EASTER GRAVEYARD DEAD
TEXT: John 19:16-30
INTRODUCTION: There is a seal of utter finality in the language of children. I remember hearing the term a “bazillion” the ultimate in numbers. There was none greater.
Another term used was “graveyard dead.” It left no room for argument. Graveyard dead was deader than dead. It was even deader than stone dead.
No intelligent child dared dispute the absolute end of an argument by the use of this term nor would he fail to understand its meaning.
We adults also grasp something of its depth, though we may never have heard the term used before. There was no doubt about it; Jesus Christ was “graveyard dead.”
We hear of people all the time who try to dispute the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have heard of the “swoon theory,” the “Passover plot,” and the Christian Science (neither Christian nor scientific) heresies saying that Jesus applied the techniques of their cult and restored Himself to physical health.
These thoughts and ideas are ridiculous, of course, but there are gullible people still around who are deceived by such spiritual stupidity. They are deceived because they don’t know the true story.
Acts 1:3 gives us a summary to show many infallible proofs were given to show that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead in true resurrection life.
3To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
To be resurrected He must first be dead. If His death is not an established fact, then there is doubt about the resurrection. There are many infallible proofs of His death in the Gospel record and in the lives of those who participated.
Death by itself though, is not enough. There must also be proof of resurrection in its full meaning; and the proof is abundant.
Lazarus was brought back from the dead, but he was not resurrected. Lazarus was restored to his natural life and died again. So were the widow of Nain’s son and Jairus’ daughter.
But resurrection is so different. It means the end of death forever. The claim of sin upon the natural body doesn’t hold the resurrection body. It is eternal because its Giver is eternal.
Rev. 1:18 18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
John 14:19 19Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. Because He lives, we shall live also.
In verifying the fact of Jesus’ death, we need to look into the records of those whom God placed at the cross and burial sight.
Both friends and enemies of Jesus Christ give us undeniable proof that He was no doubt graveyard dead.
I. THE ROMAN SOLDIERS
These were the ones who carried out the orders to crucify Christ. These were soldiers proven in battle. Not only did they know death, they knew as well that the penalty of an error in the matter of crucifixion would cost them their own lives.
Rome was a harsh unyielding taskmaster and no soldier of that realm dared to defy or to fail in such an assigned task.
The Philippian jailer was ready to take his own life because he thought that Paul and the other prisoners had escaped.
Acts 16:27 27And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
He knew that if the prisoners had escaped he would be punished with the pain of death in a cruel way, possibly crucifixion. He was willing to choose suicide rather than fall into the hands of the Roman government.
Death was certainly not unfamiliar to these seasoned soldiers. They saw it and inflicted it themselves frequently. They certainly were not about to be in error here.
When these soldiers came to break the legs of Jesus and the two thieves crucified with Him, they broke the legs of thieves but not of Jesus: 32Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. 33But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: John 19:32-33
The reason they broke the legs was that it made breathing impossible because in order to keep breathing on a cross they had to keep pushing themselves up and down to keep air flowing. Thus they would suffocate and die quickly.
But they didn’t need to break Jesus’ legs as they saw He was already dead. That, in and of itself, would be proof enough if there were no other proofs that Jesus was really graveyard dead – but there is more.
John 19:34 34But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
He was pierced in the heart and proof that His death had already taken place is evident because the sac around His heart was already filling with serum (blood and water). Serum forms only after death.
II. THE PHARISEES AND SADUCEES
They had wanted Jesus dead almost from the start of His ministry. He had exposed them for the hypocrites they were. They had suffered loss of face and people quit following them because of Jesus.
He ripped their garments of religiosity apart exposing them to shame and that shame was most painful. He must die!
Finally they had Him in their power, or so they thought; He will not escape their wrath this time.
You need to understand, having labored, lied, and secured false witnesses to bring about His crucifixion, they would not be stopped without absolute proof that He is really dead.
The severity of their intent can be seen when, the next day, they requested a military watch to guard the tomb of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 27:62-66 62Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. 65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. 66So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
Here is something I find interesting, the enemies of the Lord were aware of His promise to rise the third day, but His disciples were not! It seems they just didn’t get it.
Notice verse 66. They were there to the final sealing of the tomb. They knew that any mistake here could negate years of planning and cause the people to completely quit listening to them as their religious leaders.
They weren’t about to take any chances. They watched His body taken down from the cross. They made absolutely sure they’re was no life in Him.
III. PILATE
Pilate also made sure Jesus was dead. He didn’t become procurator without effort nor did he treat being governor of Judea lightly.
Tiberious had appointed him to this position and it was an unstable one at best. He could be replaced by the whim of Tiberious at any time.
The position he held was one of power, but it was by the power of another. Pilate was like a puppet on a string and he would never cut that string himself.
When the Jews asked for permission to hasten the death of the three who were crucified that day, they had come to Pilate. Pilate was the only one who had the authority to grant their request. So it was he who gave the order to the soldiers to break the legs.
After the legs were broken; 43Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. 44And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. 45And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. Mark 15:43-45
Pilate knew the centurion knew what death looked like. He also knew the centurion knew he would be put to death if he had not done his job crucifying Christ and the others.
IV. THE DISCIPLES
The disciples knew Jesus was dead. To them He did not die alone. Their hopes and dreams were nailed to the cross and as He died so did their kingdom dreams as well.
The son’s of Zebedee, James and John, were no longer worried about sitting on His right hand and left hand. (Matt. 20:21).
John 20:24-25 24But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen and demanded proof positive which he could see and feel. This proves to any thinking person that he believed Jesus was truly dead.
It was the resurrection that Thomas doubted. He did not doubt the fact of His death for one minute! All of the disciples fled to their own places because they knew that their Lord was dead. Why work any longer at a hopeless task?
V. JOSEPH AND NICODEMUS
And finally there were Joseph, Nicodemus, the women who helped in the burial, and John. We need to look closer at John.
From the cross Jesus had committed His mother to the care of John. His presence at the burial is very important. It is John’s presence here that explains why he was the first apostle to believe Jesus had risen from the dead.
Matt. 27:57-60 57When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: 58He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. 59And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
Joseph of Arimathaea went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. He also bought the linen cloth in which they wrapped the Savior.
Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night (John 3) was there also. He bought about a hundred pounds of spices and ointments with which to begin the process of embalming.
John 19:39-40 39And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. 40Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.
John 19:25 25Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
There was Mary, the mother of Jesus; her sister whose name is not given; Mary the wife of Cleophas; Mary Magdalene, out of who Jesus had cast out demons; and maybe others.
There were at least seven people involved in the preparation and burial of Jesus Christ.
It wasn’t an easy thing to remove the dead body from a cross. They would have removed Him as lovingly and carefully as possible.
The body must be washed first and then dried. Next, the embalming ointment massaged over the body. After this, spices were applied as the body was wound in linen cloth, usually consisting of rolls 4 to 6 inches in width.
The arms and legs were wrapped individually. Once this was done, however, it was not unusual for the separately wrapped legs to be bound together by wrapping both of them with extra binding.
The arms, too, were often strapped to the sides of the body by being wound completely with the body using extra cloth.
Can any stretch of human imagination believe that Jesus’ mother could have started the process of embalming and burial if He were still alive? No way!
Place yourself in that situation. Only now it’s your son and he is alive, not dead. Now you tell me, would you embalm him and place him in a tomb to die alone in its haunting interior? There is no way you could be so heartless.
Love is blind, they say – maybe, maybe not – certainly not in the circumstance of death.
When someone is dead, his loved ones do all they can: they bury the body in the earth, and, tearing themselves away, inwardly cling to the life that was (which no longer responds), they carry their broken heart home, and silently in the night tears flow.
They left Jesus there, these who loved Him so, and went away to weep. Their hearts, however broken, had come to grips with the fact that He was really graveyard dead.
And now back to John. Look at John 20:1-10.
What fear stopped John at the doorway of the tomb after Jesus’ resurrection? When Mary Magdalene ran at Jesus’ biding to tell the disciples He had risen, Peter and John ran immediately to the sepulcher.
John got there first, but only looked inside and saw the linen clothes. Why did John not hurry inside that haunting place of death?
Was it that, in the shadowy darkness of its interior, the cocoon-like shape of the grave clothes appeared to still contain the body he had so recently helped to place there?
Did his final hope die at that moment and in earnest surrender to the inevitable, did he view as foolish even so much as a few more steps?
Or did John perhaps see that the body was missing and stopped in stunned wonder at the glorious prospect rather than of fear?
Peter came and went immediately into the tomb. John, then, entered the sepulcher and “he saw, and believed” (John 20:8).
Why did John believe rather than Peter? Maybe it was because his own hands had helped to wind the linen cloth around the body.
No one could possibly deceive him as to the fact of this being the wrapping that was placed around the dead body of Jesus Christ three days earlier.
Just as we know our own signature, the marks of his own handiwork could not be duplicated. The linen, saturated by absorbing the embalming salve, was grotesquely holding half of its original shape.
It was in the right place because he had helped lay it there. The evidence was beyond dispute. Only a resurrection body could pass through and leave the grave wrappings undisturbed.
No unwinding this. Not at all like Lazarus who had to be unwound to be free; John 11:44 44And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
This was different. Excitement ran through John’s body. Looking at the wrapping, he may have said, “See, Peter, I wrapped that myself! He lives!”
It overwhelms John, but he knows its true. John couldn’t understand it all, but one thing was clear: the body that he knew as being once graveyard dead was now thrillingly alive!
VI. DEATH WILL COME TO US ALL
I believe the Holy Spirit wanted to teach us more than just facts in the records of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
We, too, will go the way of all flesh if Jesus delays His second coming. Since we must face death and undergo that once frightening experience ourselves, God wants us to know that it should no longer scare us.
1 John 4:18 18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.
Where was a greater love shown than at Calvary? No one can know spiritual peace who doesn’t understand the subject of physical death.
From the moment Eve bent over the body of Abel, her slain son, the great mystery of mankind has been the mystery of death.
Men have searched long and hard for a satisfying answer, but their search has left them disappointed.
The great minds of Egypt could probe the mysteries of heavenly bodies and chart their paths without error. They could embalm their dead to outlast the culture, but they were powerless to understand the mystery of death.
The tombs were richly loaded with treasures for the use of their revered dead in the world to which they supposed they would go. But, the treasures are still unused after all these years.
Great philosophers – brilliant in their age – left no better hope. Philosophy, at best, offered little more than a state worse than death itself. A vaporous being forever drifting, seeking an eternal elusive rest.
Still others capitalized on the inevitable; guaranteeing an entrance into an eternal state where no pleasure of fantasy or fact would be denied.
Soldiers died heroes (unafraid), believing that death in battle was to gain instantly the realm of eternal bliss.
Then there is of course the radical Islamic teaching that martyrs (suicide bombers) enter into eternal bliss with virgins galore for their pleasure.
Still others said death was the end: the dead are gone, they are no more; men are but creatures of cosmic happenstance – no God, no heaven, no hell.
The atheist, Bob Ingersol, stood by the grave of his brother. For years he had taught that there was nothing after death. Yet, there at his brother’s grave, he said, “Life is a narrow vale between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities. We strive in vain to reach beyond the heights. We cry aloud, and the only answer is the echo of our own voice. But in such an hour as this, hope can see a star and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing.”
The heart of the unbelieving man cannot accept the verdict of his own mind. Ingersol’s head said death was the end, but his heart told him otherwise. There is life and Jesus brought light and immortality to life.
Man is an eternal being housed in a body which will decay because of sin. It will become unfit for his further residence.
At death the person – the eternal person – will leave the body, and will go into the presence of Christ if he is saved. He will come back with Jesus when He comes for the saved; he will receive a resurrection body suited to the eternal person which he is.
Our lives are not landlocked by age on this earth. Life is unmeasured, boundless, eternal. Now we know that death is a change from life to life.
Water boils, the steam drifts away, and vanishes; we say it is gone. It isn’t though. If you were to hold a cold plate in the path of the steam it will cause the steam to condense and become water again.
Only now it is pure water. It was water before it passed through the change of steam or death. It is still water after it has passed through the change of steam or death.
James 4:7b For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Life vanishes; we say it is gone. It isn’t though, it appears again after it has passed through the change of steam (vapour) or death.
It was life before it passed through the change of steam or death. It is still life after it has passed through the change of steam or death. Only now it is pure life, eternal life.
The sun sinks behind the horizon, and we call it “sunset.” It gets dark; we call it “night.” But even though we see it with our eyes, sunset is not real.
When the astronauts go into space, high into the heavens out of the earth’s shadow, they see the sun shine as brightly as ever.
It is just that you and I are unable in this present body to rise high enough to see that the sunset is not real. Neither is “lifeset” (death) real. Jesus stripped away the mystery of death in His resurrection.
1 Cor. 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. Death has been conquered now and one day it will be gone forever.
Jesus showed His power in the realm of the spiritual by exercising His power in the natural. His miracles in restoring life to those who had died is a picture of death and resurrection.
The age of the one dead is no problem to the restoration and resurrection of the body. Jairus’ daughter was a very young girl (Luke 8:40-56). The son of the widow of Nain was a young man (John 11).
The length of time the body has lain in death isn’t a barrier to the body being raised. The young girl’s face still had the flush of life.
The young man had been dead for one or two days. Lazarus, four days in death, his body reeking with the odor of decaying flesh, answered to the call of omnipotence, Lazarus, come forth!. John 11:43b
Each person who has ever lived will respond to that word of power which God will speak and will subdue all things unto Himself” (Phil. 3:21).
Jesus entered into death Heb. 2:14 says, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
CONCLUSSION: What have we learned? No one can be “deader” than graveyard dead and the eternal God has clearly shown us that Jesus was just that.
Nor is it possible to miss the “many infallible proofs” that He was raised! John 14:19 because I live, ye shall live also. Because He lives, we shall live also! AMEN!
Look at 1 Cor. 15:51-58.
There is no doubt about it, God has given us many infallible proofs that Jesus was graveyard dead.
