Where Did He Go?
#155 in Series: "The Life of Christ – in a Harmony of The Gospels"
Scripture References: Matthew 27:51-66, Mark 15:38-47, Luke 23:47-56, John 19:31-42
We are studying the life and ministry of Jesus, as outlined in the four gospels of the New Testament. And we are right in the middle of the crucifixion experience of our Lord.
We sought to consider His crucifixion from man's point of view, and then from God's… Man thought he was defeating Jesus by execution – but God intended the cross for the purpose of redemption! Jesus' death was actually the sacrifice of the very Lamb of God, given to take away our sin! He paid the price for the redemption of His people!
We left off last time, with the very last breath of Jesus… Let's pick up the narrative from there, and think about what Scripture tells us that happened between that moment and … His resurrection on Sunday morning!
All four gospel writers give us some detail about what happened after Jesus breathed His last…
First, we want to simply explore the balance of the narrative of the crucifixion of Jesus; what happened, immediately after Jesus died – what happened to His body – what did others around the event say and do... And then we will spend some time thinking about where Jesus went … between His death, and His resurrection…
There are a lot of details that certainly deserve our attention before we move beyond the cross… Let's begin by considering –
1. An Undeniable Confirmation
That is – we are going to see an undeniable confirmation that Jesus is dead… John specifically tells us about this, so look with me to –
John 19:31
Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
Stop there for a moment… We are told that these events, the crucifixion of Jesus, took place on "the day of preparation"... The weekly Sabbath always begins at sunset on Friday… The day leading up to Sabbath is a "day of preparation"... It is interesting to note that the Jewish leaders are more concerned by ceremonial preparation, than they are about their sinful manipulation to bring about the crucifixion of Jesus!
We are also told, in this verse, that this particular Sabbath is a "high Sabbath"... What's that all about?
A "high Sabbath" occurs when one of the seven annual feast days occur at the same time of the weekly Sabbath… Specifically, the first and last day of Passover are considered "high Sabbath" days… The Jewish calendar is different from ours, and so there are discrepancies between them each year… On this particular year, the "high Sabbath" associated with Passover is coincides with the weekly Sabbath, so it is especially important to the Jews to make sure everything is … kosher!... This included not allowing a body to remain on the cross during Sabbath…
The Romans would often "accomodate" the Jews request to "break the legs" of those on the cross to hasten their deaths before Sabbath begins… It may have simply been a political motivation on the Roman's part – it was certainly a religious motivation on the Jews part – but … what happens next is to show God's predetermined motivation… Follow closely –
John 19:32-37
32 So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; 33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. 36 For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, "Not a bone of Him shall be broken." 37 And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."
The specific actions – and non-actions – that are described here, are in perfect harmony with, and the specific fulfillment of … divine prophecy! God said these things would occur, and they did – thus giving further evidence that what occurred on Calvary is a part of God's plan in the giving of His Son!
John was an eyewitness to these events, and he gives evidence to the … undeniable confirmation that Jesus is in fact … dead!
(It boggles my mind as to why the Muslims are bent on denying that Jesus died on the cross… If one can deny facts, they can justify, in the minds anyway, the rejection of the truth… Jesus IS Who He claimed to be, and even in the providential details of His death – prove it to be so!)
What comes next in the narrative is what we will call –
2. A Divine Affirmation
Let's turn to Matthew's report for this one –
Matthew 27:51
And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; [Mark records the same detail, that the veil in the temple was torn from "top to bottom" Mark 15:38] and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
We should ask; "Why was the veil torn … from top to bottom?"... You might think it is obvious, and we really don't need to … "connect the dots" – but we shouldn't miss this…
Let me let D.A. Carson speak to this. His words are succinct and helpful to see the significance –
D. A. Carson – "If the death of Jesus opened up a fresh access to God that made the OT sacrificial system and the Levitical high priesthood obsolete, then an entire change in the Mosaic covenant must follow. It is impossible to grapple with Matthew's fulfillment themes and see how even the law points prophetically to Messiah and hear Jesus' promise of a new covenant grounded in his death (26:26–29) without seeing that the tearing of the veil signifies the obsolescence of the temple ritual and the law governing it. Jesus himself is the New Temple, the meeting place of God and man; the old is obsolete. The rent veil does indeed serve as a sign of the temple's impending destruction—a destruction conceived not as a brute fact but as a theological necessity."
So, the torn veil is a divine affirmation on these events… but what about what follows? Let's look at that –
Matthew 27:52-53
52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
This is both … interesting and confounding… Matthew is the only one who tells us about this.
If we read this carefully, we see that "tombs were opened" as a result of the earthquake God sent – and they opened at the same time that the "veil was torn"...
But, verse :53 says that those who were "raised" were "coming out of the tombs … AFTER Jesus' resurrection, and then they entered the holy city and appeared to many"!
There is a lot of ink spent by various commentators speculating about this event and the timeline… I can only conclude that these were "resuscitated" individuals who would have, like Lazarus, would have died again – and that these individuals would have been known by many in Jerusalem when the went into the city… This too served as a divine affirmation that God was in control of these events!
Next comes –
3. An Interesting Declaration
Let's stay with Matthew's report here –
Matthew 27:54-66
54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
Luke adds an interesting detail to this centurion's declaration –
Luke 23:47
Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, "Certainly this man was innocent."
Luke says the centurion makes this statement as an expression of praise to God!... It may well be that we will see this centurion in heaven. He may well have come to faith in Jesus, just after participating in the crucifixion of Jesus!
Luke also tells us that –
Luke 23:48
And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts.
This is a more important gesture than perhaps we realize… The practice of "beating one's breast" was not an everyday experience… In that culture, it was done as a significant expression of a deep emotion – specifically, the emotion of … contrition, remorse, or even mourning…
Do you remember the parable Jesus told that is recorded in Luke 18?...
Jesus told of a Pharisee and a Publican – a respected religious leader, and a loathed politician… They both went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee went up front and began to … brag to the Lord about what he was all about, and about what he did…
The publican, on the other hand, would not go up front. In fact, let's read about him –
Luke 18:13-14
13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."
The "beating of the breast" was a gesture saying; Herein lies the problem! He is expressing contrition, if not brokenness over his … sinfulness!
So, what about what these people were doing after Jesus died?... Why might they be … beating their chest?... This is a detail stated by Matthew, but not elaborated upon – perhaps because there was no need to explain it…
The question for us to consider is;... What would bring about such … contrition, in us?... It should be a sense of brokenness in our sinfulness toward the Lord…
Incidentally, Matthew and Luke tell us about the women who continued to follow these events rather closely –
Matthew 27:55-56
55 Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him. 56 Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Mark 15:40-41
40 There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome. 41 When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and minister to Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.
At this point, this is all we are told about these women. They were … present! Most of the disciples had scattered, but these women were present… They too have been followers of Jesus, faithful in their service unto Him, and though following at a distance now, they were … present!
Being present then … took courage, boldness, and revealed their compassion for Jesus!... Without words, this says a lot about their love for the Lord…
This leads us to consider someone else's great gesture of compassion toward our Lord – in fact, we'll call it –
4. A Compassionate Demonstration
Let's focus on Matthew's report –
Matthew 27:57-61
57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, [Mark (Mark 15:43), and Luke (Luke 23:50) both tell us that Joseph was "member of the Council" – and Mark specifically says that Joseph was "a prominent member"... And get this, Joseph was NOT a party to the council's majority decision to have Jesus crucified! Luke specifically said; "(he had not consented to their plan and action)..." (Luke 23:51) … Matthew goes on to say] who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. [Again, a detail Mark gives here is important (Mark 15:44)… Before Pilate released the body to Joseph, he asked a centurion if in fact Jesus was already dead! Only after being assured by the soldier that He was, did Pilate turn Jesus' body over to Joseph…] 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. [Now get this…] 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.
Luke specifically says that these women followed along in order to see –
Luke 23:55-56a
55 Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes…
When Joseph was given permission to take Jesus' body… there was more to this than Matthew tells us… Listen to John's report at this point –
John 19:38-42
38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. 39 Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
All of these actions – Joseph requesting the body of Jesus – he and Nicodemus preparing it for burial – placing Him in Joseph's own tomb – the women following along, making plans to return with spices… All of these things were … demonstrations of compassion toward our Lord!
Now, there is another detail in the narrative that captures our attention… Let's call it –
5. An Obstinate Determination
By obstinate, I mean … the willful, stubborn, wholly-committed defiance of the Jewish leadership… They are bent on eliminating / "canceling" Jesus in every detail…
Again, Matthew gives us this detail –
Matthew 27:62-66
62 Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, 63 and said, "Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I am to rise again.' 64 Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last deception will be worse than the first." 65 Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how." 66 And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.
I find it interesting that some of what Jesus said was listened to, understood, and remembered by those religious leaders who were determined to see Jesus eliminated!... Here, they are wanting to use Jesus' words against Him… They heard Jesus speak of His death and resurrection, and that He would rise in three days!...
Notice however, they only focus on what Jesus said about His resurrection – they … conveniently ignored how Jesus would die, and for what what purpose… They are willfully blind…
Those who called Jesus – He Who is Truth – a deceiver… they only reveal that they were the ones who were deceived, and they were determined to … remain in it!
They weren't interested in the truth – they were only interested in … "countering" the truth!...
By the way… this willful blindness – this obstinate defiance against truth – is the way of those who are dead and deceived in their sin today! Just as Jesus said that famous night to Nicodemus – those who hate Jesus / hate truth / hate light … is because they love their sin / love the darkness and deception that comes from their sin! Write this passage down –
John 3:19-20
19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
Now… there is one more thing that we need to cover, and there isn't much time to do so… It has to do with the very title to this message. Where did He go?... Where did Jesus go, between the time of His death, and the instant of His resurrection?...
This is –
6. A Difficult Interpretation
Now… the immediate answer is really not difficult. Do you remember what the … believing thief asked the Lord before they died?... Let's remind ourselves –
Luke 23:42
And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!"
What was Jesus' answer?
Luke 23:43
And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."
So part of the answer is – Jesus, along with this thief, went to "Paradise"!... Where is that?... I think the same narrative gives us the answer… Listen again to what Jesus said as He died –
Luke 23:46
And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit." Having said this, He breathed His last.
Jesus committed Himself to the Father, and left His body… and went to Paradise! Paradise is not merely the place of the dead – it is a place of blessing! It is heaven – where the Father is! So, for a period of time, Jesus, perhaps escorting the thief, simply goes to Paradise!
But, there is more to the answer to the question; where did He go?... Where did Jesus go after He died, and before His resurrection?...
When people have searched the Scriptures to find the answer to this question, they inevitably come to a passage written by the Apostle Peter…
Let's camp out for a few moments in 1 Peter 3, and in order to stay in context, let's begin with verse :18 –
1 Peter 3:18-20
18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
We only have a few moments, so let's think through this quickly…
Verse :18 is the profound, succinct statement about the very purpose of the cross of Jesus!
1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
- The purpose of His death – was to die "for sins" – the sins of those for whom He died!
- It was a "once for all" – not to be an ongoing, repeated death! (This proves that our Catholic friends get this wrong! Jesus is not to be re-crucified every week – as they claim with the eucharist…)
- Jesus Himself is … perfect and pure! He is the "the just"!
- His death was a substitutionary / vicarious death – "the just for the unjust"!
- He is the One Who brings us to God! He is the way to God!... He death was "so that He might bring us to God"!
- And Peter writes from hindsight and says Jesus didn't stay dead – "having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit" – Jesus rose from the death!
But, Peter goes on and says something about Jesus – between His death and resurrection!
1 Peter 3:19
in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,
Now I refer to this part of the message as a difficult interpretation, because there are different schools of thought when it comes to this passage…
The question has to do with … where did Jesus go to "proclaim to the spirits" – and when?... And just who are these "spirits now in prison" to begin with?...
Verse :20 tells us something about these "spirits" that is important to understand before we go much further…
1 Peter 3:20
who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
There are those who believe that the "spirits", who were "disobedient" are simply those people who died in their rebellion during the universal flood in Noah's day… If that is an accurate interpretation, then there is a big question that must be answered; "What would Jesus say to them?"... One thing is for certain, He wasn't offering any second chance to repent!... Despite the teaching of the cults, there is nowhere in Scripture that speaks of any "second chances" after death. In fact, write this reference down –
Hebrews 9:27
And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
Another question has to do with when; When did Jesus actually preach this sermon?... There are those who argue that this passage isn't speaking at all about what Jesus did between His death and resurrection at all – but what He did in the spiritual realm in Noah's day – "preaching through Noah", if you will,... Those who hold to this view, with some variation, are: Augustine, Scofield, Ryrie, the Puritan John Owen, Wayne Grudem, J. Vernon McGee, and many Reformed brothers, including John Piper.
I don't want to sound arrogant or disrespectful. These brothers, and others who agree with them, are strong and faithful teachers of God's Word. But, I believe we can dismiss the argument that when Jesus went to preach to these "spirits", that He was talking to people at all!... After all, the text says spirits – not souls!
Rather, I am in the camp that is occupied by "many of the 'early church fathers', Henry Morris, John Macarthur, … Kay Arthur … Warren Wiersbe, … Howard Marshall … Kenneth Wuest (and others)".
That view is summed up by MacArthur, in the notes found in his study Bible on this passage… This is not in your notes, but you can easily look it up –
John MacArthur – "Between Christ's death and resurrection, his living spirit went to the demon spirits bound in the abyss and proclaimed that, in spite of his death, he had triumphed over them…
(he went on to explain that) the abyss is inhabited by bound demons who have been there since the time of Noah, and who were sent there because they severely overstepped the bounds of God's tolerance with their wickedness. The demons in Noah's day were running riot through the earth, filling the world with their wicked, vile, anti-God activity; including sexual sin, so that even 120 years of Noah's preaching, while the ark was being built, could not convince any of the human race beyond the eight people in Noah's family to believe in God…"
In short, when the demonic world was throwing a party, celebrating the death of Jesus – Jesus shows up and spoils it! He has a message for them!... In short it is – You lost!...
Now… I need to make a statement about … difficult passages… They are in the Bible! As one grows in their maturity in the Lord, they may come to better understand a passage, but – this side of heaven – we are all going to struggle in our attempt to "accurately handle" God's Word…
2 Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
Because of the marring of sin, we all have … bad vision when it come to clearing seeing what God has revealed in His Word… Some things are barely addressed, and we need to be careful about becoming too dogmatic about things we don't fully understand… I heard John MacArthur say in an interview once – that we all – including him – have "blind spots" in our theology. If we understood where those blind spots are, we can correct them – but until one gets to heaven, they are always going to grapple understanding clearly what God's does say, much less struggle with matters barely mentioned in His Word…
So, what can we … confidently take away from our study today?
- Jesus is God's Son, Who came from heaven, became a man, lived a perfect, sinless life, and fulfilled all of the Father's will in His coming!
- He perfectly fulfilled all the Law of the Old Testament, and has paid-in-full the price for … justice against sin!... He did so by dying on the cross – the perfect Lamb of God – "died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).
- Jesus is the Victor! He has conquered sin! He has conquered all the powers of darkness! And, as we will see next week – He has conquered death itself, and brings life / eternal, new, and victorious life – to all who repent and turn to Him!
- He is worthy! He is worthy of all praise, honor, and glory! He is worthy … and expects that the lives of those He has redeemed, will be faithful unto Him in all things pertaining to this life, and for all eternity!...
Questions to Consider in Community Group:
- What detail, or details, in the balance of the narrative of the cross of Jesus, challenged or encouraged you the most? (the darkness, the torn veil, the earthquake, resurrected/resuscitated lives, etc.)
- What can we say about:
- Joseph of Arimathia,
- Nicodemus,
- The women,
- The Jews desire to have a guard placed at the tomb,
- the comment from the Roman soldier, etc…
- Where did Jesus go between the time of His death, and His resurrection?
- How can we be confident that we accurately understand matters mentioned in the Bible, but does not have a lot of explanation from the Bible?
- What should our attitude be toward those who also desire biblical fidelity, but with whom we may disagree?
- What "blind spots" have you had in your theology, but believe have been corrected? (What "changed your mind"?)
- What does it mean for a Christian to remain "teachable"?
