Luke 23 The cross opens the door to paradise if…

The evidence is all there before us. It has been there for us our entire lives. If we will humbly seek we can find and be forgiven and promised paradise, if…

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What is Revering the Word?

Biblical Teaching from Pastor Jay Cavaiani with an emphasis on revering the Word of God.

This podcast teaches through every chapter of the Bible, one chapter a day.

To learn more go to www.reveringtheword.com. There is three year Bible reading challenge and schedule available on the website. We encourage all to join the journey by reading through the Bible over the course of three years.

We teach studying the Bible more thoroughly by slowing down and taking in the Bible in a deeper manner versus reading many chapters at once and glossing over what one is reading.

Pastor Jay Cavaiani is the Lead Pastor at Crossing Community Church in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin, USA.

Good morning, everyone. This morning we are in Luke 23, and Jesus in the last chapter ushered in the New Covenant at the Last Supper on Passover.

And there were so many grand things that we saw fulfilling Old Testament prophecy regarding Jesus's death and resurrection.

And I strongly encourage, just because I want people to, I want to make it easier for people to believe.

And I believe the teaching from Luke 22 definitely does that.

It just, when we have knowledge of all the things God tied together, it really builds our faith.

So please, if you haven't yet, listen to that message from Luke 22.

But now Jesus has been arrested. He's already come before the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin.

And now they're going to send him to Pilate. And ultimately we're going to see in this chapter Jesus dying a cross for us.

So 23 verse 1, then the whole body of them, that's the Sanhedrin, got up and brought him before Pilate.

So the Jews, remember, they did not have a country at this time. They lost their country in the 500 BC range.

And they're back and they have a temple and they're worshiping God in Jerusalem, but they no longer are a country.

They didn't get a country again until 1948. They went, you know, incredibly over 2000 years without a country before having a country again.

So they can't put Jesus on the cross. They have to get the Roman Empire to agree with them or to enforce what they want enforced.

They want him on a cross, but they have to get the Roman Empire and Pilate, the one who's in charge of this region, to agree to that.

So they send Jesus to Pilate with a bunch of trumped up charges. And they began to accuse him, saying,

We found this man misleading our nation. So they're acting like they care about Rome at the moment, which they don't.

These Jews, they're against Rome. But, you know, in this particular case, it does them service to act like they care about that.

We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, which is a lie.

You might recall just recently in the Gospel of Luke, he said, Pay to Caesar what is Caesar and pay to God what is God's.

And so he did not say that, but they're trying to say what they can and put him on a cross and saying that he himself is the Christ, the Messiah, a king.

And that is true. He is the Christ. He is the promised one. He's the anointed one that was prophesied to come.

So many passages, but the one that comes to mind is Isaiah 61, one. He is anointed me to proclaim the good news and to, you know, take care of the poor and to make the blind see,

which is all prophesied 700 years earlier in Isaiah 61 and indeed came true in Christ.

But they don't they don't they're not believing that he is who he said he was. So therefore, they think that's blasphemous for him to say that he's this promised one to come.

But he's a miracle worker. And ultimately, he's going to prove that he really was that one.

When after they put him on this cross, he's going to rise from the dead. So Pilate asked him, saying, Are you the king of the Jews?

And he answered him and said, It is as you say. So he's he's acknowledging that he is the spiritual king of the Jews and they're going to reject him for that.

Then Pilate said to the chief priests in the crowds, I find no guilt in this man. Pilate Pilate had reservations.

The Roman Empire in Jerusalem had reservations about Jesus being persecuted or Jesus being killed. He he apparently maybe saw something in Jesus.

He didn't want to necessarily go along with the Jews. And he says, I find no guilt in this man.

But they, the Jewish leaders of Sanhedrin kept on insisting, saying he stirs up all the people teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee, even as far as this place, which is true.

Jesus has been teaching all over the region. When Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.

And when he learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself was in Jerusalem at that time.

Herod may have came up for Passover again. Everyone was flocking to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.

And Herod is likely there because of that. And indeed, you know, Pilate wants to make sure that if this man gets put to death, that he does it rightfully.

And, you know, there's a backstory here that Pilate was under some pressure because there had been some dysfunction in his relationship between him and the Jewish people and complaints about him had made it to Rome and to the Caesar of Rome.

And it appears Pilate was under pressure like, hey, why can't you deal with these Jews? Why can't you keep peace? Why can't you know, why are you always getting complaints?

So now when they're bringing someone to be killed and if he doesn't honor that, he's worried that this is going to go back to the emperor in Rome.

And it's going to be yet another thing that Rome is saying, Pilate, why can't you seem to manage this territory?

So he's under pressure to not want negative feedback to make it back to Rome.

So he's checking with Herod, who was the leader of a different region up in Galilee, to make sure that there's unity in what decision Pilate may make regarding Jesus so that, you know, he's not attacked by those around him.

So Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus, for he had wanted to see him for a long time because he had been hearing about him. And, you know, this is interesting.

You know, Jesus is getting before all the major players. I mean, you know, he's getting before the Jewish Sanhedrin.

He's getting before the Roman ruler in Judea, the Jerusalem area. And now he's getting before Herod, the ruler of the Galilean area.

I mean, he's seeing all the major people right before his death. And he questioned him, Herod did, at some length, but answered him nothing.

You know, Jesus could have tried to, at this point, convince people maybe that he was who he said he was or that he's not deserving of death.

But Jesus knows that this is his hour. He came to die for the sins of mankind. And that was talked about so much in the previous chapter.

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. It always required a sacrifice in order for people to be forgiven.

And Jesus is that once and final sacrifice to forgive you and I who believe in him of our sin. That's why Jesus is dying on the cross.

He's doing it to forgive us and restore us to a relationship with God. And there's so much to understand to understand that.

Again, go back and listen to Luke 22. But anyways, he's now before Herod and the chief priests and scribes were standing there accusing him vehemently.

Remember that, Church, you know, when we hear about the punishment that's going to come upon the Jewish people, and I'm going to address that a little bit more as we get into this chapter today because it's going to come up.

They're vehemently, falsely accusing Jesus and they're wanting to kill him.

Jesus is very upset about the Jewish rejection of him. Not that he didn't know it was coming, but he is very upset. Read Matthew 23. Woe to you Pharisees.

He's very upset about their rejection of him.

And Herod with his soldiers after treating him with contempt and mocking him dressed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him back to Pilate. Probably to mock him, you know, since he said he was a king. Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day.

For they had been enemies with each other. And perhaps, you know, Pilate showing respect to Herod by sending Jesus to Herod, but they're both going to end up being on the same page to follow through with the Jews desire to kill Jesus.

And that brought them together.

Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers of the people and said to them, You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion and behold, having examined him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges you made against him.

Nor has Herod, for he sent him back to us and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by him. Therefore, I will punish him and release him. And you know, it seems as though they're trying to want to put this on the Jews.

So, you know, ultimately, you know, Jesus is sentenced to death and Pilate does it. You know, so I don't know, we don't know what those discussions were like, maybe Herod and Pilate were like, you know what, I don't know if this guy deserves it, but if the Jews are going to demand it, then go ahead.

But Pilate's trying to kind of talk them off the cliff, so to speak, and see if they'll recant and not wish to kill him because I don't think he really wants to. Now there's this verse 17 here, now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner and apparently it was a tradition that at Passover, somebody could be released.

But they cried out altogether, this is all the Jews, away with this man and release for us Barabbas. So, Barabbas was a prisoner and instead of releasing Jesus, they want to release a prisoner.

He was one who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection made in the city and for murder. That's Barabbas. Pilate wanting to release Jesus addressed them again, but they kept on calling out saying, crucify, crucify him.

And he said to them the third time, what, what, why, what evil has this man done? I have found in him no guilt demanding death, therefore I will punish him and release him.

But they were insistent with loud voices, imagine Jesus seeing just the blood thirsty Jews wanting him killed. With loud voice asking that he be crucified and their voices began to prevail.

And Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted. So Pilate went along with it now and he released the man Barabbas they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he delivered Jesus to their will.

And when they had let him away, they seized a man Simon of Cyrene. So now he's likely carrying his cross, Jesus, and he's heading up to Golgotha, place of the skull, where they're going to crucify Jesus.

And when they let him away, they seized a man Simon of Cyrene coming in from the country, another guy coming there to celebrate the Passover and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus. In the movies and stuff about Jesus, you'll see that maybe Jesus was struggling to carry the cross and they found someone to help him carry it.

And following him was a large crowd of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting. But Jesus turned to them and said daughters of Jerusalem. Now, this is what I was referring to.

Listen in daughters of Jerusalem stop weeping for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say blessed are the barren and the wounds that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.

And then they will begin to say to the mountains on us into the hills cover us meaning just kill us now. Or if they do these things when the tree is green, you know that when Jesus is here on earth, what will happen when it's dry, what will happen when Jesus has been away for a long time.

Now, he's quoting scripture here to the mountains following us and to the hills cover us. And that's actually talked about in the book of Hosea that there was going to be a time in Jerusalem where people are going to be like, you know what, it'd be better that I never bore a child.

It'd be better if the hills just crushed me and fell on me because that's how bad it's going to be in Jerusalem. Now, some of you are aware that in 70 AD, this is happening in about 33 AD, Jesus's death.

In 70 AD, Jerusalem was trampled on and their temple was torn down. And some maybe believe that's a fulfillment. But actually, we see in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, for those who are not aware who are listening, there's going to be a terrible time that's coming upon planet Earth.

It's called the tribulation. It's going to be the worst period of time that's ever existed on the history of the planet. Many believe, as do I, that the church is going to be raptured and removed from the earth prior to this horrible time that's on earth.

And the people that are on earth, which will be the unbelievers and Jews since the church will be raptured, are going to experience great wrath. And they will, at that time, it will be as though they would say, you know, it'd be better if I never had a child.

And it'd be better if the mountains just fell on us because that's how terrible the time is going to be on earth. And if we go to this now in Revelation chapter 6, and interestingly enough, I just preached on this yesterday.

Listen to verse 15 of chapter 6.

And who is able to stand. And this is when the wrath of God, the wrath of Jesus, the Lamb, is going to come on the earth. And I definitely don't believe it's for his church and those who love him and who believe in him and who he died to save from the wrath to come.

But when you see the Jews saying, crucify him, crucify him, I believe it's for them. And indeed, that's what's brought up right here. He says, daughters of Jerusalem, don't weep for me now, but weep for your children from behold the days are coming when they will say blessed are the barren and the wounds that never bore and the breast that never served nursed.

Then they will say to the mountains falling us into the hills cover us for if they do these things, crucifying Jesus when Jesus is here when the tree is green, what will happen when it's dry.

So there's my interpretation of that and I believe that to be true and praise God for his love for his bride, the church, and I tell you there's going to be a terrible consequence for rejecting the Messiah, the one who died for you. He died to love you to forgive you.

Embrace the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ so that you don't have to be separated from Jesus when you die. You can go to be with him in heaven or separated from him.

When a terrible time on earth comes a tribulation, you don't want to be there for it.

Except Jesus Christ now before that season of time comes on this earth, just as they waited for Jesus to come. Jesus came as a babe and it said he would come and it said he'd be born of a virgin.

It said he'd be born in Bethlehem and he did. It happened just as though the Old Testament said it would happen and it happened.

And the Bible says that Jesus is coming again and it's going to happen just the way the Bible says it's going to happen. And trust in the word of God. That's why you got to seek.

It says you'll seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart. You know, I've been talking to some people and witnessing to them and sometimes people are talking just to reject.

They're not actually seeking. They're not actually listening. They're actually just trying to come up with ways to continue to reject the truth of the Bible.

And if you just humble yourself, if you just seek the evidence for yourself, I tell you what, I'm not afraid of you studying the Bible and seeking to see whether it's true.

And when you come with a heart that's open to seek the truth, you'll find it and it'll change your life. You'll be saved. You'll be forgiven. You'll be deposited with the Holy Spirit.

And you'll be promised eternal life. Oh, that we would just humble ourselves and seek the truth for ourselves because it's all there. It's been there our whole lives. It's all there in the scriptures.

All you got to do is be willing and hungry to find the truth and you'll find it. Hallelujah.

When they came to the place of the skull, there they crucified him and the criminals on the right and the other on the left.

Jesus was crucified with two criminals that day. But Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them.

And this is for the people that listen to what he's doing for the people who are putting them on the cross.

He says, Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. Even when Jesus is being shouted at, insulted, pierced in his hands and his feet and in his side and mocked and people are saying, crucify them.

He's saying, Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. See that that's the kind of savior we follow.

And they cast lots dividing up his garments among themselves. And the people stood by looking on and even the rulers were sneering at him saying, he saved others.

Let him save himself if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one. The soldiers also mocked him coming up to him, offering him sour wine and saying, if you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.

Now, listen to, he's saying, forgive these people that are mocking him in that way. Isn't that incredible?

Now, I want to take you to a different section of the Bible. Now, I've been trying, I've been sharing with, you know, those of you who are listening, how God ties up thousands of years of history and Old Testament prophecies that have come through in Jesus.

Now, I want to take you to one of those now, and it's in Psalm 22. And I'll turn there. I'll read it to you so you don't have to turn there.

But in Psalm 22, this is a Psalm that was written thousand years before Jesus ever did these actions, including dying on the cross.

You might recall when Jesus cried out on the cross, he said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And it would be sound like he's saying he's questioning God, why God would allow him to die on the cross.

But actually, what he was doing is he was doing a remise. That's a Hebrew way of saying he was doing a hint. He was hinting to people who were there that day that there's a passage that was all told about me prior that was about me.

And if you'll turn there, you'll see it. So he said just the first part of Psalm 22, he hinted to them that this is the passage that was about him. And Psalm 22 starts out this way. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And I'm going to give you excerpts from this about 30 verse chapter of the Bible.

Listen to what it says.

It says, a reproach of men and despised by the people, all who see me sneer at me, they separate with the lip and they wag their head saying, commit yourself to the Lord, let him deliver him, let him rescue him, because he delights in him.

Isn't that what we just heard what happened.

And yet listen to what it says, yet you are he who brought me forth from the womb and indeed he was born from the Virgin Mary you made me trust when I'm from my mother's breast he grew up like we did.

Listen, listen, many bulls have surrounded me verse 12 strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me there's people mocking him, they open wide their mouth at me as a ravening and roaring lion.

I am poured out like water because they're gonna water is going to get and blood is going to come out of his side when they pierce him.

Listen to listen to this for dogs have surrounded me a band of evil doers has encompassed me, they pierced my hands and feet.

Can you believe that 1000 years earlier, and all of this is coming true.

And then it says this, I can count on my bones. Did you know that Jesus is the Passover lamb he's dying on Passover.

And the instructions for the Passover lamb is that you wouldn't break any of its bones you can read about that in Exodus chapter 12 verse 46.

And indeed, do you know that the two thieves that were on his left and his right they broke the bones of those thieves, but they didn't break Jesus's bones because he's the Passover lamb.

And then it says they look at me, and they stare at me. They divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots.

Isn't it incredible I could go on there's more, but all of this came through in Jesus, it was written down 1000 years earlier.

If you're listening, maybe for one of the first times this morning.

I want you to know that this is just one evidence. This is just one of hundreds of things that were said to come true in Jesus and then did.

And it's all right there. It's been there our whole lives. It's right before us, if we are willing, if we're willing to seek, we will find if we come humbly wanting to know Jesus, and how his word has come true, it's there for us we just got to be willing,

to stop putting on the blockade and the blinders and really looking to disprove them and instead seek to find him and when you seek to find him, you will and you will be saved and you will be forgiven.

Hallelujah. What a wonderful word that is. So we're back to Luke 23 and they're mocking him.

Now there verse 38 there was also an inscription above him. This is the King of the Jews, they actually they put that that title above them.

And one of the criminals who were hanging there was hurling abuse at him, saying, Are you not the Christ, save yourself and us, one of the criminals on the cross but the other answered and that this is so important.

Listen to this but the other answered and rebuking the other criminal who was on the other side of Jesus. He said, Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation.

We indeed are suffering justly for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds, they were thieves, but this man has done nothing wrong. And he was saying, Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.

I said to him, truly I say to you, today, you shall be with me in paradise. Hallelujah, and praise the Lord.

You know, I don't know if he, if he's listening but I, I have a friend and I witnessed to him a little bit recently.

And his name is Jim, Jim I wonder if you're listening.

It would be awesome if you were.

Some of my friends are getting up there in age, older than I.

And you know their time to receive what they're going to receive as a result of whether they believed in Jesus or not is near now than it was before our, all of us are going to meet our maker one day all of us are going to die.

And it's important that we get faith in Jesus before that happens and listen to what this criminal says.

Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation Did you know that we're all under condemnation, including pastor Jay right here, right now, because all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God that's something that we all share

in common. Everybody in the world has sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And the wonderful thing is, is that God sent his son to forgive us.

So, the condemnation that we're under because of our sin would prevent us from being with God, but God doesn't want it that way.

He said you know what I've made a way for you to be forgiven.

I've made a way for you to be forgiven.

And all throughout history.

The way God's people would seek atonement for their sin as they would bring a sacrifice to the temple.

And they would lay their hand on that animal and that animal's blood would be shed. And as a result of that animal dying, their sin would be atoned for it wasn't a once and for all but it was a temporary atonement and it was a way to honor God and the priests would get to eat that for food.

And so, God sent the one he loved to earth to die on the cross as the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And he did it on Passover.

This is all happening on Passover.

The one day where many years ago, God's

people, Israel, was saved from the Egyptian Pharaoh because they put the blood of the lamb over their doorposts.

Well, God had his son killed on Passover.

His son's blood was shed on Passover to be the once and for all lamb of God to forgive the sins of the world.

And he was the one who was sent to earth to die on the cross as the lamb of God to forgive all who believe in him.

And this thief is right. He is under a sentence of condemnation.

And the way that he can be freed from that sentence, just like I and anyone and everyone else can be freed of their condemnation because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

And then he rose again. That's how we get forgiven and listen to what happens.

This this thief becomes humble and recognizes his need. And that's where we all need to be.

And we indeed are suffering, he said justly.

And that's what we got to realize. Listen, we all are under condemnation for our sin and we would suffer for it if we did not accept this wonderful gift of grace that God gave us through his son.

We are receiving what we deserve for our deeds. And this is one of the problems is that man thinks he's good.

Man lives in the in the perpetual misunderstanding that I'm a good person and somehow I don't deserve to be separated from God.

And the Bible has that. The truth is that's flipped.

The truth is we all have sin and fall short of the glory of God. And what that does is it creates a need and it lets you it makes you realize that you know what I need a solution to my sin problem.

And that solution is Jesus. And that's where this thief is getting great wisdom right now while he's at the very last dying breath.

He's finally getting it. We deserve what's happening to us. And that's what would happen to us if we don't accept Jesus.

We would deserve to be separated from God forever because we weren't willing to acknowledge him.

Listen, if you sent your son to die for me and I just dissed him and I ignored him my whole life, you deserve what's coming to you because someone sent their son to die for you.

And God just wants us to acknowledge him by faith and then live for him.

And this thief saying, you know what, we deserve this for our deeds with this man, Jesus has done nothing wrong.

And he was saying, now listen to what he did. He said, Jesus, first of all, he is willing to acknowledge Jesus.

And he said, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Now, what does he say when he says that?

He's saying he believes that Jesus is going to heaven and that Jesus has a kingdom.

So he's acknowledging Jesus by faith right here and now. He's acknowledging Jesus by faith.

And Jesus, because he acknowledged him by faith, Jesus said to him, truly I say to you today you will be with me in paradise.

And the reason that's going to be today is because that thief is going to die today.

And as a result of him placing his trust in Christ, he's going to be in paradise.

He's going to be in heaven. And that other thief who did not accept Jesus is not going to be.

He's going to a very wicked place and the place you don't want to go.

And all you got to do is you got to say, Jesus, I believe in you.

The Bible says in Romans 10, 9, if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

And then the sin that separates you from God gets put on his son.

Because of your faith, his son takes your sin. And then you can be forgiven.

And then you can know because of that forgiveness you've been made right for heaven.

Sin doesn't make it to heaven. And we're all sinners.

So what God did is he made us a way for us to be forgiven so that we could enter heaven.

And you've got to do that through genuine faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord.

And then you show him that you're a person of faith by beginning to seek him and live for him.

And you know that's what all of us as Christians are trying to do.

Is be people of faith and now honor God for what he's done for us and to live for him.

And that's what I'm doing right now. I'm trying to bring more people to heaven with me. Hallelujah.

I'm not going to heaven because of my goodness, my anything.

I'm going to heaven because I've believed in the Messiah, Jesus, the one who died for me.

And now I'm trying to help more people get there. That's why I move, live, move and have my being.

Is to help other people mature in Christ and receive the gift of eternal life. Hallelujah.

Would you receive him? And then you know what? When you do and if you're willing,

the best way to do that is through baptism.

Baptism is a symbol of you saying, you know what? I'm dying to my old way.

And I'm going to rise to new life in Jesus one day.

And baptism is a way to physically profess your faith in Jesus.

We can baptize you right at our church. We've got a trough.

Man, we got a trough. It's not like a built in baptismal. We got a trough.

But I'll tell you what, we can put you under water and we can have you rise up again to new life in Jesus Christ.

Hallelujah. Whoever is listening, give your life to Jesus and get baptized.

And know the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life.

It was about the sixth hour and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.

That's from noon to three, by the way, because the sun was obscured and the veil in the temple was torn in two.

Oh Lord. When there was a veil in the temple that was right in Jerusalem, right?

Well, they were on Golgotha a little ways away, but in the temple in Jerusalem, there's a veil that separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.

And the Most Holy Place in this day and age was the place where God's presence was experienced, where His presence dwelt.

And right when Jesus died on the cross, that veil was torn in two.

It was a symbol to say, you know what, now you can have access to God.

Because 50 days later, after this incident on the cross, on another Jewish holiday, Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to reside in those who believe like you and me.

You guys, the Holy Spirit lives inside of me and lives inside of people who believe.

And that's what helps me to follow Him and gives me the strength to follow Him and gives me greater wisdom than what I would have on my own.

And that's a symbol Jesus did by having that veil torn.

He's saying, you now have access to God.

God wants to come and live inside of His church, those who believe in Him.

And this is the symbol right here. The veil was torn in two. Hallelujah.

And Jesus was crying out with a loud voice saying, Father, into my hands I commit your spirit.

And having said this, He breathed His last.

Now when the centurion, one of the Roman soldiers, saw what had happened, he began praising God saying, certainly this man was innocent.

He began to even trust in Jesus when he saw all this happen.

All the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what was happening, they began to return, beating their breasts.

People who saw Jesus die began to realize, oh my gosh, what did we do?

And all his acquaintances and the women who accompanied him from Galilee were standing at the distance seeing these things.

A lot of people saw Him die. And you know what? Well, if you keep reading, if you keep following, a lot of people saw Him rise.

He showed Himself again and again and again. He rose from the dead. And that's going to happen in the next chapter tomorrow.

We'll be there.

And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, this is one of the religious leaders.

He had not consented to their plan in action. He didn't want to see Jesus died.

A man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God.

This man went to Pila and asked for the body of Jesus.

And he took it down and wrapped it in linen and cloth and laid Him in a tomb cut in the rock where there was no one had ever lain.

This was a rich man who had his own tomb. And he asked permission to lay Jesus there.

Now, if you go back to Psalm 53, excuse me, Isaiah 53, which we didn't get to today, but it's another amazing prophetic fulfillment about Jesus.

I encourage you to go read that chapter, Isaiah 53, and you'll see how much of it 700 years before Jesus ever walked the earth was written about Him.

Well, anyways, in that chapter, it says that He will have a grave with the wicked and with the rich in His death.

And sure enough, two thieves were killed alongside Him and He was put in a rich man's tomb.

Everything that God said happened. It came true just as God said.

And it was the preparation day, meaning it was the day before the Sabbath. When sunset on Good Friday, Jews days flipped at sunset.

So it was about to become the Sabbath and they wanted the bodies off the cross before the Sabbath.

So before the sunset, Jesus was dead and they took Him off the cross.

So it was the preparation day and the Sabbath was about to begin.

And the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how His body was laid.

They returned and prepared spices and perfumes.

And on the Sabbath day, they rested according to the commandment.

And all the apostles and the ladies probably just weeped and mourned.

And they stayed in the upper room and hid out in a house on the Sabbath because they were resting from their labors.

This is what a Jew was supposed to do in that day.

And we're waiting for Sunday and hallelujah Sunday is coming.

And that's the day that Christians now celebrate every week and go to church is the day that Jesus rose from the dead.

They separated themselves from the Jews eventually.

And Jesus, as we'll see in the next chapter, is going to come back alive again.

You know what? That's why we can believe in Him because He had victory over death.

Hallelujah. But today is a day of mourning until we wait for the day of rejoicing to come.

Hallelujah. When God's word is good, trust in the Lord.