A Blossom Bible Podcast
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A Blossom Bible Podcast
Mark 15:38-47
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Have you ever wondered what happened in those three days between the cross and the resurrection? Mark's gospel provides a fascinating glimpse into this often-overlooked period, revealing unexpected heroes and profound theological truths.
The moment Jesus breathed His last, the massive temple veil tore from top to bottom—a divine statement that access to God's presence was now available to all. No more barriers, no more distance. While the male disciples had scattered in fear, faithful women including Mary Magdalene stayed to witness both Jesus' death and where His body was laid, becoming essential witnesses for the resurrection story to follow.
Perhaps most remarkable is Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy member of the very council that condemned Jesus. Taking an enormous risk that jeopardized his social standing and possibly his life, Joseph approached Pilate to request Jesus' body, providing his own expensive tomb for burial. This seemingly simple act of devotion fulfilled ancient prophecies that the Messiah would make "his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death" (Isaiah 53:9).
Meanwhile, Jesus' enemies inadvertently strengthened the resurrection account by demanding guards and an official seal for the tomb. Their attempt to prevent what they called a "deception" made it impossible for disciples to have stolen the body, creating perfect evidence that resurrection truly happened. This reveals a profound truth about God's sovereignty: nothing can sabotage His divine plan. Whether through willing obedience or hostile opposition, God's purposes are accomplished.
The message for us today? A simple heart to honor God, like Joseph demonstrated, can accomplish far more than we realize. You don't have to overthink God's will—often it's right in front of you in the simple acts of obedience and honor. What might God do through your life when you simply wake each day with the desire to honor Him?
Mark, chapter 15, verse 38, should be where we start, and we are just going to jump right in on how about that? Notice verse 38. Let's read our passage for today and then we'll talk about it. Then the veil in the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom, and when the centurion who stood opposite him saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said truly, this man was the son of God. There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, Celeste and Joseph and Solomon, who also followed him and ministered to him when he was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem, Verse 42,.
Speaker 1:Now, when evening had come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God coming and taking courage, went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate marveled that he was already dead and, summoning the centurion, he asked him if he had been dead for some time. So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. Then he brought fine linen, took him down, wrapped him in the linen and he laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb and Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joseph, observed where Jesus was laid. So there's our passage for today, and it's a little bit of a mean one. I really was tempted just to kind of read it and move on to the resurrection. Last week we saw Jesus breathed his last. He died on the cross for our sins and it is finished. The debt was paid in full and I just want to get to the resurrection. I mean that's where it's at right. You know you have the cross and you go to the resurrection. I mean that's where it's at right. You know you have the cross and you go to the resurrection and you see the victory and you're yay.
Speaker 1:But here Mark seemed to have a reason to give us a little bit of a meanwhile. A little bit of a meanwhile, as Jesus was dead. These are the things that went on in that in-between time. So Jesus we see in verse 37, breathed his last and, as with anyone who breathes their last, Jesus' spirit left his body. That's what we call death and this is just a common thing for all people when your spirit leaves your body, there's no one there. It is just an empty shell. Now, the Hebrew tradition was that your spirit lingered for three days, just kind of hovered around to see what might happen, and then, after three days, death was a certain thing. That was their tradition, and so, during this time, it is meaningful for that reason, but also others. It's important for us to realize, though, that this is actually how death works, Not that the spirit hovers around, but that when your spirit leaves the body, there's no one there.
Speaker 1:Let me just get to Scripture here. 2 Corinthians 5.8, important verse 2 Corinthians 5.8. Paul says this to the people in Corinth I'd rather be absent from this body and present with the Lord. That's an important thing for us to realize that, when we die, we go right to be with Jesus, we go right to the Lord. There's no in-between, there's no hovering around or any of that. We're right with the Lord. There's no in-between, there's no hovering around or any of that. We're right with the Lord. That's a great hope, that's a wonderful thing that none of us should be scared of. To be with the Lord a far better thing. But here Jesus, he, that's a little more questionable.
Speaker 1:Where was Jesus during this time? 1 Peter 3.18,. You can read it later. 1 Peter 3, starting in verse 18, Peter says this for Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust that he might. Now this is the interesting part Verse 19. When once the divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight, souls were saved through water. So here Peter gives us kind of a you know, does it help us? I don't know if it helps us. It's kind of an interesting background. What happened to Jesus after he died on the cross? Well, Peter here gives us this idea that he went and preached to spirits in prison. Now, listen, this is all we have on this. There's a little more maybe in Ephesians 4.9. That says that he went to the lower parts of the earth, but other than that we really don't have any information.
Speaker 1:What happened, what Jesus was doing during these three days. And it's an interesting passage but honestly probably brings a little more confusion than anything else. The best we can do is feel that Jesus went to paradise, this place of the righteous dead. In the parable. There, in Luke 16, rich man and Lazarus. We see this little glimpse of paradise, as Lazarus is there with Abraham and you can read about that. But it seems that that's where Jesus went because of what he told our friend the thief just a few moments before this Today you will be with me in paradise. So he wasn't lying. He was going to paradise, this place of the righteous dead. But what he did there we really can't quite pinpoint. He preached perhaps, maybe something like this Guys, it's done, it's done, Salvation has been won, Forgiveness is taken care of. The good news he preached to those who are waiting. But what can we build off of that? Not much more than that, what Jesus was doing. But here Mark gives us a little bit of what was going on here on earth after Jesus died, and that's what we're looking at today. Mark gives us really just some stuff that happened on Friday.
Speaker 1:But what happened during those three days and three nights as Jesus was in the tomb, three nights as Jesus was in the tomb? Notice? Well, the disciples. We should think about them for a second. What are the disciples up to? Well, they've left us there in the garden. You remember when Jesus was taken?
Speaker 1:Most of them were scattered. Strike the shepherd and the sheep would be scattered. Most of them were scattered in fear. They went and hid in Jerusalem. That's really where we find them after. Jesus rises from the dead is hiding in the room. They're scared to death, they're probably a little discouraged, but they're not here, Aside from Peter, who stuck around a little longer to deny Jesus, aside from Peter, who stuck around a little longer to deny Jesus, and John, who was there at the cross and was told by Jesus to take care of Mary, Jesus' mother. Those are the only disciples that we have anything about. Otherwise they're scattered.
Speaker 1:Notice, though, what happens in verse 38. Let's just go through these things. Verse 38, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Now, the veil was a thick curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the holy place. The Holy of Holies was where the ark was that box that contained, at times, the actual presence of God. Only the high priest, you know, once a year into that, and he was probably freaked out when he would go into the Holy of Holies there on the Day of Atonement. It was a fearful thing to go into the presence of God. Well, there was this curtain, this veil, that separated that holy place, from the holy of holies, when Jesus died.
Speaker 1:We're told here that that veil was torn from top to bottom, just ripped in half top to bottom, because it was God that was doing it, not us. Right, and really to say come on in, the way has been made clear. There's no need for another sacrifice, there's no need for another priest, it's open and as the author to the Hebrews tells us, then we can come boldly before the throne of grace. Jesus opened the way for us there. Beautiful thing that we're told that the veil was torn from top to bottom. We can go in with all of our concerns, right there into the presence of God.
Speaker 1:Now notice who else is there in verse 38. There's a centurion who stood opposite of Jesus and when he cried out, breathed his last, he said truly, this man is the son of God. A centurion, he saw a lot of things in those moments. We're told in other places. There was an earthquake that shook the whole town, that there was darkness We've read about that. There was all sorts of stuff that went on. And this centurion looks up as he breathes his last. He cries out, it is finished. He says this was the Son of God. A little picture of things to come there in the Gentile world. Now notice, though, who else is there. It's some women in verse 40 and 41. A group of really brave women.
Speaker 1:Mary, who was, we see here, from Magdala? We read in another place that she had seven demons cast out of her under Jesus' ministry. So God had done some great things in her life, and she was there to see the cross. Mary, the mother of James and Joseph Now, we're not 100% sure who this is, but Jesus actually had half-brothers named James, who became a leader in the early church, and Joseph's. So perhaps and we know she was there this is Mary the mother of Jesus. And then there's also Salome here, Some ladies that followed him from Galilee. Now notice, they're there for a reason as well. We see in verse 47 that Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joseph observed where Jesus was laid. So this is important for future events when Jesus rises from the dead. There was no confusion as to where he was laid because these two Marys, they knew the spot, they saw the spot, we're told. Very important.
Speaker 1:Then we read in verse 42 of a man named, not in 42, but 43, but a man named Joseph. He was from Arimathea. Arimathea, possibly, a place known as Ramah, where the prophet Samuel came from. It's in the modern West Bank territory, Lots of stuff going on there. But Joseph was from there and we read here in verse 43 that he was a prominent council member. In verse 43, that he was a prominent council member, he was a member of the Sanhedrin, that group of Jews that just a few moments before this petitioned Pilate to crucify Jesus. He was part of that ruling council. So he was a very powerful guy. We're told in other places that he was actually rich. In fact, let's turn to Matthew 27, verse 57. Matthew 27, verse 57. And we'll probably stay here even for the rest of our time Little different details here.
Speaker 1:Matthew 27, 57. We read this Now. An evening had come. There came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him and Joseph had taken the body. He wrapped it in clean linen cloth and laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn out of the rock. He rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb and departed. So here we read this idea that Joseph, a rather wealthy guy.
Speaker 1:He comes and asks for the body of Jesus. His intent is to put it in his own tomb a fancy tomb, Now. He obviously had it commissioned there in Jerusalem, where the resurrection was supposed to start. So a lot of people would have tombs in Jerusalem because, man, if the resurrection starts there, that's where I want to be. And Joseph had his own tomb ready to go. It was carved out of a rock. That's a big deal to carve a tomb out of a rock. Fancy schmancy, right. And notice he comes to Pilate. That took some guts as a member of the council. He was putting all of his status on the line there to do this to go to Pilate and ask for the body. Consider, though, the importance of what Joseph was doing. We don't read much about him, but consider the importance of what Joseph did. The first thing was he wanted to honor Jesus.
Speaker 1:If Joseph hadn't asked for Jesus' body, what would have happened to the body? Now, this is a little gruesome, but it's part of the story. As a criminal crucified for a crime, he might have been left on that cross for days. Rome knew how to make a point. Days Rome knew how to make a point, and all of that to say look, don't mess with Rome, or else we crucify you and we leave you there. And Rome would do that from time to time. If they were feeling kind, though, they would take the body of the criminal and they would take it to the city dump, a place known as Gehenna, there to the east in the valley of Jerusalem, and they would take the body to the dump where there was a continual fire burning, a fire that never stopped, and there they would burn the body if they were feeling kind. So if Joseph hadn't have come and asked for the body of Jesus, he might have been left out, exposed to the elements, or he might have been taken to the dump and burned. But Joseph there, really, as a courtesy, wants to honor Jesus by giving him a proper burial. But there's more than that.
Speaker 1:Joseph was fulfilling prophecy In Acts, chapter 2, Peter points this out. It's from Psalm 16, verse 10. Peter says about Jesus that God would not allow his Holy One to see corruption, that Jesus' body would not see corruption. That was prophesied in Psalm 16, verse 10. But also Isaiah 53, we've talked a lot about it lately so distinct when it comes to the cross, Isaiah 53, that modern Jews will not read the chapter Isaiah 53. But in Isaiah 53, verse 9, it says this and they made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich at his death. So prophesied about the Messiah. He made his grave with the wicked, he was crucified and he died between two thieves wicked people. He died amongst them, but with the rich at his death. Now Joseph comes in and he fulfills this. He's a rich guy, he's got a smancy tomb and he puts Jesus in his own tomb to fulfill what Isaiah said so many hundreds of years beforehand. So it seems just like what's on his heart, but in this he's really doing the will of God. We have to admit he's doing exactly what God wanted him to do.
Speaker 1:Now pause for a second and let's just think about this. How do you know what the will of God is? That's a daily question for each one of us. I can look around and I can go. You guys are all wondering what God's will is for your life right now. I'm sure of it. How do you do it? Well, pray about it, Know what he says in his word, for sure, but there's a part of it that really just comes to doing what's on your heart. Now pause for a second there.
Speaker 1:Our hearts are pretty wicked. Jeremiah lets us know that the heart is deceitfully wicked above all things. Who can know it? So doing what's on your heart can sometimes go wrong, in the sense of we do a lot of evil things. I just was following my heart. You're like, yeah, your wicked ugly heart. But in so many ways God also gives us a heart for other things. There are times in your life where you just God, I want to do what you want me to do, I want to go where you want me to go, and your heart is just drawn to something it's not sinful. You've looked at the word right, you know it's not sinful. It's not something he's been telling you not to do, but you just go.
Speaker 1:This is what's on my heart, Like Joseph, right? Did Joseph understand why he was doing what he was doing? Probably not. He just said I'm a disciple of this man, I'm a disciple of Jesus. I can't let him just his body sit out to rot. I want to give him a burial. I want to honor him like the wonderful person that he is, like the righteous person that he is. I want to do this and look at how much of that, though, was exactly what God wanted him to do.
Speaker 1:So so many times we just overthink it. We go, God, I just don't know what you want me to do. I don't know what you want me to do. I don't know what you want me to do, and it takes prayer, and it takes time sometimes, but so many times, it's what's right in front of us, it's what we go, but this is what I want to do, man. I want to help that person, man. I want to go there and tell these people that God loves them, and it's exactly what God wants you to do. We don't have to overthink it. We just step out and do it, and God's big enough to change our direction. If that's not what he wants, Just let him do it. Joseph here. I think it's just so sweet to see Joseph does what's in front of him, he does what's on his heart, and he really does. The will of God. Now look at verse. We're still in Matthew 27. The will of God. Now look at verse. We're still in Matthew 27. And look at verse 62.
Speaker 1:On the next day, which followed the day of preparation, so I guess we'd call this Saturday, right the Sabbath, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate saying Sir, we remember, while he was alive, how that deceiver said After three days I will rise. Therefore, command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away and say to the people he has risen from the dead. So the last deception will be worse than the first. Pilot said to them you have a guard, go your way, make it as secure as you know how. So they might. Made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.
Speaker 1:So here we see another group of people. It's once again the chief priests, the Pharisees, the religious leaders, and they have a concern. They say oh, we remember, Jesus said in three days he would rise again. Now this shoots all of the things that they've been saying for the last couple days. It shoots it down, right, Because one of the things that they were telling Pilate was oh, he said he's going to destroy the temple and build it in three days.
Speaker 1:They knew exactly what he was going to say better than anyone else, right, they knew he was talking about his body and so it was all just a lie, it was all just cover up and they have this fear. They said well, he said he was going to rise in three days. This deceiver. Think about that too. How often we put on other people what we're trying to do. Right, they were really trying to deceive.
Speaker 1:If anything was going to happen, they wanted to deceive people into thinking it wasn't the resurrection for sure. But this deceiver, Jesus the deceiver. He said that he would rise again. Well, we can't let that happen. So check out their heart. It's evil, it's wicked.
Speaker 1:But they say oh, Pilate, we've got to seal this tomb up. But they say oh Pilate, we've got to seal this tomb up. We need a guard to make sure that his disciples don't come and steal the body and say that he rose again. So give us a guard. He says you got a guard, Go make it secure, Put a seal on it. And they did. They put the governor's seal on there. You break this seal, you're dead meat. The guards that they put were under a commission that if anything happened to that tomb, they would have been put to death. That's how it worked in the Roman world. If you messed up on your commission to take care of something, you would pay for it with your life. So look at this, what they're doing, they're making the tomb secure, they're sealing it up so nobody can come and steal it. Not going to happen. This is their heart.
Speaker 1:And I like to just point out even in their wickedness, even in their just deception, they were sort of doing the will of God. Right, you look at this, they were doing the thing a favor. Here we're going to make it as secure. Those disciples won't be able to come and take the body away, which is what they would say later happened. That the disciples came and stole Jesus' body Another lie. But they made it proof that that's not what happened. Jesus' body wasn't stolen by his disciples. They couldn't face off with, you know, these Roman guards and tear open that seal and push open that rock. They couldn't do that. Jesus couldn't have, you know, just passed out, as some say, the swoon theory and pushed that rock aside and fought off those Roman guards and gone off into the wilderness. There's only one explanation for what happened Jesus really did rise from the dead. Set up by these chief priests who say give us a guard, put a seal. They're making it so sure that what actually happened was that Jesus rose from the dead.
Speaker 1:Now that's not the way you want to do the will of God in wickedness. But I do think it's a great comfort to know there is no way to sabotage the will of God Now. Sin, just living a life of wickedness, is going to cause us hurt for sure. But you cannot sabotage the will of God, no more, especially if your desire is to do what God wants you to do. God, I want to do, I just don't know what it is. I want to do what you want me to do. Step forward and see what happens. You cannot undo the will of God. It's impossible. And so here we see that we take great comfort in that. I love you. Just see, in this whole thing I'm going to land on Joseph.
Speaker 1:A simple heart to honor God, and yet his life says so much. I mean, he had it all. He was a ruler there and he put it all on the line for Jesus. No big deal, I'll do it. He honored God with his actions and fulfilled amazing prophecy. He secured a way for Jesus' body not to see corruption and to be risen again. He was part of the process.
Speaker 1:Just a simple heart to honor God, and I really think that that's a great place to come in this meanwhile, here for this week, is just honor God with the things that you do, the things that you say. Honor God. God, I'm waking up today and I just want to do what you want me to do. I want to be where you want me to be. I want to have a good attitude. God, I'm waking up today and I just want to do what you want me to do. I want to be where you want me to be. I want to have a good attitude. Oh goodness, I want to have a good attitude and see what God might do.
Speaker 1:It doesn't take much. Just see what God may do. So, God, help us. We have the ability. I have the ability to mess things up and misrepresent you all the time. That's not what you want, but, God, so much you want to do through our lives and in our lives as we just simply have a heart to honor you. You know, I just pray from this moment, every moment this week, we would just want to honor you. I just pray from this moment, every moment this week, we would just want to honor you again with our words and our actions and even the secret things of our heart. God, help us to honor you.