that new crush.
Joseph
finally got
over
wealth
and power
and status.
Jesus finally
became
his new crush.
Jesus was
the one
who was worth
more
than everything
else.
And so,
that's why
things are
interesting here
in this passage
with Joseph.
It's not just
that he's taking
courage like
verse 43
tells us.
but that he's
taking a new
courage.
Joseph is
taking courage
he never had
before.
Joseph is
taking risks
he wasn't
willing to
take before.
Joseph is
putting everything
on the line
after Jesus'
death
that he wasn't
willing to do
before
his death.
John 19,
I mentioned,
tells us that
it was a secret
that he followed
Jesus
and now
Joseph
decides it's
not a secret.
Joseph
has seen
the beauty
of Christ.
Joseph has
finally realized
how valuable
the kingdom
of God is.
Joseph has
come to
understand
that there
is nothing
that is
worth keeping
if it means
giving up
Jesus.
Before it
was a secret
now Joseph
is willing
to take
the risk.
He knows
the kingdom
of God
is worth it.
He knows
it is more
valuable
than money
and status
and power
and comfort
and pleasure.
Now,
this passage
doesn't tell us
what the tipping
point was
for him.
Potentially,
it was Jesus'
religious trial.
Maybe he was
actually there.
Maybe he saw
that Jesus'
love for his
people was so
great that he
was willing
to suffer
for them.
Maybe the
false accusations
woke him up
finally to
the dead
religion of
his colleagues
in the
Sanhedrin.
Maybe he
realized
finally that
they were
not actually
interested in
God and
his ways,
but they
were interested
in power
and status.
Maybe Joseph
was changed
when darkness
came over the
land for
three hours
while Jesus
hung on the
cross,
and that
caused Joseph
to understand
that Jesus
was the one
who was taking
the penalty
for his sins.
Maybe he
finally got
home for him
that Jesus
was forsaken
so that he
could be
accepted.
Maybe it
was Jesus
miracles that
got to
him.
He finally
realized that
Jesus was
more powerful
than all the
things that
he loved.
Maybe it
was Jesus
casting out
demons.
Maybe Joseph
realized that
Jesus could
heal things
and fix
things that
money and
medicine would
never be able
to fix.
Maybe it
was Jesus
teaching.
Maybe Joseph
heard Jesus
say this,
for whoever
would save
his life
will lose
it, but
whoever
loses his
life for
my sake
and the
gospels
will save
it.
And maybe
Joseph heard
that and he
realized the
future was
better than
the present.
Maybe he
heard Jesus
say this,
those who
are well
have no
need of a
physician,
but those
who are
sick.
I came
not to
call the
righteous,
but sinners.
and maybe
he finally
decided Jesus
healing was
worth more
than anything
else.
Maybe he
heard Jesus
say this,
for even the
son of man
came not to
be served,
but to serve
and to give
his life as a
ransom for
many.
Maybe that
captured
Joseph's
loyalty.
We're not
told and we
don't need to
know.
because the
question for
us is not
what changed
Joseph.
The question
is, has
the gospel
of Mark
changed you?
As we've
looked at
Jesus for
two years,
have you
seen how
gracious and
loving he
is?
as we've
looked at
Jesus for
two years,
have you
seen his
power and
his
authority?
He's more
powerful than
the rulers
of this
world.
As we've
looked at
Jesus for
two years,
and especially
in the last
week of his
life,
have you
seen that
Jesus loves
you more
than anyone
else?
as we've
looked at
Jesus,
has he
melted your
heart?
Because if
we move on
to the book
of Judges,
which is our
next series,
and we just
think of the
gospel of Mark
as a book
that we
looked at
for a
while,
we will
have missed
out on
what Joseph
saw.
Hast thou
heard him,
seen him,
known him?
Is not
thine a
captured
heart?
Mark puts
this here at
the end for
a purpose,
which is to
remind us that
Jesus' death
demands a
response.
that we're
not meant to
see Jesus
walking towards
the cross and
dying on it
and then to
simply walk
away and
continue with
the rest of
our lives.
No, we're
meant to be
like Joseph
who sees it
and is finally
willing to put
everything on
the line.
We're meant to
be like Joseph
who sees it
and is willing
to finally be
public about
the fact that
he loves Jesus.
We're meant to
be like Joseph
who sees it
and is willing
to give up
his resources
to care for
Jesus' body.
We're meant
to be like
Joseph,
to be willing
to lose it all.
I've been
telling you for
two years that
there are two
camps.
There are those
who are in,
all in on
Jesus and those
who are out.
Christian,
are you all
in?
are you
willing to
be like
Joseph of
Arimathea?
Is the
kingdom of
God worth
it to you?
Is it
worth losing
other
kingdoms?
Joseph
believes that
the kingdom
of God is
better than
the kingdom
of Joseph.
And in case
you missed it
at the beginning,
the kingdom
of Joseph is
going really
well.
Joseph's
life would
be very
convenient and
comfortable if
he just kept
his mouth
shut.
Joseph's
life would
be very
convenient and
comfortable if
he just let
alone and
let Jesus'
body hang.
God
will
but he
doesn't.
Christian,
is that
true of you?
hast thou
heard him,
seen him,
known him?
Is not
thine a
captured
heart?
Captivated by
his beauty,
worthy tribute,
haste to
bring.
Let his
peerless worth
constrain
thee.
Crown him
now,
unrivaled
king.
let's pray.
Our
father in
heaven,
we praise
you and
thank you
for your
son and
our savior,
our Lord
Jesus.
us.
We ask
that you
would not
let the
gospel of
Mark wash
over us.
You
wouldn't let
us be
numb to
it,
but you
would give
us tender
hearts,
that we
would be
like Joseph,
that it
would click
for us,
that we
would finally
see that
your kingdom
is better
than our
kingdom,
that your
future is
better,
than our
present,
that the
vision that
you have
for us is
worth the
sacrifice,
and so
that we
would know
Jesus and
love him,
we'd follow
him and
obey him.
We ask
these things
in the mighty
name of
Jesus Christ.
Amen.