 Today, here we are, Matthew chapter 27. We'll begin by looking at it in two segments. We're going to look at verses 51 through 56. Then we'll move into verse 57 and conclude at verse 66. And so today we continue and we'll conclude chapter 27. I'll begin reading at verse 51. I will give to you some background, some information, develop it. Then we'll move on through the chapter until we conclude it. So beginning at verse 51, reading to verse 56, Matthew 27, Matthew writes, Then behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly saying, truly, this was the Son of God. And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee ministering to him were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. So last time we were together, let me lay a foundation for you so we can move on into verse 51. So let me begin by saying last time we were together, we closed our study by looking at verse 50. Remember how it says in verse 50, Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And so notice how that Matthew says, Jesus cried out with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. I mentioned to you that when he cried out with this loud voice, we know what it is that he said because John tells us in his gospel, chapter 19, verse 30, that Jesus cried out, it is finished. And so that was what is called a cry of victory. It is finished. You see, Jesus had prepared his disciples for his death and had revealed to his disciples that it is the way of salvation. In Matthew, rather Mark, chapter 10, verse 45, Jesus said, the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. So Jesus had taught that he would lay his life down and he would do so voluntarily. And in doing so, he was paying what would be called a sin debt. So our sin debt was completely paid for when Jesus Christ died on the cross. The debt of sin was obliterated because Jesus paid it in full when he died. And so this debt is completely dealt with and is provided for by God's grace, but it is received by faith. Just because, in other words, somebody may be able to recite some of the incidentals related to the Christian faith. If you were, for example, to say to somebody, what do Christians believe about Jesus Christ? They would give you what they've heard, perhaps in Sunday school or catechism classes or something perhaps they've seen in a Christian movie and they can give you some incidentals. They'll say, well, Jesus supposedly was the Son of God. Jesus supposedly died on the cross. They can give you that information. Many Americans still can do so. They can still recite some of the things concerning the Christian faith and all, but just because a person is capable of reciting information doesn't mean that that person has actually believed that information in a personal way. And so you can talk about faith and you can talk about God and you can talk about Christ. You can speak about that because a lot of people can, but that doesn't mean that you know the Lord. That doesn't mean that you have a relationship with God and especially doesn't mean that just because somebody can say Jesus died on a cross that that person is automatically saved because they said that. The fact of the matter is as many people can speak concerning a cross, but it's the people who have received Christ by faith who have understood the grace of God in the giving of his Son and have held fast to that in a personal level who are actually saved. In Romans 3, 21, and 22, in the book of Romans in the New Testament, Paul said it like this. He said, now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known to which the law and the prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. And so Jesus Christ is presented as the sacrificial lamb, offered one time for all time and he's the one who bore the sins of the world. In the Old Testament book of Isaiah chapter 53 verse 11, it says by his knowledge, my righteous servant shall justify many for he shall bear their iniquities. In 1 Peter 2 verse 24, the apostle Peter writes, he personally carried away our sins in his own body on the cross. So we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. You have been healed by his wounds. So we know that Jesus Christ died on the cross in order to provide us opportunity for salvation. He procured our salvation, but by faith we receive it in a personal level. He also says here again that Jesus cried out with a loud voice, verse 50. So that gives us the insight that he had the strength and resources to remain alive if he desired to, but instead he dismissed his spirit and voluntarily laid down his life for us. Mark tells us in chapter 15 verse 25 that Jesus was crucified at 9 a.m. Matthew 27, 46 tells us that it's now three o'clock in the afternoon. So these events are taking place later in the afternoon. And so in verse 51, Matthew says, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, the graves were opened. Many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of the graves after his resurrection. They went into the holy city and appeared to many. And so he's given to us insight into what was taking place. It says here in verse 51, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When you look at the Jewish temple, the Jewish temple was divided into two sections. It had what is called the holy place, but it also had what is called the holy of holies. And those two compartments were divided by a thick veil or what we'd call a curtain. And this curtain was 60 feet long, 30 feet high, and it was the thickness of a palm breath, probably three or four inches, at least thick. The temple had a curtain. Even as the original tabernacle, which was the portable tent of worship that Moses had in the wilderness, the temple had a curtain, even as the tabernacle had a curtain, and it was a curtain of separation. So this veil was intended to separate the holy place from what is called the holiest place. Now when God was speaking to Moses, Moses was given specific orders pertaining to the veil. When you read your Old Testament, you get into the second book of the Old Testament, it's a book of Exodus. And in Exodus, chapter 26, verse 31, God said to Moses, make a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman. They went on in verse 33 of the same chapter to say, hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the holy place from the most holy place. So the holy place was separated from the holiest. That was intending to picture the separation that man and God have experienced due to sin. In Hebrews nine, six, and seven, it says the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, the holy of holies. And that was only once a year and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins of the people. Now the holy of holies was entered only yearly. It was entered on the day of atonement. At that time, the high priest would take some of the bull's blood, the bull that had been sacrificed and would sprinkle it seven times on what is called the mercy seat. That's in Leviticus 16, 14. But the high priest only entered in on God's terms. We have today people who say, well, I can enter into relationship with God very easily on my terms and the Bible doesn't teach that. The Bible teaches that the high priest could enter into the presence of God only on God's terms. And when that high priest entered in only once a year, he had to come in with the blood offering. He had to bring a sacrifice in order to do so. You see, the blood represented sacrifice for his sins and the sins of the people. And it included forgiveness for sins that were committed even in ignorance. Before Jesus' sacrifice, perfect access was not possible. So Jesus made the perfect sacrifice. He poured out his blood and he made what is called atonement. That's what makes him what is called the high priest and his sacrifice is completely satisfying to God. Again, contrary to popular belief, man does not naturally have fellowship with God. Today we think that we do. We think that if we're alive, we know God. In my generation, when I was a hippie, we used to run around talking about the brotherhood of man and that God was our father. And we would speak to each other on those terms because we sincerely believed that. We thought seeing that we were all descendants of Adam, we must be somehow related through blood. So the whole human race is a brotherhood of man. It's how we thought about it. But we also spoke of the fatherhood of God, that God was our father automatically and that's simply not true. The Bible says as many as received him to them gave he the power to become sons of God. Even unto those who believe on his name. It wasn't anything that was natural at all. It's something that is supernatural. It requires God's intervention because sin has made a separation between me and my God. He will not hear my prayers. Isaiah made that very clear to us in the book of Isaiah 59, verse two. Your iniquities have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden his face from you. So there's no relationship that I have with God on natural means. In Proverbs 15, 29 it says the Lord is far from the wicked. But he hears the prayer of the righteous. This veil was a picture of man's separation from the holy God and his separation is through sin. Again, the only one who could enter in was the high priest. He did it yearly on the day of atonement but it was repeated yearly because the sins were never completely covered until Jesus Christ. What we see here in verse 51 is the veil of the temple being torn in two. And notice with me from top to bottom. You would think from a logical perspective that it was torn at all. You would be thinking, well, it must be torn from the bottom to the top. That makes more sense. Like I said, this is very high, 30 feet high. But it was torn from the top to the bottom. And Matthew makes us to know because it was God who tore that veil. It wasn't man who tore the veil from the bottom. It was God who tore the veil from the top in order that you and I might have relationship with him through the blood of his son, Jesus Christ. He established fellowship through the death of his son. And now this most holy place is open to all who come through Jesus Christ. Think about that for a moment. Personal access to God is possible because of what Jesus did. You know, I've had opportunity in the past to go and have what are called presidential briefings where the president of the United States will come and give to you a conversation. And I've been honored to have that in the past. And I'm telling you, I mean, when we were given the invitation to go and meet with the president, they said you need to give your driver's license. You need to give us the number of your driver's license. You need to give us your social security card number. You know, you have to be vetted. And so what they did is they looked at my background in order to see whether or not I was a threat to the president. Yeah, I'm a real threat. And so, you know, so you get clearance. And then what happens is you go to the White House and you have to go through a guard gate and you stand at the gate and then they look to see if you're on a list. And once you're gone through the gate, you go up to another doorway and then you walk through that doorway and they take you and you go through metal detectors and they look at a list to see whether your name is on that list and you go through that and you go through other things. And eventually you enter into a small room and then, you know, you're seated there in a room that seats 100, 200 people. And eventually the president walks into the room and you know, you give them respect. And you know what's interesting? That's for the president of the United States. But you know what's so cool? As I can talk to God himself and I don't have to go through any briefings. I don't have to go through social security. I don't have to have a passport. I just say father and he opens the door and says, what's up? Now I like that. And that came through Jesus Christ. I don't think he says what's up but he may for all I know in Hebrew. I have the confidence to do that not because I've been vetted by men. I have the confidence to do that because I have been forgiven of my sins because Jesus said enter in. And he tore that veil and gave me opportunity to have relationship with God in Hebrews 10, 19 and 20. It says we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way open for us through the curtain that is his body. A one time for all time act on the part of the Lord Jesus bridging the gap between sinful man and holy God. Jesus there in between takes me by the hand a sinful man and he takes his holy father's hand and he brings us together because he's the bridge who does so. And I came to him through his blood. Now it says in verse 51 also, the earth quaked, rocks were split. Obviously this manifests the anger of God at the death of his son. In Psalm 18 verses five through seven, the psalmist said, the cords of the grave coiled around me. The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord. I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice. My cry came before him into his ears. The earth trembled and quaked and the foundations of the mountains shook. They trembled because he was angry. In verse 52, the graves were opened. Many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. Coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many and said, boo, no you didn't do that. This miraculous resurrection, notice with me, was limited to certain saints. These are those who could perhaps been dead for centuries. Some perhaps had died recently. But when Jesus died, Matthew records that their spirits came from the abode of the righteous dead and the spirits of those who had died were joined to their glorified bodies that had come out of the graves. And this was what is called the full final resurrection and glorification. What it is, is it is a foretaste or what is called first fruits of that which will occur in the future. You see, the Bible teaches that that's gonna take place in the case of believers in Christ. So this is like the first fruits of what will ultimately be the full harvest. In 1 Corinthians 15, verse 20, Paul said Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Falling asleep is another way of saying who have died in Christ. He goes on in 1 Corinthians 15 verses 51 through 54 to say this. Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. Now some of you with children in the nursery, you'll see we have that scripture up in the nursery. We shall not all sleep, but we all will be changed. I'll give you a moment. He says in a flash in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true. Death has been swallowed up in victory. And so this is a picture of that. It says in verse 53, coming out of the graves after his resurrection they went into the holy city. They more than likely appeared to those who were believers in Christ, but nothing is recorded concerning any conversation that might have taken place. Now as all of this is taking place, verse 54 says, so when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly saying truly this was the son of God. And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee ministering to him were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Madeline, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. And so the centurion is there. He's a man who has command authority over 100 soldiers a century. That's why they're referred to as centurions. And so he's a high ranking military man. It says when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly saying truly this was the son of God. They absolutely began to panic. They began to sweat. Their hearts were beating within their chest rapidly. It isn't the events that caused them to fear by the way, it's the origin of those events because it caused them to look to God and they recognized the cause to be supernatural. And that's why in Matthew 15, rather Mark 1539, it says when the centurion who stood there in front of Jesus heard his cry and saw how he died, he said surely this man was the son of God. This fear that they have is what is called a reverential awe. Undoubtedly they began to put together everything they had seen and heard because they were there guarding him. So when Jesus came with the cross and all of that, he saw, he was somebody who was watching and following and saw the things that were taking place. When Jesus was there and placed on that cross, he watched them as they crucified him. And he was standing guard there as Jesus began to speak and he watched and he heard the things that were going on. He heard Jesus when Jesus gave the first word from the cross, when he was there as other people would begin to swear and they would begin to cry out and they would speak concerning their innocence and cry to be released from this death penalty. He heard it when Jesus' first thing he did was pray and say, Father forgive them for they know not what they're doing. He was watching that and he heard that and it began to work in him. He heard it when Jesus was speaking to the men who were next to him one on his right, the other on the left. And when they were throwing accusations and saying things to Jesus and the people were walking by and they were saying, you saved others, save yourself, come off the cross and we'll believe. And he watched his response to that and finally when one of the thieves who died next to him turns to the other one who's dying and says to him, we deserve what we're going through but this man has done nothing and actually defends Christ and then turns to Jesus and says, Lord, remember me when you enter into your kingdom and the centurion heard it when Jesus said today, you shall be with me in paradise. He watched Jesus when Jesus' mother and John, his beloved disciple, when they were there watching this take place and he heard it when Jesus said to Mary, mother, behold your son. And he was insane to her, by the way, look at me and look what they have done to me. No, he was pointing her to John and he said, John, he said, behold your mother. He was entrusting his mother into the care of a beloved disciple because at that time Jesus' own brothers didn't believe in him and he watched that. He was there when Jesus said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And he watched it. He listened when Jesus said, I thirst. And as he was there at the foot of the cross for six hours, he finally heard it when Jesus said, it is finished. Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. And he watched the Son of God who began with a prayer and closed with a psalm and a dedication of himself to his Father. And he watched as Jesus died. Darkness has come across the land and an earthquake has hit and he greatly fears. He begins to put together what he has seen in response and faith. By the way, by way of application, be aware of the fact that people do watch your lives. Be aware of the fact that people notice you when you don't notice them. You may not even know that somebody is noticing you, that somebody is hearing you, that somebody may even be observing you. You do not know who is watching you at any given time. You don't know. I was in a restaurant just the other day. I took my granddaughter Zoe for lunch on Friday. We had to take her grandmother too. Marie paid and we went and Grammy took a Zoe to wash her hands. She's three years old now and took her to wash her hands and one of the waitresses working at this restaurant walks up to me and she used to come to this fellowship and I've spoken to her on a number of occasions, very sweet lady and she says, Pastor, may I ask you a question? And I said, of course. And she sits down in the booth and begins to ask me some questions related to sharing her faith and all. And we're having a sweet conversation. She says, I'll be back in just a moment. She gets up and walks away. And as we're speaking, I'm in a booth and so across there's another booth and two ladies stand up and come to my booth and they're right there. And they said, hi, Pastor David. And one of them has been in our church well over 30 years, has served here for a long time. And she says, we saw you talking to the waitress. We've been praying for you. And I said, oh no, I said, no, no, no. She's a believer. She's just asking some questions. Oh well, you know, and we're having a conversation. You never know who's there. You never know who's listening. You never know what's taking place. Listen, there are people who, you've told your Christian, you've said it to them. You've said, I'm a believer in Jesus Christ. And you may not even be aware that you may have been speaking to somebody over here but somebody over there was listening. And they watch you. And they wanna know whether you're true and whether you're sincere. I was in a restaurant in the local area a while back, yeah, I like to eat. And I was, and as I was in this other restaurant, one of my friends who's a pastor from up north had come down to visit. We're having a conversation, his pastors and all. And he begins to kinda open up a little bit about a situation that's a bit sticky that he was dealing with at that time. It's kind of a confidential conversation that I'm not one to have in an open forum. I don't speak confidentially or speak of those kinds of things in the open by habit because you never know who's there listening or who could overhear your conversation. I'm very careful with that. I'm very aware of that. So he says something that I thought was probably not something I would respond to openly. So I smile at him and he didn't say anything to him and he waits for my reply, I don't reply. And then we go on into another subject, then we walk out. And as we walk out of the restaurant, I turn to him and I said to him, you probably wonder why I didn't respond to the question you were asking. And he said, yeah, I thought about that. And I said, well, I said, you really don't know who's listening into your conversation or who could overhear, you never know. I said, and things like that are things that I don't speak in an open way because I want to guard my integrity and I want to guard people from making the wrong kind of judgment, thinking that I'm gossiping about somebody or something like that. I said, so I don't speak openly about those things. I said, I keep them to myself or I speak privately to somebody and that's how it works. And he says, I understand that. And I said, again, I said, because you never know who could overhear your conversation. The next day we're having baptism. And one of the brothers who got baptized, I hold them by the hand and he looks at me and he says, I was sitting next to you yesterday in the restaurant. That's exactly what I'm talking about. That's exactly what I'm saying. You never know who is listening to you. You never know who you are impacting. You just don't know. And you may be thinking that, oh, they're not really listening or I was working on a job site before I went full-time ministry and part of the job I had was to load and unload trucks. And I was taking some boxes and I was putting the boxes on a pallet. I was unloading a semi and I was carrying a box and I didn't see a box in front of me as I was walking and I hit it with my foot. And so it could have tripped me so I put my foot on the edge of it and I slid it out of my way and I kept, here comes my boss and he sees me and he says, I saw you kick that box. I saw you kick it out of your way. You got angry. And I said, I didn't kick the box. So I kicked him. I said, no, I didn't kick the box. I said, I moved it out of the way. You said you're a Christian. So you have people. You know this, don't you? Who once you have said something, they observe you. Because the gospel that you're preaching, well it ought to be lived out by the person who preaches it. And they do watch you. And they do want to know. And you may not even be aware of it. This centurion is there with his guard watching Christ. He sees everything that was taking place. He heard Jesus as he's speaking. And ultimately he says, truly this was a son of God. He saw what had taken place. He listened and this reverential awe took over him. As it continues in verse 55, many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, from the north, ministering to him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Joseph and the mother of Zebedee's sons. So I want to develop a couple of things with you here very briefly. I want you to notice that these are devoted disciples and notice how they're referred to as women who followed him. Notice how Matthew connects following Jesus with ministering to Jesus. Now what does it mean when he speaks considering the fact that they were ministering to him? Ministering to the Lord is an Old Testament concept. It really refers to priestly temple service. So the phrase ministering to the Lord is another way of saying worshiping him. So by including women in ministering to the Lord, we gain various insights. One, ministering to the Lord includes all Christians, including women. And there are those who don't think that a woman's worship to God is that important. But Christianity teaches that it is and points it out very clearly. You see, unlike temple service, ministering to Jesus isn't done only through special priests. In 1 Peter in chapter two, verses four and five, the apostle said, as you come to him, the living stone rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him, you also like living stones are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. So ministering to the Lord includes all believers. Secondly, this reveals that ministry is concentrated on pleasing and serving God. Ministry does not begin with meeting people's about needs or real needs. It begins with serving God. And third, at its core, ministering to the Lord is centered on the worship of God. That's when real ministry occurs. It occurs when God receives the glory. It isn't the glory that is given to the person who's serving the Lord. Today we live in a society that is longing for heroes. And so we look for people to be heroes in our lives. And even ministers can sometimes be placed in a position like they're greater than others. And that's not the Lord at all, that's man. We're looking for a hero. There's only one hero and that's Jesus Christ. He's the one we're supposed to be looking to. And the Bible tells us in Psalm 115 verse one, not unto us, oh Lord, not unto us, but to your name give glory because of your mercy, because of your truth. Don't give to us any glory, man. He's saying it all goes to the Lord. Now who are these women? You have Mary Madeline. She's an unmarried woman and represents salvation and represents salvation for women. We have Mary, the mother of James, the last, and Joseph. She's a woman who's identified by her children. She's the mother of, and then you have the mother of Zebedee's sons. And she's identified by her husband. So in this various categories of women are represented and every one of those categories are honored. As this takes place, it takes place verse 57. Now, when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn out of the rock. And he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb and departed. Mary Madeline was there and the other Mary sitting opposite the tomb. Let's look at this for just a moment. It's evening as it says in verse 57. That means it's between three o'clock in the afternoon and six by the measurement of time at that, by the Jews at that time. Verse 45 tells us that Jesus died at 3 p.m. And he was buried before what would be called the 6 p.m. deadline. The Jews didn't want Jesus to remain on the cross into the Sabbath. It was against Jewish law to allow a body to remain dead on a tree overnight according to Deuteronomy 21-23. And so what you have here is you have an incident that introduces us to a man named Joseph of Arimathea. When you look at Joseph of Arimathea, there are various scriptures that speak concerning him. He gives us some insight into this man. I wanna develop this with you for a moment. The first thing we know in verse 57, it speaks of him being a rich man from Arimathea. So we see that he's a rich man. That fulfills a prophecy that was written concerning Jesus over 700 years before in the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 53 verse nine, it speaks of Messiah in this way. He was assigned a grave with a wicked and with the rich in his death. Though he had done no violence, nor was deceit in his mouth. So what that's speaking about is Rome intended Jesus to be buried with common criminals, but through the intervention of a rich man by the name of Joseph, he was buried in a wealthy man's tomb. Second, he's from a place called Arimathea. It's really the precise location is unknown, but it's somewhere near Jerusalem. Third, he's a member of the Jewish council, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin. Mark 1543 tells us Joseph of Arimathea was a prominent member of the council, and Luke 2351 tells us that he had not consented to their decision and action concerning Jesus. A fourth thing, he's a righteous man. Mark 1543 tells us that he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, and Luke 2350 refers to him as a good and an upright man. But this is what I wanna concentrate on now for a moment. The fifth thing is he had also become a disciple of Jesus Christ, as it says in verse 57. Let's look at that for a moment. More than likely, Joseph had heard Jesus speak on many occasions. And as he had heard him debate with the religious leaders, Joseph would have heard the conversations. And over time, as Jesus had been approached so many times, especially as he was down south, he would listen to him and he'd watch his response to what was being said, and he began to make a decision concerning Jesus Christ, and he'd been convinced. Now John in chapter 19 verse 38 of his gospel says that Joseph was a disciple of Jesus but secretly because he feared the Jews. He was a disciple but secretly. He wasn't ready to give up his position, his religious honor, his social standing, or his family. He was a watcher and a listener, but he was also convinced. And this takes place by the way to this day. There are people that I have met who are secret followers of Christ. We've been to Israel many times and when you go to Israel, you'll have very often we've had Jewish guides who are not Christians. Many of them aren't even practicing observant. They refer to themselves as observant Jews. They don't go to Shabbat. They don't go to the synagogue or temple. They don't do any of that. But if you speak to them, they will say to you that they are Jewish. And there have been many occasions when you'll be at a site sharing the Bible, especially New Testament sites, when the guide will actually walk away. They don't want to listen. And I was teaching in one particular site. I still remember it was the first year that we ever went to Israel. And I was teaching at this particular site when the Jewish guide who was guiding us, he walked away with his hands on his face, shaking his head like I can't believe this guy's saying this. He was that obvious that he just rejected everything that was being said. And so we've had that happen many times. And so we know that we're there giving Bible studies, but most often your guide will walk away. Your bus driver will go and spend time with the other bus drivers who are there with other groups. They know each other very well. And you're speaking to Christians and very often your guide isn't listening. But many years ago now we were in a place called Capernaum. And while we were at Capernaum in a little synagogue there, I was given a Bible study and we had a new guide. And the guide actually stood there listening to the Bible study. And that's unusual because many times they don't. And I gave the study there, a very basic study concerning one of the events that take place in the New Testament and Jesus and a call for us to follow him. And he comes walking up after I finished and he says, you need to listen to, and Marie is standing next to me. And I look at her, he says, you need to listen to what he just said. What he said is true. And he starts giving his own message. And I'm looking at him and this is a Jewish man. He's not a believer in Christ. And I turn to Marie and I say, he's not far from the kingdom of God. And he became very dear to me. Over years he became my friend. And over years he finally said, you're my pastor when you're in Israel. And we've had many conversations with him. So when you're in Israel and we're down South in Jerusalem, you'll get on your bus and you're gonna come up and you take a particular route that will take you through a tunnel. And as you go through the tunnel, the bus driver will slow the bus down and your guide begins to prepare you for your first entrance into the city of Jerusalem. And every time we've gone into the city, the pilgrims who've gone for their first time, they cry. Because we're entering in to the city of Jerusalem where we've read so much about what never thought we'd ever see with our eyes while here on earth. And our guide was speaking as they do. They'll put on some music and it's a song related to Jerusalem and they slow the bus down so the guide can prepare you. And this is the city of David. And he gives a little of the history. This is where the temple. And he's doing that, I've heard that many times, but this time our guide says, as we're just about to come out of the tunnel and the city explodes in front of you, he said, and this is the city of your messiah and my messiah. When he said that, I look at Maria and go, whoa, did he say what I thought he said? Your messiah and my messiah? Well, later on he and I are having coffee. And as we're speaking, he says, you know there's a rabbi here in Israel that people believe is messiah. This was years ago now. And I said, I'm aware of that. And he says, yeah. He said, some of his devotees came to my door the other day, knocked on the door and began to speak to me about this rabbi. I said, yeah. He goes, yeah. He says, you know what I said to him? I said, no. He goes, they said messiah is coming or here. And he said, I said to them, why would I believe in your messiah when the true one came 2,000 years ago? He said that to me. So everything inside of me is going bang, bang, bang, bang. You know, I'm thinking, really? So I go and speak to my friend who owns the travel agency. And his name is Samuel. And I say to Samuel, Samuel, I was speaking to my guide. And I shared something. And this is what he said to me, Samuel. Is he a follower of Jesus now? He says, I believe he's very close to coming to faith in Christ. Said, really? He said, yes. So a couple of years later, we come back to Israel. And I speak to Samuel again. And I said, has he come to faith in Christ? He says he has. He has come to faith in Christ. And he said, encourage him. I said, I will. So we're there at table eating, because I like to eat. And we're having a meal. And I look at my friend, and I said, where are you going to church? I said, you know you need to go. I know. So we had a nice little conversation. Here's the thing. In Israel, when you come to faith in Christ, you lose everything. Now, some of you perhaps already know this, but there have been times in the United States when an Orthodox Jew, when a Jewish person comes to faith in Christ, there have been times when the family will give a mock funeral because you are dead to that family. You've given up father. You've given up mother. You've given up wife. You've given up children, just like Jesus said, when he said, you will lose it all to follow me. In Mark 8, 35 and 36, whoever desires to save his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospels will save it. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? The members of your household will become your enemies, Jesus said, because of that issue. And so, Joseph has been a quiet disciple, a secret disciple, because he doesn't want to give up his position, his religious honor, his social standing, his family. And John makes it very clear he was a disciple, but secretly because he feared the Jews. Well, he changes. Verse 58, this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. He made a decision to openly confess his faith. He courageously comes to Pilate, he asks for the body. In Mark 15, 43 through 45, it says, Joseph of Arimathea went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Somebody in the centurion, he asked him, he asked him if Jesus had already died when he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. Verse 59, Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn out of the rock. He rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb and departed. Mary Magdalene was there and the other Mary sitting opposite the tomb. John tells us in chapter 19 verses 39 through 42 that he was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who had earlier visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and alloes, about 75 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. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it with spices in strips of linen. This was in accordance to Jewish burial customs. You see, the Jews didn't embalm, they used perfume to mask the odor of decay. It speaks of myrrh, that's a fragrant gummy resin. It speaks of alloes, which is sandalwood. It's got a beautiful aroma. Some have said that this mixture was sufficient for 200 people because large quantities of spices were used when they intended to show great respect. What's interesting is somebody said the disciples who had openly followed Jesus during his lifetime ran away at the end, but the two who had kept their faith secret while he was alive came forward publicly to give him an appropriate burial. It says in verse 60, they laid it in a new tomb which had been hewn out of the rock. So instead of being buried with thieves, he died next to, he's taken to a garden tomb. Verse 61 says Mary Madeline was there in the other Mary. And it says in Luke 23, 55, the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb, how his body was laid in it. They will be returning. And we'll see this next time we're together to complete the burial. There was a large stone that was rolled against the door of the tomb. They did that for various reasons, including keeping animals from coming in and desecrating the body. And it would keep thieves from entering. Finally on the day, verse 62, on the next day, which followed the day of preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate saying, sir, we remember while he was still alive how that deceiver said after three days, I will rise. Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day lest his disciples come by night and steal him away. Say to the people, he's risen from the dead. So the last deception will be worse than the first. Pilate said to them, you have a guard, go your way, make it as secure as you know how. So they went, made the tomb secure, sealing the stone, setting a guard. Couple of thoughts and we'll close. This is the next day following the day of preparation, meaning it's Saturday. The chief priests are Sadducees and the Pharisees go to see the Roman governor Pilate. Jesus has died, but they know just because a man is dead his influence can continue and they're concerned. So verse 63 says we remember while he was still alive how that deceiver said after three days I'm gonna be raised from the dead. It's interesting to note that his disciples had forgotten this but his enemies had not. So they say command that the tomb be made secure until the third day because they're afraid that his disciples will come and take away his body. The response we just looked at is you have a guard, go your way, make it as secure as you know how. So he gave them a Roman guard, they sealed the tomb and they left. The seal is a cord, it's covered with wax. It prevents the stone from being moved unnoticed. So they're trying to say that if the body's gone it would simply be a hoax. They did everything they could to prevent it. But that actually gave credence. I want you to think with me for a moment. Some of you have gone through the experience of having a loved one die. Many of you have as we live and grow older we all eventually do experience that. A loved one die. Depending on how close they are to you the grieving can have different layers. If it's somebody that you knew well you can have a certain amount of grief. But as you continue going into your inner circle of relationships the grief can be worse and worse and worse depending on how deeply close it were to somebody. So you'll lose your father, your mama, a brother, a sister, an aunt and uncle, a grandmother. You'll lose a child. There are various levels of pain that you experience. In the case of the disciples it had been a very tough time for them. You see they had been with the Lord and they'd gone through an awful lot in his last day with them. They had gone through that last supper with Jesus and when Judas had gotten up and walked away and they weren't sure why and Jesus had said one of you is gonna betray me and they all questioned themselves and how they had gone to that garden and Jesus had left three of them at the entrance and took eight of them in further and some of them remembered like Peter, James and John would remember how Jesus agonized and how an angel appeared and comforted him and now he poured out blood that was like sweat and how Judas had come in with the armed guards and torches and lanterns and the apostle Peter had taken that sword and had swung it at anybody who was nearby and hit Melchus and how Jesus had healed Melchus and all that was going on and how later on they were there in the courtyard and John and Peter had denied the Lord three times and he went out and he wept bitterly and ultimately John was there at the foot of the cross and all the others had forsaken him and fled and Jesus has been pulled off the cross and he's been put in a tomb and you can think about the sound of that wheel, that stone that's in the shape of a wheel going down that ramp and hitting the thud that it would make and then the seal that was put on it, the guard that was posted and the grief, the grief, the pain, your mind is racing. You go into survival mode, emotional survival mode. Some of you know that mode, you've been there. My father died, I have to pick my sister up at the airport. She doesn't know daddy's dead. I hold her in my arms through an Ontario airport and I say, daddy died. She goes into this, no, you're lying to me. People around us are watching us as she's struggling in my arms as I'm holding her and rocking her. She's my baby sister and I'm rocking her and I'm saying, daddy went to be with Jesus, sweet. Then I come and I introduce Poncho who was doing our men's study that night and I go home and I walk upstairs. I actually collapsed in the hallway and wept against the wall and I went upstairs and I sat on the stairway and I sobbed. You've been there? You've been there? It's painful, it's painful. Emotion, all the things that go on, the regrets. I mean, when they brought me in to say goodbye to the body, I knew where my daddy was, but when you walk in and you look at the corpse of your father who was the most important man in my life and I say the Lord gives and the Lord takes away and my mom next to me says, blessed be the name of the Lord. And I apologize to my father, daddy, I was a bad son. I brought shame to your name. I am so sorry. You've been there? Regret, pain, grief, sorrow, unbelief, shock. You weren't supposed to die. You were supposed to go on forever when my dad, when I was a little boy, my dad told me he was Superman and Superman doesn't die. And when he died, I went out of the room and my son David walks up to me in the parking lot. Some of you won't understand this, but my father had said to my son David that he's Superman, but he had never told me that he had been lying to my son too because my dad had told me he was Superman. And David walks up to me with a broken heart, my son and he says Superman died, Superman died. He wasn't supposed to. He was supposed to live on, right? You've been there? If you haven't, probably will be. Get ready. These followers of Christ, Jesus died. The sound of that wheel, the thud of it resting in that carved out portion of that rock, the emotional and physical toll, would have been incredible. It's over, but they forgot what Jesus said. After three days, I will rise. I will rise. Sunday was coming, Sunday was coming where we can say I do not worship a dead teacher. I worship a living savior, Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead. That's who I worship. The Son of God, the Son of God. When you go through something, give it three days. Give it three days. Watch what the Lord can do in three days. Your hopes may be dead on one day and alive three days later because my God makes all things new. Our God, our savior, is alive. Weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Joy comes in the morning.