SERMON TITLE: Buried in a Rich Man’s Tomb
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 53:1-12 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 4-5-26
Sermon Discussion Guide
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He is risen! He is risen indeed. As always, it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
Each week, here at Gateway, we spend some time praying for people, circumstances, and situations going on in our congregation, community, country, and world.
Today, we’ll be praying for the individuals being baptized. Not every worship service will have baptisms, but know that sixteen people are being baptized this Easter Sunday. So — we’ll pray for them — and we’ll pray for the world and that there may be a great response of people believing in Jesus on this Easter Sunday.
Please join me in prayer.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20 (NLT)
Heavenly Father, these are the marching orders that your Son gave to us, your people. To go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of you — the Father — Jesus — the Son — and the Holy Spirit. Throughout our services today, we’ll be obeying this command. Yet, there’s still more work for us to do in the lives of those we’re baptizing today. We’re to teach them to obey all that you’ve commanded. We’re to remember that you are always with us.
Spirit of God, help us to teach well. Help us to remember that our God is always with us. Help those we baptize today to remember that — in being baptized today — they are clothed in Christ — meaning — their primary identification is now that of one who follows Jesus, who has been saved by Jesus, who submits themselves to the authority of Christ in all areas of their life. And one whose life will be marked by confession and repentance because none who are baptized practice perfect faithfulness.
Which is why we remember and are thankful that baptism, first and foremost, is a sign of your faithfulness to those baptized. For when we are faithless, you remain faithful — for faithful is who you are to your people. When we are forgetful, you remember your promises to us — and your promises never fail. And when the last day of our life comes upon us — we have no reason to fear — for just like we went down into the water — signifying our death — you’ve guaranteed that we will rise again.
May those being baptized today — and all of us who are witnesses — be in awe of what we see. For today — in baptisms — we see your everlasting commitment to your people.
And, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as people around the world continue to celebrate Easter and Jesus’ resurrection. I first pray for protection for our brothers and sisters who live in countries where gathering together can cost them their lives. I pray that, even in these countries, great joy in Jesus would be experienced. And may many who started off today hating Jesus or were apathetic towards him — be saved by him. For he is the only Savior, and he is the Risen Savior.
And we pray all of this in his name. Amen.
For two Sundays, we’re taking a break from our series in the book of James to reflect on some of the events that took place during the week leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Today — like last Sunday — we’re looking at the same passage from the Old Testament — Isaiah chapter fifty-three — if you want to open your Bibles — that’s where we’ll be — we’ll be in Isaiah chapter fifty-three this Easter Sunday.
And the goal of this short series is to show you how the Old Testament predicted — the biblical word is prophesied — how the Old Testament foretold about Christ and all that he would accomplish in his life — including what happened during the final week leading up to his death on a cross and his resurrection three days later.
Now, you may be someone who’s here today because someone else put the pressure on you to come to church. You’re not sure about Jesus and this whole Christianity thing — or maybe you are — you’re sure you think it’s all a bunch of baloney. If this is you — know that this is exactly why we’re spending time in the Old Testament today — because long before Jesus walked here on earth — God gave news of what Jesus would do and accomplish through his prophets. Prophets were individuals who wrote down what God told them would happen someday in the future.
And — again — if you’ve got your doubts about Christianity — know that these prophecies were perfectly fulfilled by Jesus. Not one or two — we’re talking hundreds and hundreds of prophecies — predictions about what Jesus would do while here on earth. And he did them all — proving that he is indeed God’s promised Savior of the world, which I understand may not sound all that impressive to you.
Well, one mathematician did the math. And he calculated that you’ve got a better chance of picking out one specific atom in all of the universe than Jesus did in fulfilling just forty-eight prophecies. “Well, Josh. One atom compared to forty-eight prophecies doesn’t seem a very fair comparison. Do you have any idea how many atoms there are?” I have no idea, but I did some Googling and found that the average human has about seven octillion atoms. I’d never heard of octillion before. Million, sure. Billion, yup. Trillion, even heard of it. Quadrillion — I thought that was just a word kids made up on the playground. Well, apparently, numbers just keep getting bigger. You’ve got quintillion, sextillion, septillion, and then Octillion. And there are seven octillions worth of atoms in the human body.
We don’t have a word for the number of atoms in the room you’re in right now — much less the entire universe. So — back to the comparison — what are the odds that you’d be able to select one specific atom out of all the atoms in the universe? It ain’t gonna happen. You’ve got a better chance of being struck by lightning on your way to buying the Jackpot-winning lottery ticket — no, I’m not promoting gambling — only to be eaten by a shark on your way home.
But — even against odds greater than all of that — Jesus fulfilled all that had been prophesied about God’s promised Savior in the Old Testament. So maybe — just maybe — you should consider what you’re about to hear today.
So let’s turn to Isaiah chapter fifty-three. We’ll begin in verse one.
Isaiah 53:1–12 ESV
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
As I mentioned last week, this chapter is full of prophecies that are related to Jesus. Writers of the New Testament clearly saw the fulfillment of these verses in Jesus, which is why we find eleven of the twelve verses in this chapter referred to or quoted in the New Testament.
For example — and this will be a review for you, if you were here last week — verse one says…
Isaiah 53:1 ESV
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
This verse is quoted in the gospel of John, where the apostle writes…
John 12:37–38 ESV
37 Though he (Jesus) had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
Or take verse six of our chapter in Isaiah, which says…
Isaiah 53:6 ESV
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Which is quoted by the apostle Peter when he writes…
1 Peter 2:25 ESV
25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Or take verses seven and eight, which state…
Isaiah 53:7–8 ESV
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
Which was the passage being read by a man whom Philip, a follower of Jesus, prompted by the Holy Spirit, to go and talk to the man reading our verses, resulting in this happening.
Acts 8:30–35 ESV
30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
We could go verse by verse through our chapter and see how the New Testament authors saw — in Jesus — the fulfillment of Isaiah chapter fifty-three. But we’re not going to do that. Instead — like last week — we’re going to focus on one verse today. Just one verse showing us how Jesus demonstrated that he was God’s promised Messiah — which means Savior — during his last days here on earth.
And the verse we’ll focus on today is verse nine, which says…
Isaiah 53:9 ESV
9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
In this verse, we find promises about an innocent sufferer, an honored servant, and a victorious Savior. An innocent sufferer, an honored servant, and a victorious Savior — who all happen to be the same person.
First, an innocent sufferer. We’re in the middle of verse nine, which says…
Isaiah 53:9 ESV
9 Although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
So this person — whom Isaiah is prophesying about in our verse — will come some day in the future and — when he comes — he won’t be violent or deceitful. He’ll suffer punishment for crimes committed — but he won’t be the one who’s committed them. He’ll be innocent. Pure. Holy. Perfect.
The apostle Peter quoted this verse when he wrote these words about Jesus.
1 Peter 2:21–24 NLT
21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. 22 He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. 23 He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. 24 He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
And as the apostle John writes…
1 John 3:5 NLT
5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.
Jesus is the innocent sufferer. He never did an act of violence or deception — he’s the only person who’s never sinned — and yet — he suffered on the cross for crimes he didn’t commit as he carried our sins in his body.
Jesus was an innocent sufferer.
He was also an honored servant. Again, our verse in Isaiah says…
Isaiah 53:9 ESV
9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death…
Jesus was crucified between two thieves. That’s the fulfillment of “they made his grave with the wicked.” Jesus — though innocent — suffered, as we just saw. And, in the New Testament, we learn that his suffering took place between two other men who were also executed that day.
They were guilty — he was not. They were getting justice for their crimes — he was being punished for ours. They made his grave with the wicked…
…and with a rich man in his death.
If you’re unaware — while here on earth — Jesus was poor. The Son of God — who has the infinite riches of heaven at his disposal — became the Son of Man — born to a poor couple — who died without anything to his name. Yet — his Father in Heaven — pleased with the faithfulness of his Son — called a rich man — Joseph of Arimathea — to loan his burial tomb to Jesus.
Matthew 27:57–61 NLT
57 As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus, 58 went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him. 59 Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth. 60 He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left. 61 Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb and watching.
Though poor, Jesus was honored in his burial by being laid in a rich man’s tomb. But — as I said a moment ago — the tomb was just on loan. It was only needed for three days. Joseph of Arimathea didn’t realize this, of course. He didn’t know he’d be getting his tomb back — usually the dead stay dead, after all.
Which leads to our final observation about Jesus. But — for this observation — we have to see what happened three days later. We’re in John’s gospel. Chapter twenty, where we read…
John 20:1–18 NLT
1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home. 11 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12 She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. 15 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” 16 “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). 17 “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.
The hope of the Christian faith — what Christianity rides on — is that three days later, that borrowed tomb was empty. As another gospel writer records it…
Luke 24:1–9 NLT
1 But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 3 So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. 5 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.” 8 Then they remembered that he had said this. 9 So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened.
Jesus isn’t here! He’s risen from the dead! And his rising from the dead was his defeat of our sin. His rising from the dead was his proof that he is the only Savior. His rising from the dead demonstrates to the world that he is the victorious Savior.
May the innocent sufferer, the honored servant who borrowed a rich man’s tomb — only to rise from the grave three days later — be not just a Victorious Savior. May he be your Victorious Savior. For he is risen! He is risen indeed!
Let’s pray.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we thank you for the news we’ve heard today. Though innocent, Jesus suffered for sins he did not commit. He suffered for our sins. Though poor, he was honored by being buried in a rich man’s tomb. Yet — because of his faithfulness to his Father — the tomb was only needed for three days. For on the third day, that first Easter morning, Jesus rose as our Victorious Savior. The one who has defeated Satan, sin, death, and Hell so that all who turn to him in faith might be given eternal life, eternal hope, eternal joy, and the eternal victory that he earned for them.
God, may this good news be received by many who hear my voice. May the lost be found. May the dead be raised. Bless many with new life in Christ. And we ask all of this in his name. Amen.
If you’re newer to Gateway — or a guest with us today — we have a tradition around here of celebrating baptisms on Easter Sunday. These are folks whose lives have been changed because of Jesus. But — before we celebrate God’s faithfulness to them and us — if you’re a member of Gateway, would you please stand — if you’re able — as I have a question for you.
Do you, the members of this congregation, take responsibility for the continued Christian nurture of those being baptized today, and do you promise to set a godly example by your own life?
If so, say “We do.”
And now I’d like to invite everyone to stand as we respond to God’s faithfulness in worship.
May you go believing that Jesus — the innocent sufferer and honored servant — is your victorious Savior. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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