A Righteous Man

Last week, Tim reminded us of the beginning of Jesus’ great suffering as He paid for our sin.  This week, we’re going to look at his death and burial.  I think it was Carl who said a couple years ago at Easter time that the resurrection was merely the exclamation point on God’s plan of redemption.  All the “magic” happened on the cross.  We’re going to spend some time looking at the final hours of Jesus’ pre-resurrection life on earth, and then I want to take a deeper look at a few things also pertaining to Jesus death that aren’t explicitly mentioned in our texts.  

Let’s pray before we begin.  Father, we pray this morning that Your word will go forth boldly.  I pray that You would encourage the saints to praise Your name and that unbelievers would hear the truth of Your gospel.

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. – Luke 23:44-45a NIV

 

The brightest part of the day, from noon to 3pm, was completely dark.  Luke says the sun stopped shining; Matthew tells us that the sun was obscured.  Either way, this doesn’t normally happen.  Toward the end of the three hour darkness, there was a series of events that are noteworthy.  Matthew adds that Jesus cried with a loud voice.  Crucifixion was death by asphyxiation; it was very hard to breathe.  But Jesus summoned enough breath to cry out “My God! My God! Why have You forsaken me?!?” For the first and only time ever, the Father was forced to turn his back on His only begotten Son as He bore the sin of the world.  The holy God cannot tolerate sin.

Secondly, Jesus was given vinegar to drink.  Some passages tell us that He said He was thirsty, others say he was just offered a sponge filled with the vinegar.  With the massive amount of blood that He had lost by this point, His body would have been demanding fluids. 

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. – John 19:28-29 NIV

John adds an interesting note that none of the others added.  Remember that John was the last of the four Gospels to be written.  I’m sure John was aware of Matthew and Mark and Luke’s gospels.  But he felt that it was important to note that they put the sponge on a hyssop branch to hold it up to Jesus.  Hyssop, as you’ll remember, played an important part in the first Passover and other ceremonial cleansings.  Perhaps the hyssop branch was just convenient to the soldier, but I don’t think the symbolism should be lost.  

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. – John 19:30 NIV

John says that after He had received the vinegar, Jesus said “It is finished” and gave up His spirit.  What power such a short sentence holds!  He paid for my sin!  He endured the separation and punishment of holy God for me, so that I can have a restored relationship with my Creator!  But, I’m getting ahead of myself.  

And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. – Luke 19:45b-49 NIV

Luke threw in a little side note about the “curtain of the temple,” then goes on to tell us that Jesus gave up His life.  He laid down His life for us.  

But Luke also tells us something about the centurion who was in charge of the executions.  The centurion praised God and said that this must have been a righteous man.  He didn’t see the torn curtain of the temple.  But he did see three hours of darkness in the middle of the day.  The centurion heard Jesus just six hours ago ask God to forgive him and the others who were crucifying Jesus.  Matthew said he would have felt an earthquake.  I don’t know if the centurion saw it or not, but dead men rose and entered Jerusalem when Jesus died.  He clearly knew that they had murdered an innocent man; but the centurion praised God.  Matthew said that he admitted that Jesus must have been the Son of God.

The symbolism in all of the things that happened when Jesus died is astounding!  The curtain of the temple was torn in half.  Since this was the temple, and not the tabernacle, there were only two curtains: the outer curtain separating the Court of Israel from the rest of the temple and the inner separating the Holy of Holies from the Court of Israel.  None of the Gospels is clear which curtain was torn, but both would be significant.  Perhaps it was the outer curtain.  Only Jewish adult males were allowed beyond this curtain.  If this was the curtain that was torn it could signify that Jew and Gentile both are now equal in their worship of God.  Or perhaps it was the inner curtain, as many suppose.  Either way, the curtain was torn from top to bottom.  The temple was no longer needed to worship God.  Imagine Caiaphas’ reaction the next time he went to work and saw this massive curtain torn in two.  Man couldn’t have done that.  How did he explain it?  God was giving even hard-hearted Caiaphas every possible opportunity to see that Jesus is the sacrifice once and for all for the sin of all mankind.

The earth quaked.  Colossians 1 tells us that Jesus created the earth.  Even the earth groaned at the death of its Maker.  

Dead men rose and walked into the holy city.  By Jesus’ death, man has life again.  We were once dead in trespasses and sin, but now we are alive in Christ.  Ephesians 2 tells us:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ... But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. - Ephesians 2:1, 4–5 NIV

But, let’s get back to our text.  We’ll get to more of the symbolism later. Jesus had finished the work He had set out to accomplish.  He again cried out with a loud voice, not the weak voice of one so close to death, but with a triumphant voice.  He had lived a sinless life, perfect under the law.  He sacrificed Himself to bridge the gap between God and man that sin had left.  As the sacrifices of the Old Testament foreshadowed, He shed his own blood for the forgiveness of our sin.  The writer of Hebrews put it this way:   

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. - Hebrews 9:22 ESV

John tells us that the next day was a “special Sabbath.” It’s obvious this wasn’t just a typical, weekly Sabbath.  It was the start of Passover, a week long feast remembering the Lord’s salvation of Israel from Egypt.  John continues:

Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced. – John 19:31-37 NIV

In Deuteronomy 21:23, God had told the Israelites that if an executed person was hung on a tree, he needed to be buried the same day.  To leave the corpses on the crosses would have defiled the holy land right before one of their most holy weeks.  They asked Pilate to speed up the execution.  So the soldiers went to the two criminals and smashed their legs so they could no longer use their legs to push up and breathe; but the Romans, masters of death, quickly realized Jesus was already dead.  Instead, one of them pierced His side releasing blood and water.  This could have been a result of the horrific beating He had endured with His body pooling fluids around his heart and lungs, or it could have been a result of his blood separating.  My parents were in a Sunday School class once where a doctor had a vial of blood.  He left it on the table for the duration of the class, and within about 20-30 minutes it had separated into a clear delineation between a red liquid and clear liquid.

After Jesus had died, we are introduced to a man that is only mentioned with the burial of Jesus.  All 4 Gospels mention him.  

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. 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. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 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. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. - John 19:38–42 NIV

Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. - Luke 23:50–56 NIV

The Romans would have left the bodies on the cross to continue the shame.  The Jews however, preferred to take the bodies of executed criminals and throw them in the dump yard that continually burned outside Jerusalem called Gehenna.  Jesus often used Gehenna to symbolize hell.  Knowing this and desiring to spare his Lord of a criminal’s burial, Joseph boldly asked for the body of Jesus to give Him a proper burial.

We don’t know much about Joseph of Arimathea.  Mark tells us who two of his sons were, but this is the only place they are mentioned.  We don’t know where Arimathea was, either.  In the NIV, Luke tells that it was a town in Judea.  Other translations, however, translate the same Greek word as “Jewish.”  

Luke also adds some interesting facts about Joseph.  He was a member of the Sanhedrin, but he had not consented to their actions.  If you remember from Jesus’ trial in Mark 14, we were told that “they all condemned him as deserving death.”  Apparently, Joseph and Nicodemus were not present at the “trial” since Mark says it was a unanimous vote.  Luke also tells us that he was a “good and upright man.” Joseph is often criticized for being a secret disciple.  I understand why we do that.  But I admire his boldness at this point. All the apostles had abandoned Jesus.  One had denied even knowing Him.  They feared for their own safety.  But Joseph, knowing he was risking his position on the high court of Israel, his social status, and even his own life, boldly asked for the body of Jesus.

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus – you’ll remember him from John 3 as another member of the Sanhedrim – wrapped Jesus in strips of linen along with about 75lbs of myrrh and spices.  They laid Jesus in Joseph’s own, new tomb.  Tombs in Israel were often small caves with shelves for the body and were reused once only the skeleton was left.  But this was a brand new, unused tomb meant for Joseph and his family.  It was very unusual for someone to have their own tomb.  But as a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin, Joseph could afford his own tomb.  So, the King of Kings who was born of a virgin was laid in a virgin tomb.  

I’ve hinted all along at all symbolism throughout the death of our Lord, so now I want to spend some time talking about the symbolism from the Old Testament.  The idea occurred to me early on in the week, and it has permeated my thoughts all week.  I want to focus on two main areas: Jesus as the final sacrifice, and Jesus as the Passover lamb.

To understand Jesus as the final sacrifice, let’s start with the law.  The 10 commandments are just the first 10 out of the 613 total commands in the Jewish law: approximately 365 negative commands (shall not) and 248 positive (shall).  Millard Erickson explains the law in a way that I don’t think I’ve ever heard before…even though his book on systematic theology was one of my textbooks in grad school.  So maybe I read it, but it didn’t sink in the first time.  He says, 

“The law should not be thought of as something impersonal and foreign to God, but as the expression of God’s person and will.  He does not command love and forbid murder simply because he decides to do so.  His very nature issues [matters] in his enjoining [commanding] certain actions and prohibiting others.  God pronounces love good because he himself is love.  Lying is wrong because God himself cannot lie.

“This means that, in effect, the law is something of a transcript of the nature of God.  When we relate to it, whether positively or negatively, we are not relating to an impersonal document or set of regulations.  Rather, it is God himself whom we are obeying or disobeying.  Disobeying the law is serious, not because the law has some inherent value or dignity that must be preserved, but because disobeying it is actually an attack on the very nature of God himself….The law is to be understood as a means of relating to a personal God.” – Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, p. 820

He argues that the Jewish law is basically God’s nature collected.  So, if the law is the nature of God, then...

“If we hold that God is an objective reality, and that he has revealed rational, objective truth about himself, surely there is also room for the law an as objective representation of his will and, even more, of his nature.

“Thus violation of the law, whether by transgressing or by failing to fulfill it, carries the serious consequences of liability to punishment, especially death [because God cannot tolerate any sin at all.]  Adam and Eve were told that in the day that they ate of the fruit of the tree they would surely die (Genesis 2:15-17).  The Lord told Ezekiel that “the soul who sins is the one who will die” (Ezekiel 18:20).  According to Paul, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23)….It is understood that punishment is an inevitability rather than a possibility.)” – Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, p. 821

If the law is the nature of God codified, and God cannot tolerate sin, then it stands to reason that "whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." - James 2:10 NIV.  And, the offender must pay with his own life.

 

So, how did an Old Testament Jew atone for his or her sins?  (For ease of speech, I’m going to use the traditional “he” and its related pronouns for all people.)  There were two offerings that he had to make, depending on his sin.  There was either the sin offering or trespass offering.  Notice that they were offerings.  They had to be brought voluntarily.  Leviticus lays out all the requirements for the different offerings in the first 7 chapters.  The offering had to be completely perfect, without blemish. It was the prize of the flock.  This would be the one that he most likely would have wanted to keep for breeding.  This was a prized possession that had to be offered.  The offering was brought to the outer court of the temple.  The offeror laid his hands on the head of the offering, then slayed it.  Note, the priest didn’t slay the animal; the transgressor was responsible for that.  The reality was plain: the sin literally caused the death of this innocent animal.  

As we know, the sacrifices were a symbol of Christ in the Old Testament.  Isaiah made the connection easy for us when he said in Isaiah 53:6 “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  Jesus is our eternal sacrifice.  But why did the Israelites have to make an offering on a regular basis?  They were looking forward to the perfect sacrifice of Christ.  An animal could not completely atone for the sin of man.  Jesus fulfilled the entire law.  He never broke one part of it.  Then, He offered His life as a substitute for all of us.  Paul expressed it clearly in Galatians.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. - Galatians 4:4–5 ESV

We no longer have to offer animal sacrifices to atone for our sin.  All we have to do is accept that He took our punishment, and we are saved.  For the one who doesn’t accept the work of Christ, there is eternal condemnation as he pays for his own sin for eternity.  

As you remember from a little earlier, Jesus died right before the Passover.  The Passover was the final plague to get Pharaoh to allow the Jews to leave Egypt, and then remembered annually with the same feast.  Each family was to take a lamb or goat without blemish and kill it at twilight.  They were to take some of the blood, and using a hyssop branch, paint it on the sides and top of the front door.  Then they were to roast the meat and eat it along with bitter herbs and unleavened bread.  There were to be no leftovers overnight.  If they didn’t eat it all, they had to burn it the next morning.  Following the first night, they were to eat unleavened bread for 7 days.  They were to hold an assembly on the first and seventh days of the week.  There was even a command not to break any bones in the Passover lamb.

Jesus was the final Passover lamb.  I’m sure you’re making connections already.  Jesus was without blemish.  No bones were broken in His death.  The hyssop branch was present in both instances.  The unleavened bread symbolized Christ’s perfect life for leaven was often equated with sin.  The Jews were freed from their slavery in Egypt.  Frequently in the Old Testament, Egypt is equated with sin.  Christ’s death allows us to leave the slavery of sin for the freedom found in our new life with Him.  

Take yourself back to the first century Judean wilderness.  You’re a Jew, and you’ve heard about a man preaching in the wilderness. You head out to hear what he has to say.  When you find him, he is wearing clothes made from camel’s hair and eating wild locusts and honey.  He is near the Jordan River proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  You’re standing in the crowd listening to him preach about repentance.  Suddenly, he looks up and cries out, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”  You turn to look at whatever he is referring to.  You’re trying to figure out how something will take away the sin of the world.  But instead of a massive lamb, you see another man.  To your Jewish mind, this is totally confusing.  To atone for your sin it took an animal sacrifice.  On the annual Day of Atonement, the High Priest had to purify himself through a strict prescribed process.  He sacrificed a bull and took some of the blood into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle it on the mercy seat.  There was also the pair of goats of which one was sacrificed and the High Priest would lay his hands on the other and release him into the wilderness to carry away the sin of the people over the past year.  Throughout the year, as you were made aware of your sin, you were to take an offering to the temple.  You laid your hand on it, expressing that it was your substitute.  Then you would slay it, and the priest would burn it on the altar.  But John the Baptist just declared a Man to be THE Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.  How is this possible?

We have the New Testament that clarifies this, so I’m not going to try to argue it from the Old Testament.  Jesus’ death did four things for mankind; it was our sacrifice, our propitiation, our substitution, and our reconciliation.  First, we have seen how He was foreshadowed by the Old Testament animal sacrifices.  Hebrews 9:11-15 explains more:

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. - Hebrews 9:11–15 NIV

Animal sacrifice was a limited atonement, but Christ is our eternal redemption.  Hebrews 10 continues this thought:

"First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them"--though they were offered in accordance with the law. ... Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ... For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. ... Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary." - Hebrews 10:8, 11–12, 14, 17–18 NIV

Second, Christ is our propitiation.  That’s a really big word that simply means that Jesus’ death appeased the wrath of God.  Paul explains this at the end of Romans 3.  

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood--to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus." - Romans 3:22–26 NIV

Third, Jesus is our substitution.  In the sacrificial sense, He died for our sake or on our behalf.  But He was our substitute.  He died in our place, or instead of us.  Due to our sin, we deserve spiritual death.  We deserve to be separated from God forever.  But, He took that punishment for us.  We saw it on the cross when He cried out to the Father “Why have You forsaken me?” Several New Testament passages continue with this thought.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole." - Galatians 3:13 NIV

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. - Hebrews 9:27–28 NIV

"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed." - 1 Peter 2:24 NIV

Finally, His death is our reconciliation to God.  It brings an end to the separation and hostility between God and man.  Scripture often words this with God as the active party.  He reconciled us to himself.  We just read 2 Corinthians 5:21, but let’s back up to verse 18.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:18–21 NIV

I could go on for much longer.  In his book titled Christian Theology, Erickson devoted 11 of the 60 chapters to our salvation and atonement.  But, this is the whole message of Scripture.  Christ came to give His life as a ransom for many.  

I realize this message was more theological in nature, so I’d like to take just a couple minutes to make the 18” connection between our brains and our hearts.  How do we apply this knowledge?  

First and foremost, if you have not accepted Christ’s redemptive work for yourself, I implore you to rectify that today.  Come see me.  Grab Fred, Carl, or John.  Grab your parents.  Grab a friend.  We would love to help you.  We, believers, are in the ministry of reconciliation.  We don’t want anyone to die without Christ; we would rather that all came to repentance. Right after admonishing believers to be in the ministry of reconciliation, Paul says that “now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2b).  This is by far the most important decision of your life.  I’m begging you; please don’t leave here without speaking with someone.

Believers, Praise God!  What else can we say?!?  Hallelujah!  We are redeemed!  We are reconciled to God!  We should fall down and worship God.  But, we have work to do.  We will have all eternity to praise God for His goodness, mercy, grace, and love.  I’m not saying that we shouldn’t praise God, but we need to balance praising Him with working for Him. 

God has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  As Paul said, we are His ambassadors.  He could take us from this earth the minute we are saved, but He chose to let us stay and help spread the good news that Christ came to redeem.  He is glorified more by our staying on earth and proclaiming His message to the lost.  Are we active in the ministry He has given us?  

If God is calling you to be redeemed, please find a believer to talk to.  Believers, has God convicted you about your ministry of reconciliation?  I know He’s dealing with me in this area.  Take some time and pray.  Ask Him for boldness.  He’ll give it to you.  Remember, we aren’t the ones being rejected if the other person doesn’t want to hear the gospel, they rejected Jesus not you.  Pray for them, but don’t take it personally.  I’m going to just give us a moment to pray, then I’ll close us in prayer.

What a Savior! Jesus, we praise You that we can call You friend.  We thank You that while we were yet sinners You died for us.  Father, I pray that this week we will remember that we are all ministers of reconciliation and ambassadors of Christ.  Teach each of us what it means to be the ambassador You have called us to be, that we may proclaim boldly the gospel of the grace of God.  We love You, we praise You.  Amen.