WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.900 And turn again to Mark chapter 15. 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:06.459 We're finishing our series in Mark. 00:00:06.900 --> 00:00:08.359 We've looked at the crucifixion. 00:00:09.040 --> 00:00:10.939 We've focused on the actual death of Jesus. 00:00:10.939 --> 00:00:14.380 And today we are finishing by looking at his burial. 00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:18.620 ! Mark chapter 15, verses 42 to 47. 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:22.900 And as we do come to the burial of Jesus, 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:27.640 I expect we don't often think this is too important. 00:00:28.620 --> 00:00:33.000 This isn't often a moment our hearts or minds go to 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:35.740 when we reflect on the important things of our faith. 00:00:36.760 --> 00:00:38.280 Yes, we need the crucifixion. 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:40.920 Of course we need Jesus' death. 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:43.719 But after that, well, let's just skip ahead to the resurrection. 00:00:44.840 --> 00:00:47.359 Those are the things that really matter, we might say. 00:00:48.380 --> 00:00:53.939 And they do matter, but we can very easily sideline the burial. 00:00:53.939 --> 00:01:00.799 But surprisingly, that is not how the Bible wants us to think about this moment. 00:01:01.879 --> 00:01:04.700 Do you remember what the Apostle Paul says when he speaks of the Gospel? 00:01:05.560 --> 00:01:05.939 He says, 00:01:06.259 --> 00:01:11.680 I delivered to you as of first importance that Christ died, 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:15.120 he was buried, and he was raised. 00:01:16.099 --> 00:01:19.099 Death, burial, resurrection. 00:01:19.099 --> 00:01:23.000 In fact, we confessed it earlier in the Apostles' Creed, 00:01:23.119 --> 00:01:24.919 but we're going to sing it after the sermon as well. 00:01:25.359 --> 00:01:26.259 The heart of our faith. 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:32.500 I believe in Jesus Christ, that he died, was buried, he descended to the dead. 00:01:32.500 --> 00:01:38.239 This moment here in Mark, Jesus being laid in this tomb, 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:42.239 this is of first importance in your life. 00:01:43.500 --> 00:01:47.120 Which is why Mark doesn't just skip to the resurrection, 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:51.460 but he spends so much time and detail on this. 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:54.379 It is of first importance. 00:01:54.379 --> 00:01:58.539 And that is because, for the believer, 00:01:59.479 --> 00:02:03.879 this burial makes an impact on your life every single day. 00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:07.439 Your mind may not go to the tomb, 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:11.859 but this moment is actually doing something for you, 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:16.079 and in your heart, and in this world right now. 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:19.139 This burial is not just a memory of the past, 00:02:19.139 --> 00:02:24.559 but for those in Christ, this burial is shaping your life moment by moment. 00:02:26.079 --> 00:02:31.139 And that is because this burial means three things, three C's today. 00:02:31.939 --> 00:02:33.839 This burial is a completion. 00:02:35.139 --> 00:02:39.619 It is the full completion of Christ's humiliation, 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:42.500 and so the complete end of your sin. 00:02:43.839 --> 00:02:46.199 And this burial is a cleansing. 00:02:46.199 --> 00:02:51.319 It is a sanctifying and cleansing of the grave, 00:02:51.479 --> 00:02:55.099 which completely transforms your hope for the future. 00:02:56.539 --> 00:03:00.019 And this burial is your burial too. 00:03:01.379 --> 00:03:05.039 This does not only belong to Jesus, but you. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:08.479 This is a co-burial, 00:03:08.899 --> 00:03:13.039 which marks the end of sin's reign in your life. 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:16.959 Three C's completion, cleansing, co-burial. 00:03:18.459 --> 00:03:23.840 And so this burial is what the world is so desperately in need of today. 00:03:24.899 --> 00:03:26.379 If you are needing hope, 00:03:27.079 --> 00:03:29.319 if you are needing change in your life, 00:03:29.379 --> 00:03:34.060 if you are facing death and don't know how to go on or where to turn to, 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:36.819 then you need this burial. 00:03:36.819 --> 00:03:40.780 It is of first importance. 00:03:42.019 --> 00:03:44.659 And let's see why it is so important. 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:46.599 And so three things to see today. 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:48.280 Three C's, and the first is this. 00:03:48.699 --> 00:03:50.620 This burial is a completion. 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:53.379 This burial is a completion. 00:03:53.379 --> 00:03:57.719 We are at Golgotha. 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:00.759 It is a Friday afternoon. 00:04:01.939 --> 00:04:03.319 Evening is approaching. 00:04:04.099 --> 00:04:07.979 And in the middle of three crosses hangs a man. 00:04:09.180 --> 00:04:10.579 But there isn't any movement. 00:04:11.500 --> 00:04:12.500 No noise. 00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:15.159 Jesus hangs there. 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:15.840 No heartbeat. 00:04:16.779 --> 00:04:18.420 No more breath in his lungs. 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:25.879 And by any standard, we can definitely say this man's life on earth is over. 00:04:27.640 --> 00:04:33.300 But while his life is over, I want us to see Jesus' work isn't over. 00:04:34.379 --> 00:04:37.800 The work of salvation isn't actually over yet. 00:04:39.060 --> 00:04:44.439 This isn't to say Christ has more to suffer or more sin to bear. 00:04:44.520 --> 00:04:46.120 No, the curtain is torn. 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:48.379 We are brought back to God. 00:04:48.860 --> 00:04:53.319 But here in this burial, something else is being achieved for us. 00:04:54.399 --> 00:05:04.300 In this burial, this is Christ reaching the deepest depths of his humiliation to bring us up to glory. 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:09.199 I helped clean out someone's pond a few years back. 00:05:09.960 --> 00:05:19.819 And to clean it, we had to clear out all the bottom of the pond, which had been built up over the years with layers of just muck and goose poo and who knows what. 00:05:20.540 --> 00:05:21.560 It was pretty rank. 00:05:22.500 --> 00:05:25.439 And it was contaminating all the water in the pond. 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:28.199 And so we had to clear it out. 00:05:28.199 --> 00:05:39.240 But to properly clear it out, you couldn't just scrape the top layer of mud off and just grab, skim the muck and then take it out and throw it away. 00:05:39.779 --> 00:05:40.000 No. 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:43.139 If you did that, that would just still leave loads of muck. 00:05:43.139 --> 00:05:52.339 No, to clean it, you had to stick your hand all the way to the bottom of the muck, as far as you could go. 00:05:52.459 --> 00:05:59.779 Touch the plastic lining at the very bottom and then bring up all the muck from the bottom and throw it away. 00:05:59.779 --> 00:06:02.099 That was the only way. 00:06:02.179 --> 00:06:04.099 You had to reach the bottom. 00:06:05.739 --> 00:06:07.479 Well, that is like the work of Jesus. 00:06:08.859 --> 00:06:24.879 In order to cleanse us from our sin, Jesus had to plunge down to the very depths of sin and misery and humiliation to then bring us back up into the fresh air and rescue us. 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:30.560 And what is the lowest point a person can reach? 00:06:31.659 --> 00:06:36.399 What is the deepest and darkest point sin can bring us to? 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:38.519 It is the grave. 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:53.019 There is nothing more unnatural, nothing more humbling, nothing further from the heights of glory than being lowered into the ground, placed into a tomb, 00:06:53.019 --> 00:06:55.159 and belonging to the dead. 00:06:57.639 --> 00:07:04.359 And so while Christ isn't suffering anymore, this burial is so desperately needed for us. 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:13.359 Because this is Jesus completing our salvation by reaching down into the depths. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:18.159 You can almost say his death isn't complete without this burial. 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:26.540 And for those here who have lost a loved one, we know something isn't complete until they're buried. 00:07:27.640 --> 00:07:31.120 When they die, we have that time of grief. 00:07:31.760 --> 00:07:33.700 But we're waiting for the funeral. 00:07:35.080 --> 00:07:37.240 Something just doesn't feel complete. 00:07:37.340 --> 00:07:42.220 The goodbye doesn't feel complete until we've lowered them into the ground. 00:07:42.220 --> 00:07:46.360 And after that, the grief remains. 00:07:47.280 --> 00:07:50.380 But we know there's been some sort of closure. 00:07:51.740 --> 00:07:57.960 It's why we care so much about bringing fallen soldiers back from abroad, back home to be buried. 00:07:58.580 --> 00:08:01.440 In a way, their burial completes their story. 00:08:03.080 --> 00:08:05.140 Well, that is like the saving work of Christ. 00:08:05.139 --> 00:08:14.360 He needs to reach the depths and not only suffer, but he needs to go to the grave to save. 00:08:15.539 --> 00:08:17.399 This burial is a completion. 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:26.800 Which is why Mark goes to such great lengths to show that Jesus really did die. 00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:30.319 He really went down to those depths. 00:08:30.719 --> 00:08:31.839 Look at the details here. 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:32.539 Verse 42. 00:08:32.539 --> 00:08:37.939 As evening approaches, Jesus is still hanging there. 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:47.259 And so Joseph of Arimathea, one of the Jewish leaders, he goes to ask the Roman governor Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. 00:08:48.860 --> 00:08:53.439 And notice, just notice the wording, he doesn't ask for Jesus, does he? 00:08:54.379 --> 00:08:56.000 No, that wouldn't make sense. 00:08:57.000 --> 00:09:00.199 No, he must ask for the body of Jesus. 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:02.800 And verse 44. 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:06.620 Pilate is surprised Jesus has already died. 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:11.340 Sometimes crucifixions in those days could last for days. 00:09:12.400 --> 00:09:18.540 But Jesus was probably so brutally beaten beforehand that he died particularly quickly. 00:09:18.539 --> 00:09:27.159 And so, Pilate, being a bit unsure, he asked a soldier, a centurion, to go and double check. 00:09:27.639 --> 00:09:30.259 And Romans were experts in making sure people were dead. 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:34.519 And so, verse 45, the soldier confirms it. 00:09:36.059 --> 00:09:37.299 And so, what does Pilate do? 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:38.819 Look at the wording. 00:09:38.819 --> 00:09:42.879 He granted the corpse to Joseph. 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:51.899 The Lord Jesus, the Lord of glory, now has the title of corpse. 00:09:53.580 --> 00:10:05.759 And so, Joseph took down the corpse, removed the nails, carried his body, and verse 46, wrapped him in a linen cloth, the burial custom of the day. 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:09.559 And he placed Jesus in a tomb. 00:10:10.939 --> 00:10:19.779 Now, these tombs were carved out of huge rock faces with a small entrance near the floor that you could stoop into. 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:23.220 And when you did, it would open up into kind of a little area. 00:10:23.220 --> 00:10:29.879 And you would see shelves carved out of the rock where bodies were laid. 00:10:31.660 --> 00:10:40.399 And Joseph takes the body of Jesus, lays him in that tomb, and rolls a huge stone to shut the entrance. 00:10:42.500 --> 00:10:44.720 Such careful details, aren't they? 00:10:46.160 --> 00:10:46.700 Why? 00:10:46.700 --> 00:10:57.920 Well, Mark is making very clear that without doubt, Jesus really did reach the lowest of depths. 00:10:59.540 --> 00:11:08.300 Body, corpse, confirmed by soldiers, linen, entombed in the earth, shut off from the land of the living. 00:11:09.420 --> 00:11:12.540 Jesus truly belonged to the dead. 00:11:12.539 --> 00:11:18.799 The population count in Jerusalem, it truly dropped by one that day. 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:25.539 And if you were there in that moment, and someone asked you, where is Jesus right now? 00:11:25.939 --> 00:11:29.559 You must answer, he is not among the living. 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:37.120 There is a saviour who truly knows the experience of death. 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:44.740 Jesus is not a far-off saviour who just watches our suffering and observes the misery of this world. 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:48.840 No, Jesus is a saviour who actually knows death. 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:54.480 And he knows it not only by weeping by the graves of his friends, 00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:59.980 but he is a saviour who has had a grave of his own. 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:07.620 When we come face to face with death, there is someone not just with the advice to help you, 00:12:08.420 --> 00:12:12.159 but a man with first-hand experience of death itself. 00:12:13.500 --> 00:12:14.940 Someone you can pray to. 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:19.180 Someone who is with you in that dark valley. 00:12:19.179 --> 00:12:26.519 And Mark is so clear about this because this is what it takes to save us. 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:30.939 This is what the curse of sin demands. 00:12:32.500 --> 00:12:36.559 Do you remember what God said to Adam when he ate that fruit? 00:12:38.439 --> 00:12:45.139 Because you have eaten of the tree, you are dust, and to dust you shall return. 00:12:45.139 --> 00:12:55.019 When you reach down into the depths of God's curse, you don't reach plastic lining, you reach dust. 00:12:56.299 --> 00:13:00.439 And to save us from this curse, someone must bear it for us. 00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:06.879 And to bear it for us, they must reach down, touch the dust, and return to it. 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:14.360 And Jesus does exactly that for us by laying here in this tomb. 00:13:15.620 --> 00:13:20.879 His corpse literally returning to the stony dust of the earth. 00:13:21.820 --> 00:13:24.980 This is Jesus completing your salvation. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:34.480 For those in Christ, we cannot sideline this burial because this is Jesus truly and fully bearing our curse. 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:43.659 As his body was lowered into that tomb, that was Jesus taking your sin down to the grave with him. 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:52.659 As that stone rolled over the entrance, that was your guilt being sealed, shut, and buried. 00:13:53.680 --> 00:13:55.680 Never to return again, complete. 00:13:58.420 --> 00:14:03.340 Brothers and sisters, if you ever wonder, where is my sin? 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:08.960 And when we ask that, it feels like the answer should be, it's all over me. 00:14:09.659 --> 00:14:10.600 It's in me. 00:14:10.680 --> 00:14:11.580 It's attached to me. 00:14:11.659 --> 00:14:12.899 It's attached to my name. 00:14:13.060 --> 00:14:14.420 And I can't escape it. 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:19.800 And we think, when God looks at me, that's all he can see. 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:21.139 I'm covered in my sin. 00:14:22.779 --> 00:14:25.580 But when we wonder, where is my sin? 00:14:26.420 --> 00:14:27.740 Where is my guilt? 00:14:27.899 --> 00:14:29.200 Where is my past? 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:35.800 Christian, you must realize, it has all been taken to the grave. 00:14:37.580 --> 00:14:44.180 Jesus bore it all on the cross, and when he was buried, it was all buried with him. 00:14:45.560 --> 00:14:49.180 And God, God does not see it anymore. 00:14:49.179 --> 00:14:59.339 Jesus has truly reached down into the depths, the depths of all your sin, and taken it all off you. 00:15:01.219 --> 00:15:05.179 And now the curse is once and for all lifted. 00:15:05.179 --> 00:15:18.199 And though he isn't suffering in the grave, Jesus continues to bear this curse because something so unnatural has happened to him. 00:15:19.599 --> 00:15:23.319 We are meant to be body and soul united. 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:26.399 That is the glorious image of God, body and soul. 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:32.720 But in death, body and soul are torn apart. 00:15:34.220 --> 00:15:39.919 Which is why, when someone dies, we might say, she's not with us anymore. 00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:49.179 Even though her body is in the ground, she is there, yet she is not there. 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:52.819 Because body and soul are not together. 00:15:52.820 --> 00:15:58.180 Which is what Jesus experienced for himself. 00:15:59.620 --> 00:16:03.620 His body in the tomb, but his soul in paradise, in heaven. 00:16:04.300 --> 00:16:08.920 Yes, in the glory of his father, but still unnaturally separated. 00:16:10.680 --> 00:16:14.379 Which is why resurrection must come next. 00:16:15.860 --> 00:16:19.560 And that is precisely what Jesus' burial secures for us. 00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:26.839 Because this burial is not only a completion, not only the removal of the curse now. 00:16:27.079 --> 00:16:30.000 But this burial is a hope for the future. 00:16:31.359 --> 00:16:35.739 A transformation of what the grave means to us now. 00:16:36.479 --> 00:16:39.419 Jesus went to the grave with a purpose. 00:16:41.079 --> 00:16:45.519 He went to the grave to cleanse the grave for us. 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:47.720 And this is the next C. 00:16:47.819 --> 00:16:49.600 This burial is a cleansing. 00:16:50.699 --> 00:16:52.079 This burial is a cleansing. 00:16:54.240 --> 00:17:02.779 This unnatural state of death is why, in the Old Testament, dead bodies are considered so unclean. 00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:04.680 It's really interesting. 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:10.139 There are loads of laws in Leviticus and Numbers about the handling of dead bodies. 00:17:10.140 --> 00:17:16.480 And if you touch a dead body, you become unclean for seven days. 00:17:17.500 --> 00:17:19.200 You couldn't come to the tabernacle. 00:17:19.360 --> 00:17:21.100 You couldn't approach God. 00:17:21.220 --> 00:17:22.180 You were unclean. 00:17:22.580 --> 00:17:27.360 And you had to be purified from that uncleanness with a sacrifice. 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:40.399 And dead bodies were considered unclean not because being dead is sinful, but because death is the complete opposite to the living God. 00:17:41.319 --> 00:17:48.599 A dead body exists as the clearest sign of a humanity alienated from God. 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:55.500 The corruption of death is a complete contradiction to God's holiness. 00:17:57.139 --> 00:18:03.419 And so God declares it unclean to say, this is so far from what it should be. 00:18:03.659 --> 00:18:06.179 This is so far from who I am. 00:18:06.180 --> 00:18:17.640 That heaviness that you feel around death, that crushing feeling, that darkness, that is the uncleanness of the grave. 00:18:19.299 --> 00:18:28.019 And dead bodies are labeled unclean as a way of God declaring to the world, in your sin, you cannot be with me. 00:18:29.360 --> 00:18:32.480 Death is the judgment for running from me. 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:37.000 Death is the fate you will get without me. 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:42.660 And so God provides a way to be clean. 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:48.579 He provides that because without him, without that cleansing, death becomes hopeless. 00:18:50.360 --> 00:18:56.720 And all this is part of the reason why Joseph requests Jesus' body. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:00.140 Notice again the details of the timing. 00:19:00.140 --> 00:19:03.040 When does Joseph of Arimathea take down the body? 00:19:03.140 --> 00:19:03.740 Verse 42. 00:19:04.940 --> 00:19:06.480 When evening had come. 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:08.420 The day before the Sabbath. 00:19:09.920 --> 00:19:11.980 And this timing is significant. 00:19:13.140 --> 00:19:17.400 Usually bodies were left up just for days for the vultures to get at. 00:19:18.060 --> 00:19:23.320 But Joseph was so eager to take down Jesus' body before sundown. 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:26.539 Because the law in Deuteronomy says this. 00:19:26.539 --> 00:19:34.500 If a man is put to death and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree. 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:37.559 But you shall bury him the same day. 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:41.439 For a hanged man is cursed by God. 00:19:42.139 --> 00:19:44.200 You shall not defile your land. 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:52.120 This type of execution, crucifixion, was reserved only for the worst type of sins. 00:19:53.080 --> 00:19:54.559 Idolatry and blasphemy. 00:19:55.900 --> 00:20:03.100 And crucified men were so cursed in the eyes of God that they needed to be buried as quick as possible. 00:20:03.099 --> 00:20:19.699 And so not only were dead bodies unclean, but crucified bodies were considered so cursed, so impure and unclean in the eyes of God, it ceremonially infected the land. 00:20:20.899 --> 00:20:23.579 And that would be even worse on a holy day, the Sabbath. 00:20:23.579 --> 00:20:27.720 And so Joseph requests the body. 00:20:29.339 --> 00:20:35.759 And when he gets it, Jesus is laid in that grave as a cursed man. 00:20:37.579 --> 00:20:40.980 He is laid in that grave unclean. 00:20:42.199 --> 00:20:47.839 And unclean not just by touching a corpse, but by being a corpse. 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:51.299 But have a think with me. 00:20:51.299 --> 00:20:57.399 What happens whenever Jesus comes into contact with the unclean? 00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:00.599 Just scan your mind through the Gospels right now. 00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:02.200 Think of the lepers. 00:21:03.579 --> 00:21:07.659 Usually, if you were to touch a leper, you become unclean. 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:12.200 But when Jesus touches lepers, what happens? 00:21:13.259 --> 00:21:14.799 Jesus doesn't become unclean. 00:21:15.639 --> 00:21:18.259 No, he makes the leper clean. 00:21:19.399 --> 00:21:20.200 Heals them. 00:21:21.299 --> 00:21:22.759 And their lives are transformed. 00:21:24.180 --> 00:21:25.559 Think of the bleeding woman. 00:21:27.220 --> 00:21:31.940 Just touching the hem of Jesus' robe, she becomes clean. 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:34.579 And her life is transformed. 00:21:36.419 --> 00:21:39.159 And think of the dead Jesus encounters. 00:21:40.599 --> 00:21:43.039 He touches the hand of a little girl. 00:21:43.859 --> 00:21:44.579 A dead body. 00:21:44.579 --> 00:21:47.039 He says, talitha kumi. 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:50.220 And the dead becomes living. 00:21:51.099 --> 00:21:54.039 The unclean becomes clean. 00:21:54.299 --> 00:21:58.019 And the hopeless is transformed into hope. 00:21:58.019 --> 00:22:03.420 And if that is what happens when Jesus meets the unclean, 00:22:04.059 --> 00:22:08.180 what happens when he not only touches death, 00:22:08.980 --> 00:22:14.660 but plunges headfirst into it and lays in the uncleanness of his own grave? 00:22:14.660 --> 00:22:18.800 Jesus cleanses the grave. 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:21.360 He transforms it. 00:22:22.040 --> 00:22:24.019 He sanctifies it. 00:22:24.580 --> 00:22:29.640 He transforms it from a place of hopelessness into a place of hope. 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:35.140 This burial is not death polluting Jesus. 00:22:35.140 --> 00:22:38.700 No, this is Jesus cleansing death itself. 00:22:38.700 --> 00:22:44.880 Just like he bore our sins and transformed our guilt into freedom. 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:48.500 Well, here in this tomb, he has borne the grave. 00:22:49.500 --> 00:22:51.100 Borne that uncleanness. 00:22:51.299 --> 00:22:52.960 Entered the realm of the dead. 00:22:53.500 --> 00:22:54.960 And cleansed it. 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:58.680 And transformed it into something else. 00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:07.279 For those in Christ, death is no longer a sign of being alienated from God. 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:11.460 Death no longer means being further from God. 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:12.160 No. 00:23:13.160 --> 00:23:15.960 Death now means being with God. 00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:21.480 Because when you trust in Jesus, when we enter the grave, 00:23:22.460 --> 00:23:24.759 death is not a mystery for the believer. 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:27.700 It is a known certainty. 00:23:28.740 --> 00:23:31.600 We go to the paradise of heaven. 00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:34.100 And we go to be with Christ. 00:23:35.640 --> 00:23:40.860 Jesus entered this tomb to cleanse it and to clear a path for us. 00:23:41.120 --> 00:23:43.660 And that path leads straight to heaven. 00:23:45.360 --> 00:23:49.620 For everyone in Christ here today, we need to know, we need to know this. 00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:52.519 As we all approach death, 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:55.359 someone has gone before you. 00:23:56.299 --> 00:24:00.859 And someone has gone before everyone we love who has died in Christ. 00:24:00.859 --> 00:24:07.779 And someone is waiting for you on the other side, the one who was laid in this tomb. 00:24:07.779 --> 00:24:16.639 And instead of a place of hope, the grave now for you is a place of anticipation. 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:18.640 It's a place of waiting. 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:19.400 It's a place of waiting. 00:24:21.540 --> 00:24:25.540 Do you know what they used to call graveyards outside of churches? 00:24:26.380 --> 00:24:30.580 You know the graveyards you would have to walk through to go to a Church of England church? 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:32.900 Do you know what they used to call those graveyards? 00:24:32.900 --> 00:24:33.200 God's. 00:24:33.200 --> 00:24:35.620 They used to call them God's acre. 00:24:36.680 --> 00:24:38.920 Meaning God's harvest field. 00:24:39.580 --> 00:24:40.340 God's garden. 00:24:41.820 --> 00:24:48.960 Because those bodies that have gone into the ground, they are like seeds that God has sown. 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:52.500 They have fallen into the ground for a time. 00:24:52.579 --> 00:24:55.740 But one day, they will spring up into new life. 00:24:57.500 --> 00:25:01.200 And that is because Jesus has cleansed the grave. 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:04.819 And turned it into a garden. 00:25:04.819 --> 00:25:10.700 And so when we enter the grave, it is not down into hopelessness. 00:25:11.179 --> 00:25:13.519 It is waiting for resurrection life. 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:21.099 But if we are to have this hope, and if we are to enjoy this cleansing, 00:25:21.819 --> 00:25:25.019 we can't just know about this burial. 00:25:26.019 --> 00:25:30.159 And we can't even just have sympathy for Jesus in this burial. 00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:31.299 No. 00:25:31.299 --> 00:25:31.399 No. 00:25:32.460 --> 00:25:37.720 We need to be buried in this tomb with him. 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:41.579 And this is the final C to end on. 00:25:41.919 --> 00:25:44.099 This burial is a co-burial. 00:25:44.619 --> 00:25:46.220 This burial is a co-burial. 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:49.919 Notice who is present at this scene, at the tomb. 00:25:50.500 --> 00:25:51.220 Verse 43. 00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:53.839 We have Joseph of Arimathea. 00:25:54.859 --> 00:25:55.940 And then verse 47. 00:25:57.139 --> 00:26:00.519 There's Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses. 00:26:01.299 --> 00:26:03.740 There's three people at the tomb. 00:26:04.399 --> 00:26:08.980 But I want us to see someone else is present here. 00:26:10.339 --> 00:26:14.859 Christian, you are laid right here in this tomb. 00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:18.779 Listen to these remarkable words from Romans 6. 00:26:18.779 --> 00:26:27.480 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 00:26:28.420 --> 00:26:31.639 We were buried, therefore, with him. 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:38.599 By baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, 00:26:39.139 --> 00:26:41.259 we too might walk in newness of life. 00:26:41.259 --> 00:26:49.240 For the Christian, this burial marks not only the end of the guilt of your sin, 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:54.099 but it marks the end of the power of sin in your life. 00:26:54.099 --> 00:27:01.899 And so not only our guilt, but our old self, the old you, who you once were, 00:27:02.679 --> 00:27:06.539 that was buried here in this tomb with Christ. 00:27:07.699 --> 00:27:10.059 This burial is a co-burial. 00:27:11.959 --> 00:27:14.539 Sin once had a hold on you. 00:27:14.639 --> 00:27:16.099 It once ruled over you. 00:27:16.099 --> 00:27:19.439 But that you is now buried. 00:27:21.099 --> 00:27:23.279 And your baptism shows that. 00:27:24.459 --> 00:27:27.659 Your baptism is God declaring to you, 00:27:27.980 --> 00:27:30.039 you were here in this tomb. 00:27:31.619 --> 00:27:37.099 And while sin may still be a painful reality in our lives, 00:27:37.139 --> 00:27:39.699 it will be a painful reality in our lives. 00:27:39.700 --> 00:27:44.279 While that may be true, sin is not winning. 00:27:45.740 --> 00:27:47.240 Sin cannot win. 00:27:48.299 --> 00:27:50.519 And it cannot rule over you. 00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:55.819 But you now walk in the newness of life in Christ. 00:27:57.400 --> 00:28:01.500 This is why, whenever we face temptation, 00:28:02.539 --> 00:28:05.680 whenever we are so tempted to just walk away, 00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:10.299 and we feel that strong pull towards sin inside of us, 00:28:10.420 --> 00:28:14.060 in that moment, we need to remember our baptism. 00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:16.560 Say to yourself, 00:28:17.279 --> 00:28:19.299 I am a baptized man. 00:28:20.380 --> 00:28:22.259 I am a baptized woman. 00:28:22.460 --> 00:28:23.960 I am a baptized boy. 00:28:24.100 --> 00:28:25.720 I am a baptized girl. 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:28.420 Because when we say that, 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:30.500 when we feel that drawer of sin, 00:28:30.680 --> 00:28:32.259 in that moment, we are saying, 00:28:32.259 --> 00:28:36.559 no, that is not who I am anymore. 00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:40.039 I have been buried with Christ. 00:28:42.379 --> 00:28:45.440 Sin's power is broken in your life. 00:28:46.519 --> 00:28:50.160 You are a new person because you have been buried. 00:28:52.339 --> 00:28:54.299 And so if you are here today, 00:28:55.019 --> 00:28:56.420 and you wonder, 00:28:56.700 --> 00:29:00.279 how can I overcome all this sin in my life? 00:29:00.279 --> 00:29:03.799 How can my addictions be broken? 00:29:04.480 --> 00:29:07.779 How can my despair be turned into joy? 00:29:07.920 --> 00:29:10.960 How can my hopelessness be turned into hope? 00:29:11.740 --> 00:29:15.420 How can the ruin of my life be turned into true life 00:29:15.420 --> 00:29:17.019 and true freedom? 00:29:18.639 --> 00:29:21.259 Well, the answer is not 00:29:21.259 --> 00:29:25.039 just by trying to turn your life around all by yourself. 00:29:26.420 --> 00:29:28.720 Ultimately, it is not about self-help. 00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:31.220 It is not about techniques 00:29:31.220 --> 00:29:32.519 or education 00:29:32.519 --> 00:29:33.680 or new habits. 00:29:33.779 --> 00:29:34.500 No, ultimately, 00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:37.319 if you want your life to be transformed, 00:29:38.079 --> 00:29:40.160 you need to be buried 00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:41.940 here 00:29:41.940 --> 00:29:43.860 in this tomb 00:29:43.860 --> 00:29:45.059 with Christ. 00:29:47.079 --> 00:29:48.799 And that can only happen, 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:50.940 it can only happen 00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:53.039 when you put your trust in him. 00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:55.860 And this burial 00:29:55.860 --> 00:29:57.319 will become yours. 00:29:57.319 --> 00:30:00.259 Jesus will take your sin, 00:30:00.519 --> 00:30:02.439 he will take your old self 00:30:02.439 --> 00:30:04.299 down to the grave with him 00:30:04.299 --> 00:30:05.179 and it will all be ended. 00:30:07.700 --> 00:30:08.740 And so I ask you, 00:30:09.079 --> 00:30:09.740 why not now? 00:30:11.679 --> 00:30:12.700 Trust in Christ. 00:30:13.980 --> 00:30:15.059 Be baptized. 00:30:16.119 --> 00:30:17.879 Be buried with him. 00:30:18.659 --> 00:30:21.259 And Jesus will transform everything. 00:30:21.259 --> 00:30:23.980 The curse will be lifted, 00:30:24.140 --> 00:30:25.779 the grave will be cleansed, 00:30:25.960 --> 00:30:27.740 and you will truly live. 00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:29.619 True life, 00:30:29.839 --> 00:30:31.400 it's actually found in the grave. 00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:34.559 This is why 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:36.140 Jesus' burial 00:30:36.140 --> 00:30:37.940 is of first importance 00:30:37.940 --> 00:30:38.660 in our life. 00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:41.140 For the believer, 00:30:41.259 --> 00:30:41.920 this moment 00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:44.140 is something we live off 00:30:44.140 --> 00:30:45.460 every single day. 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:47.600 this burial 00:30:47.600 --> 00:30:48.740 is a completion. 00:30:49.860 --> 00:30:51.039 The curse has ended. 00:30:51.420 --> 00:30:52.039 This burial 00:30:52.039 --> 00:30:53.420 is a cleansing. 00:30:54.579 --> 00:30:55.600 There is now 00:30:55.600 --> 00:30:56.640 a hope in death. 00:30:56.720 --> 00:30:57.500 Your future 00:30:57.500 --> 00:30:58.400 is transformed. 00:30:59.720 --> 00:31:01.059 And this is a co-burial. 00:31:02.340 --> 00:31:03.400 This burial 00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:05.220 belongs to you. 00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:07.420 And as you go 00:31:07.420 --> 00:31:08.240 into your life, 00:31:08.299 --> 00:31:09.799 as you go into this week, 00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:11.900 sin will never win. 00:31:11.900 --> 00:31:14.980 You will never be lost. 00:31:16.180 --> 00:31:17.320 Because Christ 00:31:17.320 --> 00:31:18.140 was buried. 00:31:19.220 --> 00:31:20.800 And we were buried with him. 00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:22.960 Let's pray.