Sermon Manuscript: The Women and Joseph of Arimathea

Text: Matthew 27:55 - 28:10

Were You There is the sermon series we are concluding with today's service. We have journeyed through Matthew 26 and Jesus' thesis statement, "as you know, in two days it is passover and the son of man will be handed over and crucified, 27 and the first part of 28 looking for people who played an instrumental part in the last days of Jesus' life. And we have sought to see what we can learn and apply in our lives. Where do we start?

The women in the story are fascinating in themselves. They are truly faithful on every front. Journeying with Jesus and the disciples from Galilee to Jerusalem, they were part of a group who actually ministered to Jesus. They would have been the ones who gathered and shopped for food. They would have prepared for the entire entourage. In addition to meals, they would have cared for Jesus' personal needs. And this ministering or caring for Jesus did not stop at the gates of Jerusalem, or with the arrest, or the crucifixion, and his death. At every turn, Scripture tells us that these were women with Jesus throughout his entire ordeal.

There was Mary Magdelene the one whom Jesus caused seven demons to leave. She of the DaVinci Code fame was seen as close to Jesus. I don't have time to go into all the points where the DaVinci code was wrong, but suffice to say, there is no conspiracy or cover-up that Jesus was married to her. But she does appear to be the ringleader of this group who cared for Jesus. And why shouldn't she be. When she met Jesus she was struggling mightily under the weight of seven evil spirits occupying her. Jesus changed all that and in the matter of a moment, she was freed from her encumbrance and freed to live a life of caring for others instead of being cared for. The power of God had brought her back to life emotionally and given her new birth spiritually. With a life changing experience like that, she was trying her best to give back.

Along with Mary Magdalene was Mary the Mother of James and John who are known as the Sons of Zebedee or Thunder. Jesus called Jesus to be his disciples while they were on a fishing boat with their father in Galilee. We gather that this was the family business. For whatever reason, not only did James and John follow, but their mother came along as well. They were not just any disciples, James and John along with Peter formed Jesus' inner circle. Jesus took them to witness the transfiguration and took them to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray with him before his arrest. Up to this point, she is best known as the mother who asked Jesus for the keys to his kingdom for her sons.

Joseph of Arimethea, a member of the Sanhedrin which was a group of 70 men who served as the Supreme Court for the Jewish people. This means that Joseph was influential. Joseph was a mover and shaker among the Jewish people and even had access to Pilate the Governor. We know from other gospels that he kept a low profile up until this point about being a follower of Christ. But for a time as this, he stepped up and went to Pilate to ask for Jesus' body. Pilate, who did not think Jesus deserved death to begin with, quickly

What do these individial have to do with one another? What is the common thread that ties them together? They were the unlikeliest and least believable witnesses to the resurrection. The role of women was to be seen and not heard. They were not considered valid witnesses in a court of law


In the marketing world, the latest rage is "viral" marketing. What it counts on is that people will talk with one another and that this will create a buzz via word of mouth. No TV or major spreads in newspapers and magazine, just simple one person speaking to another to inform. There is a show called "Quarterlife" that originated via on-line episodes that were not advertised, but instead used word of mouth. In a short few months, it has millions of viewers. Youtube is the ultimate viral marketing example. Who in their right mind has enough time to sit and look through the millions of uploaded homemade videos to find the good ones? No one I know I am sure, but if you are like me, you get a link or two per week sent to you by someone who says, "watch this, you won't be sorry." And most of the time, I do!

Philippians 2:5-11 says,
"a)Have this attitude (1)in yourselves which was also in (b)Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He (a)existed in the (b)form of God, (c)did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but (1a)emptied Himself, taking the form of a (b)bond-servant, and (c)being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, (a)He humbled Himself by becoming (b)obedient to the point of death, even (c)death (1)on a cross. 9 (a)Therefore also God (b)highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him (c)the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus (a)every knee should bow, of (b)those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is (a)Lord, to the glory of God "

Every tongue shall confess. How do we ever confess if we have not heard? And how do we hear unless someone tells us? And how does someone tell us unless they have been privy to the source? God could have chosen any way to spread the message of Salvation. He could have written it permanently in the sky. He could have had a speaking rock to retell it over and over. But instead of all the possible choices he had, he chose to use word of mouth. He said that the gospel story is to be known throughout the world one person at a time. Person to person, relationship by relationship.

And he chose to use the people we are looking at today as key witnesses to the resurrection. These were unusual choices to say the least. The first important witness, Joseph of Arimathea, could testify that , "yes, indeed, I placed Jesus' body in the tomb. And he was most definitely dead. I was part of the group who voted to put him to death. I was privy to the inner workings of what happened to bring this all about." It was his testimony that declared Jesus' death. And because of his access to the Sanhedrin and Pilate, he made a solid case. He was a natural person to uphold this part of the story.

But the witnesses to the resurrection are puzzling. We have a group of people who were considered by the culture of the day as second class as best. Their testimony was not allowed in a court of law. They were dependent on the men in their life to provide a livelihood, a legacy, and a homelife. In society's eyes, these would have been a very poor choice to give witness. It would have done more harm than good. And yet, here it was, that these disciples who had been following Jesus from Galillee caring for his needs were the ones at the tomb that morning.

And when you think about it, it makes sense from one point that they were the ones. They were faithful during his ministry, his arrest, his trial, and even his crucifixion. And now they were not done being faithful to the one to whom they loved so much. They had more work to do. And so it was at the crack of dawn the day after the Sabbath that they were on the way to the tomb. Never mind that they did not have a plan to get the stone rolled away, they were on a mission and would figure it out as they went along. There was no glory to be found in this task, no one would ever realize or know, it would just simply be done and they could place Jesus to rest. And it was here that they were rewarded with being the first to experience the gospel truth…all because of their faithfulness. "He is not here said the angel. He is risen, just as he told you. Come and see for yourselves that the tomb is empty."

God rewarded their faithfulness and decided that their faithfulness along with his power was sufficient to spread the word. God knew that they could be counted on to take the message to the places it needed to be. The women had already shown their faithfulness in the small things, now God was placing the message of the hope of the world squarely in their hands.

And the message is this…that God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son. That whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. That is the message we come to celebrate this Easter morning. God has a message for us this morning. And just as with Joseph of Arimathea, sometimes God uses the most obvious of ways to convey this message into our lives. Easter Sunday morning is an obvious way. It is the highpoint of the Christian year. You won't be able to turn on the TV without an easter story being told. Look, I understand that the church in many ways has lost its ability to be the moral authority in our society. We have lost our sense of direction at times and are more interested in getting our way than making a way, but the message is still powerful even when the church appears to not be. Because the message is about a risen Savior. We are an Easter people not a defeated group because of what Christ did for us. We also know that God uses other obvious ways to communicate the message to us as well. It might be a decision you are being confronted with that might help God get your attention. Or it might be a friend who speaks words of encouragement, challenge and wisdom to us.

God also uses the most unusual ways as well. God spoke to me through my poor career choices and failure in my life to accept his will instead of moving forward on my own. God has also spoken to me through times of personal loss and struggle. God has also spoken to many of us through the birth of a child or other joyful times that make us aware that there is more to this life.

Will you hear the message today? Will you lay aside the armor you and I put on to deflect the message and truly hear with your heart. Jesus died on the cross to show us God's love and to be the perfect sacrifice for our lives. But a cross without the resurrection leaves us with a God who loves us but is incapable of helping. The resurrection shows God's power to bring things from death to life. Beginning with Jesus' resurrection, the chains of death are gone. We too can walk in newness of life.

Hear the message again today. There is no past, no problem, no trial or temptation that God is unable to deliver you from. Receive the sacrifice of the cross as your lifeline and allow the power of God to transform your heart and minds in Christ Jesus.

Amen.