Mark 15:42-47 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
Jesus lost everything at the cross. His lifeless form was taken down from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea. Jesus did not and could say at that time, "Joseph, I will let you take my body off the cross now, and please take me to your tomb cut out of rock. Make sure you wrap my body in linen, for later on the linen found in an empty tomb will be an important sign of my resurrection." No, Jesus did not and could not have said any of that after his experience on the cross, for Jesus lost everything when He surrendered completely. He died as we die, with no hope of anything except God's faithfulness. Peter's message on Pentecost about the resurrection of Jesus states: "But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him: 'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.'" (Acts 2:25-27) Peter goes on to explain what David meant by saying, “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. GOD HAS RAISED THIS JESUS TO LIFE, and we are all witnesses of the fact." (Acts 2:29-32) In the cross we see the complete sacrifice of the Lamb of God: innocent, harmless, and pure. We see Jesus Christ giving his all for humanity that He made in his image that He might also live in us. Because we are created in his likeness, we have the capacity to hold the fulness of Christ in us: For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. (Colossians 2:9-10)
Why his death, the complete emptying out of life, if we are made in his image and can contain the fulness of God's attributes, his goodness in us? Why the Bible? Why redemption? The answers are found in the Garden of Eden story, in the partaking of the tree of knowledge. With that knowledge of good and evil, we can become the lord of our lives; and by extension, as we gain power, the lord of others. We can decide what is right or wrong for the people around us as our self-interests rise to the top in our dealings with others. If we take authority for the direction of humanity away from God, we are no longer subject to God's will. We decide to do our will on Earth, not God's will on Earth as it is in heaven. All of this self-interest and self-direction leads to chaos, disruptions, arguments, fights, wars, and sorrows of every kind. As the Bible says in Isaiah 53: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Unchecked, this self-willed existence leads to complete corruption. Even Christians, who do not take time to pray and read the Word, have difficulty controlling their actions and reactions. Paul told the Romans that nothing good lives in our sinful nature. He said, I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:15) That is why we have laws, policemen, courts, judges. All of these agencies and institutions help bring order to our societies. We can easily understand why the Bible talks about being very careful when talking or going against the authorities in a society. Even Paul apologized for talking against the High Priest who ordered Paul to be struck in the face. Those who were standing near Paul said, “You dare to insult God’s high priest?” Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’” (Acts 23:4-5) Self-direction and self-willed decisions tend to separate us, not bind us in a peaceful co-existence. We need an answer for this turmoil. And the answer is in the Word of God, in Jesus alone.
Recently, Dad woke up in the middle of night and felt the Holy Spirit talking to him about the essence of the Bible, the reason for the Bible. The Lord spoke to him: "You needed to be rescued." He knew this was not for him in the singular. The "you" was for humanity. Humanity needs to be rescued. Without rescue, we are under the punishment of death as it was in the days of Noah. Then the Spirit added, "You needed a Savior." To be rescued, we need a savior who has the power and authority to deliver us from this abyss of judgment. Dad knows the Bible from the beginning, and starting with Abraham the message is one of rescue. God gave the law to rescue people from chaos, from living according to their own needs and desires. God gave the law to imprint a message of light, peace, and harmony on the Jewish society. To cover the immediate judgment of God on sin, the penalty of death was placed on animal sacrifices instead of on humans. Christ's death at the cross fulfilled the promise of God: I will make men in my own image. Jesus' death, his agonizing demise, rescued us and brought us life through the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. We who are IN CHRIST because of faith in him have vicariously and in reality entered into the very presence of God. Through Christ's death, a NEW CREATION has been made. We are no longer walking with God as in the Garden of Eden, occasionally experiencing his presence and fellowship. No, we are constantly in his presence because of Jesus through the Spirit in us. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55) Jesus paid it all. When Paul was despairing his dreadful state and the war of flesh and spirit, he cried out, What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25) Paul had found the one whom to know is life eternal! Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3) When Joseph was carrying Jesus' body to the tomb, he did not realize this was a holy moment: he was carrying the key, the gate to life everlasting for all people. He lay the body of the begotten Son in that tomb; but three days later as Christ arose, the millions of adopted sons and daughters left that tomb as well! Rejoice, church, rejoice!
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