Preparation Day Luke 23:50-56

ashes where there was a flame truth is that you're

not forgotten because christ knows your name

Until you're standing in the dark And there's

a shake that's growing Jews, the preparation

day was the day where some things got taken care

of so that the next day could be focusing on

God. I do think that's sometimes what we sort

of forget to do. So Sundays are our day to focus

on God, and we forget that Saturday is the day

to get some things knocked out to focus on God.

For me, my day, I work a lot of times all day

on Sunday, and so I take Wednesday 6 p .m. to

Thursday 6 p .m., and I have had this experience

poignantly. where 5 .30 p .m. on a Wednesday,

I am rushing to get some things knocked out before

6 p .m. on Wednesday. I can stop doing work stuff

and focus on the Lord for that 24 hours. It goes

all the way back to Egypt, where the Lord was

raining, after they came out of Egypt, the Lord

was raining manna down. Manna means, what is

it? So there was some stuff falling from the

sky or appearing on the ground, and they would

collect it up and they would make food out of

it. And because that collecting up was work,

then the day before the Sabbath, they were supposed

to collect up double. If they collected up double

on any other day, it would go bad. It would rot.

It would get bugs in it and that kind of thing.

But on the day before the Sabbath, they were

supposed to collect double, and that way they

wouldn't have to work on the Sabbath. Okay? Go

back to Egypt then, all the way back to Egypt,

when the destroyer angel was going to come through

and kill all the firstborns, they were told to

slaughter a lamb and then to put its blood on

the... beside their door, the doorpost of their

house, and that the angel would not come through

and destroy their firstborn because of the blood

of the lamb that marked their house. So the day

before that, they had to slaughter the lamb and

do all the things they were supposed to do in

order to be prepared for that blood on the post

that would protect them from that death, right?

So the concept of preparation is not really not

understood by us. Let's say you have a job interview

tomorrow at 8 a .m. You're probably going to

do some things today to be prepared for that.

Let's say you're taking the SAT in the morning

tomorrow at 8 a .m. You're probably going to

do some things today to be prepared for that.

Go to bed at a decent time, eat right, drink

plenty of water, things like that. Make sure

you get up a little early, that kind of thing.

So the concept of being prepared is not foreign

to us, but for some reason we don't think to

apply it to the moment when we're going to put

our total focus on the Lord. And we should. And

that's a concept that they understood. So Jesus

is about to be crucified. And he is the lamb.

We'll come back to that later. But he is the

perfect sacrifice. And preparations needed to

be made for that. They did have the instigation

of the Lord's Supper, as we celebrate it now,

was done before he was arrested. They did have

a Passover meal. And it may have been the Passover

meal or it may have been just part of the festival

of that week. We don't know for sure. So what

we don't know for sure historically is whether

Jesus was crucified on the preparation day or

not. But whether he was crucified on the preparation

day, which is the day that all the lambs were

slain, right? Or whether he was done crucified

during the Passover. Either way, it's clear that

he was the lamb and that his sacrifice was the

preparation for our salvation. Grab your Bibles

if you would. We're going to just look at a very

short section of verses today as we lead up to

the resurrection Sunday. And this is sort of

resurrection Sunday today, but you'll understand

this meaning a little bit later when I mention

it. But next Sunday is a high resurrection day.

Okay, you'll get that term in a minute. So grab

your Bibles if you would. Give me a who to holler

amen as we go to Luke chapter 23. Thank you for

Luke 23 · chapter mention

being with me today. This is God's Word. We are

focused on Him as we are focused on it. Luke

Luke 23 · chapter mention

chapter 23, beginning in verse 50. I'll be reading

from the New American Standard Version. It is

just six verses, seven verses, sorry, 50 through

56. It says, And behold, a man named Joseph,

who was a member of the council, a good and righteous

man. And that's the whole of verse 50. So Joseph

is called a member of the council, so we know

that means, and we know historically it's supported

that he was a member of the Sanhedrin. Now the

Sanhedrin were the people who voted to crucify

Jesus. They were the leaders of the Jews. They

were composed primarily of Pharisees and Sadducees.

And so they would come together and they would

decide all the governmental matters of the Jews.

And they collectively voted to crucify Jesus.

Now the trial was a farce. It was an illegal

trial. It happened overnight and they were not

allowed to have trials when the son was down.

So that made it an illegal trial. They also enlisted

Herod and Pilate and people like that to have

an additional trial because they couldn't technically

crucify him and all of that was done illegally.

They trumped up witnesses against him to try

to get them to agree on two things that they

had seen him do that was sin and they couldn't

find any two is the bottom line. And then ultimately

he admitted that he was God in the flesh using

some symbolism, but he admitted that he was God

in the flesh, and that is what they said they

would crucify him for. But when they took him

before the Roman government, that was not the

accusation. It was that he stirred up trouble

and claimed to be the king of the Jews, contrary

to Caesar being king. So that was what he was

crucified for as far as the Romans were concerned.

So Joseph was a man who was a member of the council.

Notice it says that he was a good and righteous

man. It means he did things right. Now, I submit

to you that if he's a member of the council,

right away, if you haven't read any further,

and he voted to crucify Jesus, that would not

be a right thing. Because Jesus was an innocent

man. So you notice then it goes on in the next

verse, and it says, and it's parenthetical, which

means it has a left parenthesis in my Bible,

verse 51. It says, he had not consented to their

plan and action. A man from Arimathea, a city

of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom

of God. We now know that he was a believer and

that he did not take part in the vote or if he

voted, he voted against. They didn't have to

have a unanimous vote to crucify or to send him

to the Roman government to be crucified. So he

might have been there and voted against. We don't

know for sure. Or he might not have voted at

all. He might not have been present. Since it

was an illegal trial and he was a good and righteous

man, I'm going to say that most logically he

probably wasn't there. Right? Because he knew

it was an illegal trial. A good and righteous

man would not be there and participate in the

Sanhedrin overnight when he knows that that's

an illegal trial. So that makes sense to me.

But notice that that parenthetical statement

has a purpose. Because if Joseph was a good and

righteous man and participated in what was going

on, that's a contradiction. Right? even though

he had a duty to participate in the Sanhedrin,

even though he had a duty to show up for their

processes and things like that, if he participated

in that and crucified a righteous man, an innocent

man in Jesus, then that would be a contradiction.

So just hold on to that thought for a moment

and we'll come back to it. We're now in verse

52. This man went to Pilate and asked for the

body of Jesus. So what we now see happening here

is this good and righteous man who did not vote.

either voted against or did not vote in the choice

to crucify Jesus, goes and asks for Jesus' body.

Now this is problematic because whoever comes

and asks for Jesus' body to honor Jesus is putting

themselves in a line of fire. Okay? It could

be a disciple of Jesus. We already know that

the Jews made the argument that maybe they'll

steal his body. and fake his resurrection, because

he said he would come back to life, and it was

funny that the Jews recognized that, but he said,

maybe they'll steal his body and fake his resurrection.

So of course they're watching to see who comes

to claim Jesus' body, because if it's a disciple,

then they can deal with him. If it's somebody

that's going to continue to spread the message

of Jesus, then they can deal with him. So Joseph

sticking his neck out like that is significant.

So then we go on to verse 52. He went to Pilate

and asked for the body of Jesus, verse 53, and

he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth.

So he's not really preparing it for burial, but

he's giving it some respect. The linen cloth

is a significant thing. And he laid him in a

tomb cut into the rock where no one had ever

slain. You with me, Kishon? Can you repeat back

that last verse? Okay, I'll say it again. Okay,

here we go. And it was the prep... the preparation

day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. Was

that it? No, it was not, actually. The first

I had just said was, and he took it down and

wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid him in a

tomb cut into the rock where no one had ever

lain. That was the verse that we were on. Okay,

so we're paying attention now. We're all with

me, right? I might call you out. You never know.

Stranger things have happened. All right, the

point is, he's taking care of the body. He puts

him in the tomb. Now, elsewhere in the other,

this account, by the way, is present in all four

Gospels. We're just looking at one. But elsewhere

in the Gospel, we're told that that tomb actually

belonged to Joseph. That means Joseph was a wealthy

man. That means he had a lot to lose. You may

think you've got a lot to lose. He was a wealthy

man. He was also a ruler in the Sanhedrin. So

he was up in the ranks. Right? He had a public

reputation to be preserved. So that makes it

even more dangerous that he came out. And then

he puts the body of Jesus in his own tomb, a

tomb in which no one had ever been laid. This

is a matter of respect what he does here. The

body is not really properly prepared, but it's

a matter of respect. Now 54, and it was the preparation

day and the Sabbath was about to begin. So as

we talked about on the preparation day, there

were certain work that had to be completed before

the next day when their focus would be completely

on God. They couldn't harvest. They couldn't

go buy stuff at the store. They couldn't walk

longer than a certain distance. Now that's not

necessarily laid out in Scripture, but it was

part of their oral tradition. So in order to

follow the rules that the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin

had given them. Now who were they again? The

Pharisees and the Sanhedrin. Their leaders were

the Pharisees and Sadducees formed the Sanhedrin.

So in order to follow the Pharisees and the Sadducees

who were teaching everybody the rules. They had

to follow the rules and could only do so much

on the day before the Sabbath rest. Okay? So

Joseph of Arimathea, who was a good and righteous

man, had to follow the same rules. So if he wanted

to take care of this with Jesus, he couldn't

wait to the Sabbath. He had to do it now in preparation.

He had to take a risk. He had to step out. He

had to risk everything that he had and do it

now. So they go, they take Jesus' body, and they

put it in the tomb on the preparation day. 55.

Now the women who had come with him out of Galilee

followed after. So we've got these ladies. They've

come a long way. They've been following Jesus.

They've walked a lot. They've talked. They've

listened. They've sat at his feet. They understand.

They heard him say he would be crucified, buried,

and resurrected. They were present for the teachings

of Jesus. And they followed Joseph of Arimathea

as he moves his body to the tomb. Which means

now what? So this is a blessing for next Sunday

because it means they know where the tomb is.

They didn't accidentally go to another tomb.

They saw his body be placed in the tomb. The

women who had come with him out of Galilee followed

after and they saw the tomb and how his body

was laid. Then 56. And they returned. So the

women go back and they returned and prepared

spices and perfume. So this is all on the preparation

day. Not the Sabbath. This is work that they

could not have reasonably done on the Sabbath.

Okay? So on the preparation day, they prepared

the spices and the perfumes. And it says, on

the Sabbath, they rested according to the commandment.

Okay? So they followed the rules. Now, the oral

traditions that were added on, things like if

you came to the end of the Sabbath and found

a pin in your garment that you worked all day

and you needed to repent, you were unclean, that's

not biblical. Exactly how many steps you're allowed

to take on the Sabbath day, that's not actually

biblical. You're just told that you're not allowed

to work. You're supposed to honor God on the

Sabbath. The day that you mark out to honor God

needs to be about honoring God. And so anything

additional would have been sin. If they prepared

the spices on the Sabbath, that would have been

sin. You understand? All right. So there's a

number of things to see throughout this text.

And I have them. I tried to order them the best

I could to try to make the most sense for me,

whether it does for you or not. And if only one

of them jumps out at you and makes a life -changing

sense, then we'll be doing really great, okay?

So the first of those is to notice that Jesus

is the true Passover lamb. Regardless of whether

he was slain at the same time as the representative

Passover lambs, which they slew every year during

the Passover, right? We talked about what that

represents. Whether that was done on the preparation

day or not, he was slain for the sins of mankind.

He is the lamb to end all lambs and takes away

the sin of the world. Now, you read this text

that we just read and you're like, I don't necessarily

know that I get that out of the text, right?

You can hear them in these texts. I'm just giving

you snippets here, but you can hear them in these

texts and you can study more on it if you want.

In 1 Peter 3, 18 to 19, it says, with the precious

blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish

and without spot. So this verse, which I just

read a part of it to you, ties directly to the

Passover requirements. Lambs had to be perfect,

had to have no defect. And Jesus fulfills that

as a sinless and pure sacrifice. A final once

and for all sacrifice. In Hebrews 9, 12, and

26, and again I'm just giving you pieces, by

his own blood he entered in once into the holy

place having obtained eternal redemption. He

appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of

himself, it says in 26. So this sacrifice was

not repeated like the Old Testament sacrifices.

There won't be another Jesus coming to sacrifice

himself. It's just one time. And the Old Testament

sacrifices don't need to be repeated anymore

because Jesus took care of it. It's done. One

sacrifice completely sufficient. Then substitution

clearly explains, 2 Corinthians 5 .21 says, for

he, that's Jesus, I'm sorry, that's God, hath

made him, that's Jesus, to be sin for us who

knew no sin. This shows that Jesus was sinless,

yet he takes our place to bear the sins. Christ

is our Passover lamb, 1 Corinthians 5 .7, for

even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

Now that's pretty blunt, isn't it? So we're getting

the idea that Jesus Christ was the once and for

all sacrifice and the Passover lamb. This directly

connects Jesus to Passover. Directly. There's

no question that Jesus is the Passover lamb.

Just like the lamb protected Israel from judgment,

Jesus' sacrifice saves us from God's wrath. Let

me give you one more, in case you're thinking

the end of the story might somehow be different.

Revelation 5 .12. Worthy is the lamb that was

slain. That's the song in heaven. That's the

chant, if you will. Worthy is the lamb that was

slain. Even in eternity and for all time, Jesus

will always be identified as the lamb, the one

slain for redemption. There is no question. It's

a textual proof. I get that. But if you're a

Christian and you're in the room, that should

be easy for you. But even then, realize that

those writers are multiple different people from

multiple different societies, and it's all pulled

together, one theme, Jesus Christ proven to be

the once and for all sacrificial lamb. They were

waiting on that. They were waiting for a sacrificial

lamb that would solve it. I mean, you can't just

keep killing lambs every year forever, right?

That's not good enough. And they also knew that

a month after they killed the lamb, that they

had sinned. We kind of knew that, right? Let

him who has no sin cast the first stone. And

how many Pharisees and high priests were still

standing there after Jesus said that? No, they

all walked away. We all know that we have sin.

Inherently, you know that you've done things

that God would not appreciate, that God would

not send you to do. So, we know what waiting

for the kingdom of God is like. The kingdom of

God is that person, place, and thing in which

God reigns, right? And this is, remember, Joseph

was waiting for the kingdom of God. So we know

what that feels like. If you're here and you're

a Christian, if you accepted Jesus Christ as

your Lord and Savior, you realize like in the

world, things are not going great. Politicians

not making great decisions, local governors,

police, criminals, our family members sometimes,

your brother, your sister, your kids, people

are not making great decisions. I mean, there's

an old saying that says the world's going to

hell in a handbasket. And was there ever a truer

saying? I mean, it's pretty clear that there's

a lot of bad stuff going on in the world. And

yet I am waiting expectantly for the next coming

of Christ at which all that will be done. I think

back to Uncle Tom's Cabin. Uncle Tom's Cabin

was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and Abraham

Lincoln would later call her the woman who started

the Civil War, the little woman who wrote the

book that started the Civil War. And at the end

of that book, Uncle Tom is a slave, and he's

laying on a barge, and he's being shipped down

the river toward the Gulf of Mexico, and he doesn't

believe he'll ever be back. He believes he'll

die there. He's going to a slave master who is

known to kill slaves over time, to work them

to death, literally, and he thinks he won't live.

And he's laying on the barge at the end of that

book, and he's crying. He's weeping. He's bawling

like a baby. He's a big dude, strong, and he's

bawling like a baby. And Harriet Beecher Stowe

writes this. She says, but he's not crying for

himself. He's not crying for being separated

from his family. He'll never see his wife or

kids again because he had a wife and kids who

were also in slavery. He'll never see them again.

He's not crying for the pain that he had suffered.

But he was crying realizing that the people around

him would never know the satisfaction, the joy,

or the eternal life of dying and going to heaven.

That he was going to go down there and his death

was assured and after he died, he would spend

eternity in heaven while they spent eternity

in hell. And that concept was enough to wake

up a nation. And the Civil War maybe didn't begin

specifically because of that book. But the idea

is still present. We know what it's like to wait

for the kingdom of God amidst difficulty and

troubles when details do not line up. We know

what it means to... let that waiting drive our

actions. If you're a Christian and you don't

know what it means to let I'm waiting on Jesus

drive your actions, I want you to rethink. That's

what it means to repent. You rethink your life.

Tomorrow, when you get out of bed, if Jesus is

coming again tomorrow, which is entirely possible,

then what should your tomorrow morning look like?

And that's the kind of life you need to lead.

You need to lead the life that is waiting on

the kingdom of God to come in fullness. While

it already exists inside you, are you a person

in whom Jesus lives? Because if so, what does

that house look like? What are the actions that

are driven by the fact that we know that the

kingdom of God is coming in fullness and in fact

is already present in me, in you, and in the

space between us as the church? Like Joseph of

Arimathea, we know what it means to let our expectations

of the kingdom of God drive our actions, and

here it is, even at cost. Jesus said, count the

cost. Does a man begin to build a large structure

or take an army out against another army without

considering whether he may complete the structure

or defeat the army? No, that's foolishness, that

all may mock him. Some years ago, Sherry and

I went up to Frankenmuth and walked over there

in Frankenmuth in Michigan. While we were there,

we took a little ride down the river. They have

a ride down the river, and you can hear about

the history of the town. And on the side of the

town, there's a mill, the foundation of a mill,

and the beginnings of the walls of the mill.

And the man who began to build the mill, a beautiful

structure made of beautiful block stone, who

began to build it, ran out of money before he

could finish it. And on that boat ride, still,

it's been a hundred years since he started building

that mill. A hundred years. They still mention

his name every time you ride down the river.

They still talk about how he foolishly decided

to build a building. And didn't have enough money

to complete it. Jesus said, you want to follow

me? Count the cost. And we fully understand what

it means to expect the kingdom of God to come

in its fullness at any moment. And to let that

drive our actions at any cost. Are you wealthy?

Your wealth might be the cost. Are you healthy?

Your health might be the cost. Are you smart?

Your smarts might be the cost. Are you in a loving

relationship with another person? Your loving

relationship might be the cost. What could the

cost be? Well, we're ready to pay that cost,

whatever it is, because we are living in expectation

of the kingdom of God. Notice that that parenthetical

statement about Joseph, he was a good and righteous

man, it said, but he was not consenting to the

crucifixion of Christ. And I submit to you, if

you lived in Jesus' day, in order to be a good

and righteous man, you would have had to not

be consenting to the crucifixion of Jesus. That's

a real problem for the crowd. Shouted crucify

him, crucify him, isn't it? Because that means

amongst that crowd there were two kinds of people.

The unrighteous and the righteous wrong. That's

it. And in the church I submit to you that there

are two kinds of people. The unrighteous. And

the righteous wrong. There are people who call

themselves the church and Christians, but they're

not living for the Lord. They're not inherently

good. There's not something changing them from

the inside out that makes them want to be gentle,

kind, patient. Do you recognize those words?

They practice self -control. Do you recognize

those words? They have faith, hope, and love.

Do you recognize those words? We are meant to

be good. And if you're a Christian, you're meant

to be good. And if you're not good, then you're

either a Christian who's not good or not a Christian.

Those are your options. Who we are matters in

world events. People are looking. Our church

calls itself a house on a hill. People are looking

to see what we'll do. Will we stay the course?

Will we make a difference? Will we make hard

efforts when only efforts that can matter are

hard efforts? Physicians matter to the world.

Works matter to the world. Character matters

to the world. We're talking this week, talking

with a young man who's got a great opportunity.

And I said, you know what? Integrity will always

win the day. If you have integrity, integrity

will sell. People will buy your integrity so

that you don't have it anymore. A little bribe,

a little temptation, a little distraction, a

little opportunity to do something other than

that which you're supposed to do. And they'll

make it beneficial to you to choose that over

what you would choose if you stuck with your

integrity. But people will buy your integrity

if you keep it. Because they need people. They

need people that they can trust. They need people

that will work, that won't quit, that don't give

up, that don't struggle with the first heartbeat

that goes awry. If you have integrity, you're

valuable to the world because it's a rare commodity.

These things are discernible to reputation and

word of mouth, but understand that there is something

more going on for us. When you go into heaven,

it will not matter whether or not the guy that

you bought your gas from thinks you're a good

person or not. It will not matter whether your

teacher thinks you are the best student in the

class or not, or your boss thinks you're promotable

or should make more money. None of that is going

to matter. What's going to matter is what God

knows about you. We were traveling down to Tennessee

to see my parents, and on the way down, we stopped

at Walmart to pick up a couple of things that

we had forgotten. And while we were there, Sherry

picked out a book off the bookshelf. They used

to have the front of Walmart. They used to have

these big area books. Now they kind of do it

differently. They used to have these big area

books up there. She picked out a paperback book.

I think it was $3 .99. I think the book was $3

.99. So we were carrying a bunch of stuff. We

hadn't thought we were going to buy very much,

so we didn't get a cart. So I was carrying stuff,

and we had a bunch of kids with us because we've

done that. We've produced a bunch of kids. And

so we were carrying all this stuff under our

arms, me and the kids and Sherry, and we're carrying

it. Well, I put the book in my armpit right here

because that was convenient. It was smaller than

this Bible right here, and it was under my armpit.

And we went to the register, and we paid for

everything, and we left, and we got out to the

car. And when we got out to the car, I took the

book out from underneath my armpit, and I stuck

it between the seats, and we drove about 25 miles

down the road. And then it occurred to me what

I had done, just like it probably occurred to

you what I had done. We didn't pay for the book.

We paid for everything else. We didn't pay for

the book. We stole the book, a paperback book

for $3 .99. We're 25 miles down the road toward

my parents' house. So then we started talking

about it. We're like, let's problem solve here.

How are we going to solve this problem? We don't

steal books. That's not a thing we do. I said,

well, get off at the next exit. We'll drive back

and pay for it. That's 25 miles back to Walmart.

And then 25 miles back, we're 50 miles out of

our way. That's costing us more in gas and wear

and tear in the car than what the book was worth.

I said, so maybe that's not the best solution.

So we go driving just a little bit more. We're

talking about it. And we're definitely not going

to not pay for it. So I said, well, we could

wait and pay for it. We're going to my parents

for four days. On the way back, we can stop at

that Walmart on the way back and pay for it.

And I thought, I said, well, that's not a great

solution because we could forget. We could miss

the exit. I'm not sure we would remember for

sure where the Walmart is at, right? There's

a lot of problems out of that. So then we're

driving a little bit more, and then we see a

Walmart on an exit. And I said, you know what?

It's all Walmart. Get off here. So we get off

at Walmart. We walk in. We go to the customer

service desk, and I walk up to the customer service

desk with the book in my hands, and I say to

the lady, I say, I'm here to pay for this book.

And she said, well, you can just take it through

the register. And I said, well, I can, but I

need a little help. I said, the problem is, I

want to pay for this book, but I didn't get it

from this Walmart. We got it from a Walmart about

30 miles up the road. So I need you to take my

money and then send them my money. And she said,

what? I said, are you crazy? And I said, no,

I don't steal. I said, I'm a follower of the

Lord Jesus Christ. I don't steal anything. And

I accidentally stole this book, and now I need

to pay for the book. So she says, Hey, I forget

her name. Like, hey, Mary, come here. And she

calls Mary over, and she says, so this guy is

here. He wants to, and she says, does he have

his receipt? She goes, no, no, no. He wants to

pay for this book that he accidentally stole

from a Walmart up the road. Mary says, just a

second. She goes over and knocks on the inner

office door. She says, Bob, Bob, come out here.

So suddenly I'm a three -headed goat standing

at the customer service counter. Now there are

other people standing in line waiting to be waited

on and now they're all getting testy with me

because I have the weird request that's going

to take the most time. It's going to make the

line take the most time. Like I wrote a check

and couldn't figure out how to write my name

or something, right? And so they're all getting

a little irritated. But at the same time, they're

at the zoo too. They're like, this is cool. What's

going to happen here, right? So the long and

the short of it was after they first refused,

they got a manager and he took my money and they

agreed to forward the money. They first refused.

The entire committee and all the people in line

agreed that I should not be allowed to pay for

the book that I accidentally stole at Walmart

30 miles up the road. Then we got a manager involved

and the manager finally agreed. And the manager

said, well, I'll walk you over to the register.

So he walked me over to the register. We paid

for the book at the register. And then he said,

thank you very much. He said, I've never done

that. I've worked for Walmart for 20 years and

I've never seen this before. And I see, I kind

of got that. Right? And the people who were at

the counter were still giving me dirty looks

as they were being helped at the counter as I

was leaving after paying for the book. Listen

to me. I did not do that for the people at Walmart.

I don't know them. Bob or Mary or whatever the

heck their names are. I don't even remember their

names for sure. I don't know them. But this is

a true event that took place in my life. But

I did it and this is why. 1 Corinthians 4 .9

says this. He says, For I think God has exhibited

us apostles and you can submit your name there

if you want. Last of all, as men condemned to

death, because we have become, and here it is,

a spectacle to the world, both to angels and

men. If you get nothing else out of today's sermon,

I want you to understand that what's watching

you, what's depending on your choice to do the

right thing, It's not your family, although they

surely are. It's not your kids, although they

surely are. It's not the police. They might write

you a ticket or not, although they surely are

watching. And they must. That's their jobs, right?

But what's watching you is nothing less than

every angel. Every spiritual being in the spiritual

realms. You think, well, they can't see me. They're

somewhere far away. That's not how it works in

the spiritual realms. Right? People who live

in Africa, they can't see you right now. Even

if you were on Facebook, they probably couldn't

see you because technology is not that good.

The point is, the angels can see you. And you

have become a spectacle to the world. That's

everybody that doesn't know Jesus and to the

angels. Therefore, your actions must come in

line, whatever the cost, with your expectation

of the kingdom of God or there is a debate. There

becomes a contrast. And parenthetically, they

should be able to say, That Dan, that Pastor

Dan, that guy from New Heights, Toledo, he wasn't

consenting when that book was stolen. He wasn't

consenting. He wasn't consenting. He's not in

on it. He's not with it. He's not for it. They

should know. Somebody asks whether or not you

would do it and it's a sin, they should already

be able to say, I don't think so. I mean, I don't

know whether to trust people or not. Lots of

people sin all the time. People I wouldn't expect

all the time like that. But I'm pretty sure that

guy, he's different. That girl, she's different.

Will she be there when she said she'd be there?

Yeah, she'll be there. Unless her being there

will hurt somebody because she wouldn't do that.

Ephesians 3 .10 says it this way. It says, so

that the manifold wisdom of God. Let's be sure

we understand what's at stake here. Because you

can tell people about the Bible. You can buy

people Bibles. In fact, I would encourage you

to do that. If you know somebody that needs to

know about God, buy them a Bible. You can do

it for a buck and a quarter, I think it's at

right now, with a dollar and a quarter tree,

right? Buy them a Bible. But definitely don't

stop there. Tell them what you know. But definitely

don't stop there because it says the manifold

wisdom of God might now be made known through

the church to the, listen to this, rulers and

authorities in the heavenly places. Then what's

in charge? Other than God, He already knows.

But everybody that's got power and authority

under God is waiting for you and me to... to

disclose to them the manifold wisdom of God.

That's what's at stake. Do not think that you

can give them a Bible or tell them about Jesus

and they'll come to Christ and get saved and

know how to live for the Lord if you're not going

to live for the Lord in front of them. You are

the linchpin. You are the key. You are the one

who can make known the love of Christ that someone

died on the cross and you personally experienced

it. Can you verbally explain to somebody what

happened to you when you got saved? Like, oh

yeah, I was sitting in the chairs and the pastor

preached and I was like, yeah, that's me. I think

I need to do that. And I walked forward and we

said a little prayer and then we told everybody

and then I got dunked in the water and ever since

then I've been teaching Sunday school. No, something

happens when people get saved. Their minds are

changed. They get a new heart. I explain that.

Go to a lost person who's really lost, suffering,

really struggling and try to tell them what it

felt like. for you to get saved. What adjectives

are you going to use? Our job is to live in front

of the world and angels and the authorities and

rulers and the heavenly places as if we are expecting

the kingdom of God so that they may see in a

lifelong testimony maybe, step after step after

step, so that they may see what that actually

looks like. So they can begin to understand what

it actually means to be born again, even though

you can't really explain it. But your life, collectively,

our lives can. The next one is this. You don't

have to yield. We see Joseph's example beautifully.

And that is, you don't have to yield to pressures.

And you're going to get some. Every time I just

saw a video, well, I had the flu. I was down

on my back on Friday. Just went real short, which

was a blessing. But while I was down, I watched

a bunch of faith and some of you guys' videos

and stuff like that if you're an Instagram user.

And that's because, like you got like five of

them. I apologize if I blew up your phone, but

I was watching faith -based videos online while

I was sick. I watched an entire Bible. I watched

the entire book of James in Bible study on RightNow

Media, which you can do for free because our

church provides that. I watched the entire book

of James in RightNow Media while I was sick.

And I was going to do another book, but then

I was kind of like tired of looking at the TV.

So I was looking for other things to do. And

I wound up on my phone watching faith -based

videos. And one of the videos I saw was a girl,

17 years old. And she said, I'm actively being

excluded from everything that everyone in my

life does. My family is not followers of Christ.

My friends outside the church don't want anything

to do with me. I'm no longer invited to parties.

I'm not brought in on the secrets. I'm not hip

to all the sassy, nasty memes that are on social

media anymore. I don't talk like they talk anymore.

And so now, if it weren't for the church, I'd

be kind of lonely. And then the video ends with

her in youth group with 15 other teenagers who

feel the same way, except they don't, because

the church is the church together. It's time

we remembered world events, positions, works,

character. It all matters. Reputation, it matters.

But it matters not because you're going to get

ahead or because it's going to make things easier

for you. It matters because people are watching

you. And they're watching you to see if you're

really believing, really expecting Jesus to come

again, then are you going to actually live that

way? And when you face those pressures, are you

going to let the past define you? Or let the

risk dissuade you? Modern counseling, if you

go to a counselor to deal with your mental health

concerns, incorporates... discussing triggers,

they will help you try to figure out what's in

your past that's blowing up your present. That's

what they do. And it works. It's pretty effective.

The idea of what they do is they say, well, tell

me a story from your childhood. And then they

get you to rate it. On a 7, does that hurt? How

do you feel about that? On a scale of 1 to 10.

Is that a 7? You know, how do you feel about

what your dad said to you when you were 12? And

they'll get like a bunch of stories. You have

like 20, 30 stories. And eventually they find

triggers. What's upsetting you? And then they,

how much is upsetting you? And then they give

you coping mechanisms for how to lower your numbers.

It's a seven. It's upsetting you terribly. How

do you get it down to a three? Is it a three?

Is it when it's a zero, you're like completely

healed, right? That's, that's how it works. That's

the process. And it's not a bad process, except

this is how Jesus actually does it. Jesus not

only lessens the impact, according to the Bible,

all old things have passed away. So while we're

working on making them pass away, we have to

remember that in actuality, wait for it, they

have actually already passed away. So while you're

saying, what my dad said to me when I was 10

really hurt me, what my brother did to me when

I was 12 really hurt me, what happened to me

when I was 21 really hurt me, while you're doing

that, you need to remember, if you become a born

-again Christian, then none of that can actually

touch you anymore. Because you're not even the

same person anymore. If there's a dead body laying

on the ground in the hallway and somebody comes

in and stomps on its head, that is an injustice.

It is wrong. But he doesn't know it. He's dead.

He's either in heaven or he's in hell and he

doesn't care if you stomp on his head anymore.

It's still wrong. It's disrespect. But it doesn't

matter. And that's who we were before we were

born again, brought to life. The things that

we experienced as a dead person, they really

don't matter now because we have a new life in

Christ. That's why Jesus said count the cost

up front because one of the costs is you need

to surrender your personal rebellion even unto

death. You could have to be crucified. I hope

not for any of us. But that could happen and

it did happen. It happened to the disciples.

It has happened. It's happened. It happened this

week. There are two countries in the world right

now. where Christians are being buried in mass

graves because they will not recant believing

in Jesus Christ. Now, what happened to you? You

still get to get up tomorrow, pick what you're

going to eat, shop at the grocery store, use

your hot water that comes on every time you turn

the faucet, and no one's going to kill you before

you go to sleep tomorrow night for being a follower

of Jesus, at least probably not, 99 .9 % likely.

But tomorrow, again, in both of those countries,

they will bury more Christians in mass graves

because they will not recant. And it is illegal

to be a Christian in those countries. But you

see, they aren't afraid of it. And they're still

not recanting. Because when they accepted Jesus

Christ as Lord and Savior, when they came to

the moment of their rebirth, they actually experienced

that rebirth. And they began to believe and await

for the coming of the kingdom of God in its fullness.

And to recant... would be to say, I don't believe.

I don't believe in what I actually felt. I don't

believe that I'm actually made new. I don't believe

that he's actually going to come again when they

know in their soul, in their heart of hearts,

that that's the truth. They would be lying. And

they won't lie. They would rather die and go

straight to heaven than live the life of a rebel

on earth and go straight to hell. I don't blame

them. I think it seems like a pretty good choice.

And I think it's what Jesus wanted from us. He

asked us then to count the cost. I'm asking you,

did you count the cost? If you counted the cost

and you're looking, then you don't have to yield

to pressures or let the past define you or let

the risk of what you're asked to do or what the

results might be dissuade you from taking steps.

Joseph of Arimathea did not. And he was a good

and righteous man who was waiting for the kingdom

of God. And that is what we are called to be,

good and righteous humans. Waiting for the kingdom

of God. That brings us essentially to our conclusion.

Commitment. Faithfulness. Doing what you said

you would do. Taking the next steps in whatever

you're called to. These things shine. I've been

there. I've been there at moments when I was

driving to church going, Lord, I don't think

I can do this anymore. I don't think I can keep

preaching. Keep studying the word every Sunday

and stand up in front of my family, my friends,

brothers and sisters in Christ and preach the

word and feel like I'm not a... When my grandsons

are falling asleep in the back of the room and

I realize I have failed to deliver the gospel

effectively to the teenagers in my own family,

I have to question myself. You think I don't?

You think that what you're doing doesn't affect

the people around you? You don't show up for

worship on Sunday morning and sometimes it's

because people are sick and you shouldn't come

if you have a fever, diarrhea, or vomiting because

you'll just make somebody else sick. I get that.

You think that doesn't affect anybody? When we

sing, that 12 of us that actually sing or whatever

out of 30 people in the room, you think that

the other 18 people aren't having an impact?

They sure are. What you are doing impacts people.

Commitment shines. Faithfulness shines. When

you don't show up, to do the ministry that you

committed to. Or when somebody walks by you and

they're clearly depressed and they're struggling

or whatever it is, and you don't take the time

to talk to them about God or Jesus Christ, you

think that doesn't say anything? If there's a

human being and they're teetering on the edge

of being saved, you can bet there's a cluster

of angels grabbed around them trying to lead

them to the right place. And you have family

members like that. You have people that... Worldly,

right? Worldly, but love you and you love them.

And if you love them the way Christ loved them,

then you're not showing up to say the right thing,

do the right thing. And that moment of time is

just like you spitting in the face of the very

Jesus who died on the cross for us. So when I

feel that way, I feel like maybe it's gone far

enough. But here's the problem. God told me what

to do. And every time I feel like I... Feel like

I just want to quit, give up, whatever. God says,

I didn't let you off. You can let yourself off

if you want, but I didn't let you off. I've told

you what you have to do. So why are we having

this conversation again for the 30th time, God

says. And I said, well, there's something in

me, Lord. And I know what the word says. The

word says repent. So I turn to God again and

he fills me with strength and my car winds up

in the parking lot and I preach the next sermon.

I deal with the next problem, whatever it is.

I'm being realistic here because I understand

some of you is the same way. Some of you have

seen it. It's hard. It's hard to be found doing

what it is that God would have you to do when

your body is struggling or your mind is struggling

or your finances are struggling, your relationships,

whatever it is. Right? It's hard. But commitment

and faithfulness shines in a way. That the harder

it gets, the brighter it shines. You understand?

So you can be transparent about how hard it is.

In fact, I would highly recommend that. The next

time that you push through a wall of luck that's

10 foot thick and dark and you can't see and

step out on the other side and start doing what

it is that God has you to do, I want you to tell

everybody about that wall. You say, it was hard

for me today. I pushed through. But I give God

all the glory. See, what people do is they push

through to get to the other side and they're

so exuberant, so excited, like, yay, look at

me, I'm here and I'm a follower of Jesus and

it's wonderful and I'm not bothered by anything

and I won't be, my feathers will be unruffled

every single day. It's all water off a duck's

back because I'm not facing any real difficulty

because Jesus took it all and we live like that.

And then that makes other Christians, when they

hit the wall, go, why me? And that's not real.

What's real is life is difficult. Life is challenging.

Life can mean crucifixion. It can mean disease.

It can mean dying in an earthquake or a car accident

or getting a bullet in the brain. Life can be

like that. The question is, knowing that life

can be like that, can you nonetheless accept

Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and do what

he's asked you to do? And if you stay the course,

the world may write down your name. You may become

historic. There was a woman named Mary who broke

a jar of perfume and wiped it with her hair on

Jesus' feet at dinner one time. And the disciples

were questioning, that's not weird. That's a

weird thing. And Judas was all upset because

she could have sold that for money and put the

money in the coffers and taken care of a lot

of poor people. It was very expensive. But we

really find out in the Scripture that he was

only really upset because then if she had done

that, then he could have stole some of the money.

A lot of times when people are trying to tell

you not to do what it is that God wants you to

do is because they have their own personal motivations

that have nothing to do with Jesus. Anyway, Jesus

said, what she's done here today, it will not

be forgotten. Now it's almost 2 ,000 years later

and you know her name. Don't you? It's Mary.

Not his mother. It's Mary. And she wiped perfume

with her hair on Jesus' feet. And Jesus said

she will never be forgotten. In the midst of

time when they were going to crucify Jesus, there

was a man. He was a wealthy man. He was part

of the Sanhedrin. Now, probably nothing was ever

written about him because he was just a part

of the Sanhedrin. He was just a guy. And there

wasn't just a few. There was a couple dozen guys

in the Sanhedrin. Maybe his name would have never

gone down in history. But he had heard the teachings

of Jesus. He'd counted the cost. And then while

Jesus was still hanging on the cross, he thought,

well, I really should do something about this.

So he got up and he went to Pilate and he asked

for Jesus' body and then he wrapped him in a

linen cloth and laid him in his very own tomb

where a body never had been laid. He respected

the Son of God, God the Son, Jesus Christ, when...

Maybe nobody else could. And you know his name.

You live almost 2 ,000 years later and you know

his name. Not only that, but there are over 25

,000 extant texts. Julius Caesar is something

like, I don't know the number, but it's maybe

1 ,000 to 2 ,000 texts from his era that even

talk about him, that he even existed. And this

guy. From the era of his living, there are 25

,000 plus extant texts, texts that have survived

that say Joseph of Arimathea. See, the world

may write down your name, but here's the incredible

thing. That doesn't mean anything. That's not

the goal. It's not that they'll write down your

name and keep track of who you were, that you'll

exist with a legacy on earth, but rather that

your name would be written in the Lamb's Book

of Life. That matters. And that happened the

day you accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

You counted the cost. You said, whatever he wants

from me, it's all in for him. I put it all on

the table. I put it all in. And then when I'm

sick, I'm still all in. And when I'm hurting,

I'm still all in. When my mental health isn't

right, I'm still all in. When my money doesn't

seem to line up with me being able to give or

do what I'm supposed to do, I'm still all in.

When somebody wants me to do something, I'm still

all in. Better I follow Jesus than live another

day if I have to choose between the two. Joseph

of Arimathea did not allow. The things of his

past. His own nervousness or scaredness or fear

of what they might do to him to stop him from

taking the body down. Which is a horrible task.

Wrapping it in a simple linen cloth and putting

it in a tomb. And he did all of that because

he was a good and righteous man who was waiting

for the kingdom of God. And what I see before

me are people who have every possibility, every

potential to be good and righteous men and women.

who are waiting for the kingdom of God. If your

name has been written in the Lamb's book of life,

that's all that matters. The Lamb has been sacrificed.

The best we can offer to God is not our all.

We say that a lot, don't we? There's a great

story about a kid who went to church and he loved

the Lord Jesus and he passed the offering plate.

When the offering plate came around, he didn't

have any money to put in the offering plate.

So he sat it on the floor and then stood in the

offering plate. And they said, what are you doing?

And he says, I don't have any money, but to Jesus

I give my all. And we think, man, our all, that's

it. If we can give our all, that's the best we

can offer. But that isn't it. Your all is not

the best you can offer. Jesus is literally the

best you can offer. Jesus is what you can bring

to every problem. Jesus is what you can bring

into any person's life who will listen. Jesus

is what you can bring into your own life. Jesus

is what you can submit to. Jesus, the Lamb of

God who is spotless and without blemish. I was

not that. I still am not that. The only righteousness

and innocence I truly have is found in Jesus

Christ and it is enough. And where I go, He goes.

And that is what you bring. If you know Jesus,

If you know how special He is, then you know

you cannot fail. And there is nothing more that

you have to do. It's all been taken care of.

Your eternity is settled. At the same time, if

you know Jesus is enough, then you know that

you cannot truly fail in everything that God

has given you to do. And Ephesians 2 .10 says

that there are works that are set aside for us

to do. You cannot fail. If you would set out

to do the things and pitch yourself and truly

put yourself on the line to do the things that

God would have you do, you cannot fail. Even

if you fail, you don't fail. Why? Because your

commitment, your faithfulness, and your unwillingness

to stop will speak volumes to the world and to

the angels and to the demons and every ruler

and authority in the spiritual realms. And that's

what's really at stake, that the manifold wisdom

of God would be displayed to any and all. People

that you can never get an appointment with will

nonetheless experience it. Along the way, you

will have temptations. You notice that the ladies

did not go and prepare the body on the Sabbath.

because that would have been sin. You say, but

it's the Son of God. Surely if you're doing something

for Jesus, then sin would be okay, right? We

can break that rule. Jesus said, the Sabbath

is for man, not man for the Sabbath. So that

means that you can do certain things on the Sabbath.

So they should have been able to honor Jesus,

right? But they knew better. Can't honor Jesus

and sin at the same time. Because Jesus said,

he who loves me will follow the commands of my

father. And one of the commands of my father

is to honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

So they knew better than to try to honor Jesus

by sinning against him. And so should we. When

you discover sin in your life, you repent of

it. You turn to God and say, let's put that behind

me. Wherever you go, you take Jesus with you

and you display him there. And let people say,

that guy's weird. That gal, I don't quite understand

her. She's making decisions that don't line up

with what the world would necessarily do. Why

is she so ready? Why is she so ready? Why is

she so prepared? Why is he so prepared? I'll

tell you why. Because today is the preparation

day.