O, Death

This passage is about Jesus’ death. To understand the significance of this, we need to talk about death. Our points will be 1) Death is a problem, 2) Jesus died, 3) how we can face death.

1 - Death is a Problem. Let’s talk about death. Americans of the 21st century hate talking about death. And our lack of discussion about death is crippling us and making us fools. According to Psalm 90, a wise man numbers his days. Many of us, however, are numbering our dollars, not our days, and we’re fools for it. We think we’ll never run out of days. Let’s think about this for a while.

First, we don’t see death. I am thankful for the medical advances of the previous century. But one strange, unnoticed side effect is that death has been pushed to the margins of human experience. Many of us have never seen anyone die. This simple fact sets us apart from any other time in history and most other places in the world.

Let’s rewind to early America in the 1600s. One historian commented, “Death dwelt within the family.” People didn’t die in hospitals but in their homes. And not just grandparents. If you lived to your twenties, you likely had already witnessed several deaths. It would’ve happened to your grandparents, probably a sibling or two, most certainly to aunts and uncles and cousins. The average family would give birth to 9 children, but on average 6 would survive to age 21. In other words, 1 in 3 children would die before adulthood. Cotton Mather was a puritan who had 14 children - but only one outlived him. 7 died in infancy, 1 at the age of 2, and 5 in their 20s. He buried all but one of his children. A fever wasn’t just an inconvenience. It could mean death’s early arrival. The average life span was late 30s. Today, it’s closer to 80.

We don’t grow up this way. We isolate ourselves from it. We don’t hear the moans and screams of the dying next door. We don’t see the prolonged agony of a disease that slowly and painfully took the life of a loved one. We can fathom what it would be like to face real pain without powerful pain medication. Now, death happens in neat, sanitized, somewhat removed hospitals. We don’t see death.

Second, we don’t believe death. Because of the incredible advancement of medical technology, we don’t believe in the inevitability of death. Even doctors are trained to use everything at their disposal to prolong life. That is good, but it creates almost a sense of entitlement - “I can’t die! You’ve got to do something!”

We have chemo pills that can kill cancer. We can cut open the body with lazers and remove harmful growths. We can insert tubes, or staples, or stints. Our technology for life-preservation has become so advanced that sometimes we refer to dying as “pulling the plug” - we literally have advanced technologies that can beat a heart beating and lungs breathing. And because of all this, many people refuse to believe they will die. Some people think if you have enough money you can afford to escape death. This idea has led one author to speak of “our society’s denial of the naturalness, and even the necessity, of death.”

Third, we don’t admit death. Did you know there’s a massive business around burying the dead these days? One company, called “Practical Burial Footwear,” offers luxury shoes for the departed. These shoes are “soft, cushioned soles and warm, luxurious slipper comfort.” Or you can go for upgraded coffins. You can purchase soft interior cushioned ones, with an adjustable foam mattress (who adjusts the mattress?).

Why does this business work, while we sit here laughing about it? Because when death comes, we hate to admit the finality of it. We don’t admit death.

Fourth, we don’t talk about death. Pay attention to the next funeral you attend - or whether or not they even call it a funeral. They’ll likely call it a “Celebration of Life.” They won’t say “corpse,” probably not even “body.” They will likely use the person’s name. There are no more morticians or undertakers, there are now funeral directors. We talk about those who have passed, expired, deceased, moved on, got promoted - but we feel impolite to suggest that the guy in the casket is dead.

This, you must realize, is strange. We are not “more advanced” for talking this way. We are more delusional. It’s not wrong to celebrate life; this is simply more evidence that we are trying to escape the reality of death. Our careful language only feeds the illusion. Previous generations spoke about death like it was normal. And they were right. It is normal.

Cotton Mather, the same one who buried 13 of his 14 children, once wrote, “When we sit at our Tables, let us think, I shall shortly be myself a morsel for the worms. When we rest in our lodgings, let us think, A cold grave will shortly be my bed. And when we view the chests, where we put our treasures, let us think. A little black chest is that wherein I myself shortly may be locked up.” Is he crazy, or are we for denying the truth of what he’s saying?

How come it’s not more normal to talk about death? How come we feel awkward asking the elderly how they feel about being closer to death? And also, Are we a wiser people for ignoring death? Are we more biblical?

Apparently, death is a problem we don’t know what to do with. So to understand our text better, we need to talk about death. Let’s do a quick overview of God’s perspective on death. This all feels very uncomfortable, but it’s very important for us.

Death is a consequence of sin. Gen. 2:17 indicates that death was the consequence for eating the forbidden fruit. Romans 5:12 says that “death spread to all men because all sinned.” Death is a fitting and appropriate and just consequence for sin. We will all face it.

Death is ordered by God. Deuteronomy 32:39 “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.” God gives and takes life, and no one can withstand his decree. You have a limited number of days on this earth, given to you by God himself, and then he will take your life, and nothing you can do can stop him when it’s time.

Death is inescapable. Hebrews 9:27 “It is appointed unto man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” Ecclesiastes 8:8 “No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death.” We are all going to die.

Matthew McCullough writes, “Imagine…You are one in a line of prisoners condemned to die by firing squad, one at a time. You hear the captain’s call: Ready. Aim. Fire. You hear the sound of the shots. You hear a body fall to the ground. Then you hear it all over again, only this time a little closer. One by one the others before you in line are killed. And you know in every one of their deaths your own is foreshadowed.”

As uncomfortable as that makes us, it’s a picture that aids our understanding of what’s actually happening around us every day. There are 166,279 deaths per day, 6,928 deaths per hour, 115 deaths per minute, and about 2 deaths per second. One day, the appointed moment of your death will come, take you, and keep right on going. This gives a new appreciation to Proverbs 27:20 which states, “Death and the grave are never satisfied.” The devouring beast is never full.

Death strips away everything. 1 Timothy 6:7 “for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot bring anything out.” Our career, our relationships, our wealth, our strength, our power, our influence - will not come with us to the next life. Naked we were born, naked we will return. The memory of our very existence on this planet will begin to fade. Within 100 years, no one will remember us.

Death is an enemy. We’ve been trying to Disney-fy death for the past 50 years. But 1 Corinthians 15:26 says “Jesus must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet - the last enemy to be destroyed is death.” Hebrews 2:15 indicates that we all, through fear of death, are “subject to lifelong slavery.” Death is an enemy - a cruel, heartless, ruthless, relentless enemy. We are born in his kingdom, subject to his power, in fear of his coming.

And now we actually come to our text in Mark 15:42-47. The point of our text shows that Jesus actually died. This is our second point.

2- Jesus actually died. The text we’re looking at this morning provides details that substantiate the facts that Jesus did, in fact, die, he was, in fact, buried, and his burial place was known. It’s as if the text is saying, “Look, he was dead. Really dead. Not mostly dead. Actually, physically, bodily, dead.”

Let’s walk through it. Vs. 42 “And when evening had come, since it was the day of preparation, that is the day before the Sabbath.” This is Friday evening. At 9 AM they crucified him (vs. 25). At noon the whole land was engulfed in darkness (vs. 34). Not long after that, vs 37 says he “breathed his last.” That was noon. Now it’s evening.

It’s called the “day of preparation,” since the Jews did not work on the Sabbath, which started Friday night, Friday evening was preparation. You finished all your work, prepared all your meals, you did everything then you couldn't do on the Sabbath. So as the sun is going down on Friday, we meet Joseph of Arimathea.

Let’s put together a quick picture of the man. First, we learn that he’s a “respected member of the council.” Another gospel includes that he was rich. That means he was a member of the Sanhedrin - yes, the same Sanhedrin that was responsible for putting Jesus through a mockery of a trial. But here we are told that he was “looking for the kingdom of God.” Other gospels provide additional details. Matthew 27:57 says he had become a disciple of Jesus, Luke says he was a “righteous” man. John says that he was actually a “secret disciple, for fear of the Jews.” He served with the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees, he had become aware of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus shows up in Jerusalem, and no doubt Joseph hears him teaching in the temple. His colleagues are incensed by Jesus, but he believes him - but he was not bold enough at that point to stand up and identify with Jesus. Interestingly, Luke says that Joseph did not consent to the accusations of Jesus, indicating he probably wasn’t there at the midnight trial where they accused and indicted him.

It says “he took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.” He took courage. Why did it take courage? Ordinarily, families and close friends took the bodies of criminals down from crosses. By requesting the body, he was identifying himself with Jesus. He was showing an affinity toward Jesus to the man who just allowed him to be crucified. And faithful Jews were fastidiously committed to proper burials, and they believed according to Deuteronomy 21:23 that when people were crucified, if they were left up, it would defile their land. So he goes to get the body, probably as a way to honor Jesus in his death.

It’s quite the scene. Jesus has no family to come and get him. The women nearby are probably too afraid. The disciples have all abandoned him. John was there but he couldn’t do anything. Joseph steps up. He’s got access to Pilate as a member of the ruling elite. He’s got money. And interestingly, Matthew says that the tomb he used to bury Jesus was actually his own town that he had had hewn out of the rock. It was a new tomb, no one had ever lain in it. In this act of devotion, Joseph risks his reputation, spends his money, and plans to use his own tomb.

This is all in fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9 which says he was “with a rich man in his death.” Joseph didn’t know it, but he was fulfilling prophecy.

The text says, “Pilate was surprised to hear that he had already died.” Why was he surprised? Because ordinarily, crucifixions would last 2-3 days. John records that just before this, soldiers were instructed to get the three men down off the crosses before sundown. Now, they couldn’t just take them down if they were still alive, so they would come with a heavy sledgehammer-like tool and break the femurs of the ones still alive. This would cause them to die quickly. When he came to do that, he discovered Jesus was already dead. That was unusual.

So when Pilate heard he was already dead, he summoned the centurion - the definite article “the” means this is the same one as before, mentioned in verse 39. Pilate wants to confirm with the centurion if he was actually dead.

Now this man was a trained and experienced executioner. He likely had overseen dozens, if not hundreds of crucifixions. He was a high-ranking competent man. Certainly he would know if Jesus had actually died. So Pilate summons him.

Let’s rewind real quick. In 15:37, it says Jesus “uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.” Now look at what verse 39 says: “And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God.’” In other words, the centurion had no question THAT he had died. What stunned him and moved him to faith in the Son of God was HOW he died. Which begs the question: What was so powerful about how he died?

Was it how reserved and silent he was when his accusers mocked him? Was it the cry “it is finished!” that convinced him? I think what struck him and moved him to faith was this: He chose to die. In John 10:18 Jesus says, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.” And how does John describe the actual moment of his death? John 19:30, “And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

The centurion had seen this majestic power even as he watched him die. He was convinced. He had certainly died. But the way he died was incredible.

So verse 45 says “And when he [Pilate] learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph.” The centurion, whose job is to make sure the guys on the cross are dead, says to Pilate, “Yep, he’s dead all right. I know it’s unusual. Surprising. Incredible, even. But he’s dead alright.” And so Pilate grants the body to Joseph.

The whole point of this section is to say, “Look - he’s dead.” Even the following verses make it clear: Mark uses the word “corpse.” Jesus' body is lifeless, bloodied, bruised, stiffening as rigor mortis sets in. His heart is not beating. His lungs are not breathing. He is dead.

Joseph takes him off the cross - imagine that bloody job, prying the nails from the wood, carrying his fully grown adult male body. He’s rich, he likely has help. He cleans him up. Wraps him in linen. This would have taken a lot of time. And Jesus does not flinch. He’s dead.

From a theological perspective, here we see that Jesus truly experiences the fullness of the curse upon mankind. The eternal Son of God took on a human nature for the purpose of tasting death on behalf of his people. The punishment God demanded, God himself tasted.

The wages of sin is death, Jesus never sinned, but died. Death entered the world through sin, Jesus never sinned but experienced death. This is our God, to uphold his holiness he must punish sin. To uphold his love, he himself bears the full weight of the punishment we deserve.

In other words, Mark 15:42-47 is so important because it is describing how Jesus did, in fact, plunge himself entirely into the jaws of death. He confronted the great enemy. He confronted the devourer and destroyer. He was swallowed up by death itself.

We spend all our lives trying not to see death, not believing death, not admitting death, and not talking about death. Jesus came and went straight for death. Why? To save us from death.

Now this is a Christian sermon, so I’ve got to jump ahead to the resurrection. Spoiler alert: Jesus didn’t stay dead. He conquered death by rising from the dead. He faced off with the enemy and defeated it. He confronted the destroyer and destroyed it. The grave swallowed him, but it couldn’t hold him in.

This is our gospel, Jesus is the Messiah who died for the sins of those who trust him, who rose from the dead in victory, and who is proof that God can and will save everyone who trusts in him. Simple faith, this very moment, is what saves us.

3 - Dealing with Death. I want to provide three applications related to the problem of death.

First, remember death. There is a time-honored tradition that has fallen out of common practice that used to be called, memento mori, which means “remember death.”It was the practice of remembering that you will die. I recommend retrieving them, as odd as that makes us sound.

Al Mohler, in his book on leadership, has an entire chapter called “The Leader and Death,” where he describes how he keeps a realistic looking skull on his writing desk as a way to help him remember his finiteness and limited time. We could review the passages of Scripture that teach us to consider the brevity of life. What’s the point of Scripture using metaphors like “life is vapor” or “we are all like grass” or “life is like a passing shadow”? It’s to help us visualize the reality that we are going to die soon. God is eternal, but we will all die.

Psalm 39:4-5 says, “O Lord make me know my end and what is the measure of my days, let me know how fleeting I am!” Think about the fact that you will die soon, at God’s appointment, and that everything on earth you’ve accumulated will be stripped from you, and you will stand before God to give an account for your life.

I try to teach this to my kids to think regularly about death. I make sure we talk about it every single night. Before my children go to bed, I ask them a series of questions, a lot of them relating to death.

Will God ever die? No. Will you ever die? Yes. How many times will you die? Once. And they recite Hebrews 9:27 “It is appointed unto man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” Must you perish in the judgment, or can you escape the judgment? I can escape the judgment. How can you escape the judgment? By faith in Jesus Christ.

We don’t live in a society that sees or talks about death, and so we need to work extra hard to learn the wisdom that contemplating death brings. Remember death.

Second, despise death. I had a dream several years ago - now I don’t ascribe any prophetic value to it, but I want to use the experience to illustrate a point. I can still remember the images my mind created - my best friend at the time was right in front of me.. I remember in desperation trying to stop the wounds, and his own desperation and struggle to keep breathing, and then this look he had that he was dying, that there was no stopping it - and I was still struggling to keep him alive as he passed. I woke up in the middle of the night with such intense emotion: my heart was beating fast, I was in a cold sweat, the emotions of loss and grief and sadness were still fresh. I realized it was only a dream. But at the same time I was comforting myself and remembering that it was a dream, I had this dark thought: what I dreamed about is actually happening to someone right now, somewhere in the world.

Someone, right now, is struggling to help their asthmatic child breathe. Right now, people are arriving on the scene of an accident. Right now, grown children are sitting at the bedside of their dying mother. The reason I’m saying this is because we need to recover the horror of death. We’ve forgotten this. Death is a horrible thing. Death is an intrusion into God’s good world.

Think of Jesus. Shouldn’t we be like him, who wept at Lazarus’s tomb? He didn’t celebrate the life of the dead, we are told that he was “deeply moved,” even angry. The text says he was “greatly troubled.” Additionally, death is God’s enemy according to 1 Corinthians 15. Should we love God’s enemy? Should we celebrate what Christ weeps over? No. Despise death.

Third, celebrate that Christ has conquered death. There will come a day when you have nothing. No money that can purchase more life, no strength to get yourself up from the bed, no accomplishments that have earned you bonus days. Your strength will fail you, your money, your wealth, your power, your relationships will all begin to vanish before you. It will be you, weak and defenseless, facing death itself. And after death, judgment. Where is your hope? You cannot escape the cold hand of death - what will you do?

You bank everything on Christ. You hold fast to Christ. Jesus died to abolish death. Hebrews 2:14-15: “14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”

I love the final scene in Pilgrim’s Progress, when Christian and Hopeful are crossing the river. It’s a beautiful, real, moving scene. Christian can’t feel the bottom, he thinks he’s sinking, he feels the waves crashing over him, he comes to the conclusion that God has abandoned him, that the cold claws of death are grabbing hold of him, and that he won’t make it to the city he’s longed for. But Hopeless holds him, says, “I feel the bottom, and it is good!” He encourages him. He helps him get across.

Death is terrifying. Many of us will struggle to face it well. But it is our duty to be there for one another when death comes knocking. Be at one another’s bedsides. Read them the precious promises of God. Sing to them the glorious hymns of the faith. Help them cross the river. And most of all, remind them that where they are going, Christ has already gone, conquered, and overcome.

Christ’s death was the final blow to the devil, and through his death he delivered us from our fear of death. Jesus faced death and came out alive - and we can do the same.

Are you afraid to die? If you are not a Christian, I understand your fear. It is a right and appropriate fear. Because at your death, you will lose everything, face God, and have no savior. Death will swallow you up forever, and there will be no escape from its icy grip. You will not only face the death of the body, but also the eternal death of the soul, as you are cast away into utter and eternal despair.

Flee to Christ! There is mercy in Christ! There is forgiveness in Christ! There is salvation in Christ! He died for sinners to free them from death. Come to Jesus Christ and live!

All who trust in Christ have their sins forgiven, and they are connected to the very power of Christ’s resurrection, and they have a guarantee of their future resurrection.

Death is our problem - we must face it. Jesus faced it - he knows it, and he conquered it. Jesus lives forevermore. And by faith in him, we will too.

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