“he was buried...according to the Scriptures” 1 Cor. 15:3-4
This week marks Passion week, that time of year when Christians often pause to especially commemorate the events surrounding Christ’s suffering and death in anticipation of his resurrection on Easter morning. For this week’s midweek devotion, I’d like us to consider the final event of Passion week, Christ’s burial, and the comfort and hope it brings us in this moment. Unfortunately, we often treat Christ’s burial as an afterthought, a kind of brief intermission between the real drama that happened on the cross and at the empty tomb. But the scriptures make it clear that Christ’s burial is not an afterthought, but an essential part of the gospel drama itself. He was buried “according to the scriptures” because his burial is part of his saving work. What practical comfort does Jesus’ work of submitting to burial bring to us right now?
The Certainty of God’s Favor
These days, the world is grasping for certainty. COVID-19 has turned the ordinary routines of life upside down. One of the most terrifying parts of the COVID 19 is the uncertainty of it, when federal officials say to us “we don’t really understand what we’re dealing with” or “We don’t really know how long this will last” or “We don’t really know exactly what will curb the spread of the disease.” Uncertainty unsettles us like nothing else. But the burial of Christ gives us the certainty we desperately need.
Because Jesus was buried, we know he certainly died for our sins. Anyone who’s ever lost a loved one knows that the hardest part is not the funeral but the burial. Once that casket closes for the final time and we lower our loved one into the ground and out of our view the reality of their death really sets in for us. Once the disciples saw that stone rolled over the mouth of his tomb, they knew their beloved master didn’t just appear to die, but he actually died. This is good news because it means we don’t just appear to be forgiven, we are actually forgiven, actually accepted, and actually beloved.
The world’s uncertainty can be highly contagious. I recently heard a Christian wonder out loud (with a sense of dread and lament) “Maybe coronavirus is God’s judgment against all of us.” But Jesus’ burial proves that COVID 19 cannot be judgment against God’s children because Jesus has already tasted the deepest depth of judgment for God’s children. Being “buried with Christ in baptism”, means (in a global pandemic) we really are still under the favor, blessing, care, and smile of God. If you aren’t certain of anything else right now, child of God, be absolutely certain that you are under the unwavering love of your Heavenly Father.
The Sympathy of God’s Son
When Jesus was buried, he fully identified with sinners. Though he had no sins, Isaiah 53:9 declares he was “assigned a grave with the wicked.” The sinless Son of God submitted to being buried as we sinners must be buried. Part of the curse of Genesis 3 includes the ominous words of burial “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground.” Because humans were taken from the ground, they must return to the ground as a part of God’s punishment against their sin. The righteous son of God submitted to the place of being buried alongside sinners as if he deserved to be numbered among them. There is no depth of our experience, no part of our suffering that Jesus refused to embrace. There is a negro spiritual that says “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, nobody knows but Jesus.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought suffering and grief to US shores unlike we’ve experienced in many years. The latest estimates suggest that by the end, upwards of 300,000 Americans could die from COVID-19. Most of us either know someone who has died or are no more than 1 degree of separation from someone. We are weeping so much and so deeply that our tear ducts are beginning to run dry. We can say nobody knows the trouble we’ve seen, nobody knows but Jesus.
Because Jesus plumbed the deepest depths of our misery in burial, we know he understands every part of the pain of the coronavirus. He knows the heartache of the daughter glued to a computer screen, as her mother struggles to breathe and slips away. He knows the pain of the nurse desperately trying to keep up with the flood of sick and dying patients under her care. He knows the heartache of the wage worker just laid off with no foreseeable prospects to feed his or her family. Jesus understands. He is a sympathetic high priest who is able to help us amidst our struggles. So we must pour out our hearts to him, with confidence that he is not aloof, cold, or distant from our sufferings. He feels them intimately and deeply.
The freedom of God’s people
Jesus' burial can free us from being held captive by our fear of the grave. Because Jesus has already journeyed into the grave, he has cleared safe passage for his people who follow him. Pioneers are people who do the heavy lifting of clearing out a pathway so that others can follow. They pave the road to create safe passage to ensure a safe journey. Jesus is our pioneer. He transformed the grave from a permanent prison ward, into an usher, who ushers us into the personal presence of Christ after we die. He transformed the grave from the devil’s dungeon to the Lord’s bed-chamber. While taking proper precautions and lamenting suffering and death and sorrow, we face this pandemic with the courage and confidence of faith.
Little Zachary was scared to be alone in the dark. Whenever his mother asked him to go into the living room he would resist because he had to walk through the dark kitchen to get there. One night, Zachary heard his mother calling his name. He walked out of his room and noticed that her voice was coming from the other side of the dark kitchen. His palms began to sweat and his heart began to pound. He wanted to be with his mother but he didn't want to walk through the kitchen to get to her. Finally, he saw her figure appear in the doorway on the other side of the kitchen, hold out her hand, and call his name. Suddenly Zachary swelled with confidence and ran through the kitchen and jumped into his mother’s arms. The fact that she had already gone through the kitchen and was waiting for him on the other side made all the difference for Zachary, and it makes all the difference for us. We don’t need to fear, our loving Lord has already gone through the grave and waits for us on the other side. That makes all the difference for how we face a global pandemic. We can be sad but still remain unshaken even in these difficult times.
The Turning Point of God’s Hope
Jesus’ burial also means that suffering, sickness, and sorrow must be overtaken by salvation. Isaiah includes these details about Jesus’ burial. “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.” (Isaiah 53:9) Jesus burial marks the transition between his humiliation and his exaltation. Jesus’ burial is where he reaches the bottom of the abyss of death, turns and begins the journey towards his exaltation. Though Jesus was crucified as if he were a criminal, he was nevertheless buried as a king. God the Father orchestrated the burial of his son in such a way that Joseph of Arimathea gave him an expensive burial plot, the sort that only near eastern nobles used. This began the process of Christ’s exaltation, anticipated the resurrection, and the ascension of God’s son.
The manner of Christ burial means that the Father will not leave us in suffering, misery, and sorrow. Like our Lord, we must be exalted as well. Chris Lemons worked in the North Sea repairing oil rig structures. In September 2012, Chris was performing a routine repair about 91 meters down when a computer malfunctioned. The ship, to which he was tethered, suddenly began moving and dragging him. Eventually, the umbilical cable which provides divers with oxygen, heat, and light, snapped. Soon after, Chris fell down to the sea bed 300 feet below in absolute darkness convinced the seabed would be his watery grave. Chris would have been lost if his team members hadn’t acted quickly. Through a near superhuman effort, they located him in the dark abyss and dove down to retrieve him bringing him up to safety. Jesus’ burial is like that. In his death and burial, Jesus dove to the very depth of our calamity to rescue us. But the manner of his burial means he has already begun lifting us to safety.
Though we suffer on this side for a little while, suffering and sorrow won’t last always, they cannot. They must give way to the glory of God’s kingdom and the reign of his son. As we are being sanctified, we and this world are being filled with more and more with God’s glory. We are being lifted from one degree of grace to the next. So as we look out in our world today, we can look with hope. We can look for signs of the exaltation that the Lord is bringing to his people. Being buried with Christ means even while the world treats us as sinners, God treats us as royal sons and daughters. And one day, in the not too distant future, one day on that great “gettin’ up morning,” our great king will personally return to take us to himself and bring to fruition the royal work he has already begun in our lives. May he do it soon. Amen.
Questions for reflection:
Christian confidence is contagious. When you know your sins are forgiven because Christ was buried, i.e. he really died, you can encourage others in their faith. What two believers do you plan to encourage in their faith this week? What day and time do you plan to reach out to them with an encouraging phone call, email, or letter?
Christian confidence helps us to serve others. How will you serve others this week?
Christian confidence helps us to resist sin. Since we have been buried with Christ, we have the confidence and gratitude to live a transformed life. List two sinful patterns that you are going to resist this week.