The Death of the Cross

By REV. THOMAS BOSTON, Scottish Divine.

(Continued from page 220.)

The place where our Lord was buried was a new sepulchre in a garden, wherein no man ever had been laid (John xix. 41). Thus our Lord was buried not in His own, but in another man’s grave. As in the days of His life, He was in such circumstances, that He Himself said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head;” so when He was dead, He had no grave of His own to be laid in. When He was born, He was born in another man’s house; when He preached, He preached in another man’s ship; when He prayed, He prayed in another man’s garden; when He rode to Jerusalem, He rode on another man’s ass; and when He was buried, He was buried in another man’s grave. He had nothing peculiar to Himself but His cross; which no man would touch, far less take from Him, even when He was ready to faint under the weight of it, till Simon of Cyrene was compelled to bear it. The grave belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, who was a rich man; and thus there was a memorable fulfilment of the prophecy (Isa. liii. 9), “He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death.” Though upon the cross He was insulted and despised, yet He was honourably laid in the grave. It was a new grave; which a wise Providence had so ordered, that the Jews might have no ground to surmise, either that some other buried before had risen, or that His resurrection was not the effect of His own power, but of virtue flowing from the body of some saint formerly interred there, as in the case of that dead man, who being let down in the grave of Elisha, and touching his bones, revived, and stood up on his feet (II Kings xiii. 21). This grave was in a garden, which Joseph contrived to have so, that it might be a memorandum to him, while living amidst all the pleasure and products of this garden, to think of death, and to be diligent in preparing for it. In a sepulchre in a garden, Christ’s body was laid. In a garden of Eden, death and the grave received their power, and now in a garden are conquered, disarmed, and triumphed over. In a garden Christ began His passion, and in a garden He would rise and begin His exaltation. Christ fell to the ground as corn of wheat (John xii. 24), and therefore was sown in a garden among the seeds, for His dew is as the dew of herbs (Isa. xxvii. 19); yea, He is the fountain of gardens (Cant. iv. 15).

As to the manner of our Lord’s funeral, several things may be observed.

1. Joseph, inspired with an undaunted courage, went to Pilate, and boldly asked the body of Jesus. Though while our Redeemer lived, Joseph was so far sunk under the power of fear and cowardice, that he acted only as His secret disciple, yet now when He is dead, holy boldness and courage rose to such a pitch in his spirit, that he openly asked His body of Pilate, in order to a decent interment. Though he might have formed a party to have carried it off by violence, yet he rather chose to do it in a regular and peaceable manner; and therefore made a dutiful application to Pilate, who was the proper person to be addressed on this occasion, in regard he had the disposal of the body. In things wherein the power of the civil magistrate is concerned, due regard must be had to that power, and nothing done to break in upon it.

2. Upon this application, Pilate very readily granted to Joseph the body of Jesus, in order to its being decently interred. Perhaps by this step he imagined to do something to atone towards that guilt where-with his conscience charged him in condemning an innocent person. But whatever might be in this, it is certain, that, in Joseph’s petition and Pilate’s ready grant of it, honour was done to Christ, and a testimony borne to His integrity.

3. Joseph, having obtained his desire, instantly repaired to the accursed tree, from which he took down the body of Jesus; and mangled and lacerated as it was, carried it in his arms to a place proper for its being dressed. Thus did he act under the prevailing conduct of the deepest and dearest love to his Redeemer.

4. Our Redeemer’s body being brought into some adjoining house, it was washed from blood and dust, and then wound in linen with spices, as the manner of the Jews was. But why did Joseph and Nicodemus make all this ado about the body of Christ? Though perhaps in this their management we may discern the weakness of their faith, for a firm belief of the resurrection of Christ the third day after would have saved them from this care and cost, and have been more acceptable than all spices; yet herein we may evidently see the strength of their love, together with the value they had for His Person and doctrine, which was no way lessened by the reproach of the cross.

5. The time of our Lord’s burial was on the day of the preparation—when the Sabbath drew on; and this was the reason that they made such haste with the funeral. Though they were in tears for the death of Christ, yet they did not forget the work of an approaching Sabbath; but set themselves with all convenient speed and care to prepare for it.

6. The company who attended our Redeemer’s funeral was not any of the disciples, but only the women who came with Him from Galilee, who, as they staid by Him while He hung upon the cross, so they followed Him all in tears, beholding the sepulchre where it was, which was the way to it, and how His body was laid in it: and all this they were led to not by their curiosity, but by their affection to the Lord Jesus, which was as strong as death, cruel as the grave, and which many waters could not quench.

7. The Redeemer’s funeral was actually solemnized; for after all the above circumstances were over, then they acted as it is related, John xix. 41, 42: “Now in the place where He was crucified, there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There they laid Jesus therefore, because of the Jewish preparation day, for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.”

“There they laid Jesus,” i.e., the dead body of Jesus. Some think that the calling of that Jesus intimates the inseparable union between the divine and human natures in His blessed Person. Even this dead body was Jesus a Saviour; for His death is our life. Thus, without pomp or solemnity, is the body of Jesus laid in the cold and silent grave. Here lies our surety arrested for our debt: so that if He be released, His discharge will be ours. Here is the sun of righteousness set for a while to rise again in greater glory, and set no more. Here lies a seeming

captive to death, but a real conqueror over death. Yea, here lies death itself slain, and the grave conquered: “Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Seventhly. Our Redeemer continued under the power of death for a time. “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. xii. 40). For clearing the import of Christ’s continuing under the power of death for a time, consider,

1. That death has a strange and strong power in the world, which invades and prevails against all the children of men. “For what man is he that liveth, and shall not see death?” This interrogation plainly imports, that no man, high or low, great or small, rich or poor, can possibly cover himself from the stroke of death. And no wonder, for the apostle tells us, “Death has reigned from Adam” (Rom. v. 14). The empire of death has made an universal spread through the face of the earth and, with an unrelenting fury, bears all the sons of men before it. And it is no way strange it be so, seeing it acts under the conduct of Heaven’s irrepealable decree, “It is appointed unto men once to die” (Heb. ix. 27).

2. That the empire power, and dominion of death, was introduced into the world by sin. Rom. v. 12, “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” “The wages of sin is death.” Therefore man no sooner gave in to apostasy from his Maker, but the awful sentence went forth, “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen. iii. 19).

3. That our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of life, fell under the power of death, and that in its most frightful and amazing form: for He died the painful, the cursed, and shameful, and lingering death of the cross; and this He did not by restraint, but with the utmost cheerfulness.

4. That it was for the sins of His elect people that the Lord of life came under the power of death. Their sins were imputed to Him: “He was made sin for us,” says the apostle, “who knew no sin.” Because their sins were imputed to Him, therefore death, the punishment of sin, came upon Him. He was not only wounded for our transgression, and bruised for our iniquities, but He died for our sins. He bear the sins of many; and for the transgression of His people was He stricken, yea, stricken even unto death.

5. That though our Redeemer continued under the power of death, yet it was only for a time. Though this king of terrors brought the King of glory down to the gloomy shade of the grave, yet he could not hold Him long there. Hence the apostle says, “God loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be holden of it. Christ was imprisoned for our debt, and thrown into the hands of death; but divine justice being satisfied, it was not possible that He should be detained there, either by right or by force; for He had life in Himself, and in His own power, and had conquered the prince of death.

6. That the time of our Redeemer’s being under the power of death was only till the third day. For He rose the third day after His death: which was the time He often prefixed, and He kept within it. He was buried in the evening of the sixth day of the week, and rose in the

morning of the first day of the following week, so that He lay in the grave about thirty-six or thirty-eight hours. He lay no longer to shew that He was really and truly dead, and no longer, that He might not see corruption. If it should be asked what were the reasons and ends of this amazing humiliation of the Son of God, I answer, “That Christ humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

1. That He might satisfy divine justice in the room and stead of an elect world. When man by sin rebelled against his rightful Lord, incensed justice called aloud for vengeance upon the atrocious offender; and had his rigorous demands been answered, all the race of mankind had perished in the depth of death and damnation for ever. But Christ, by the whole scene of His humiliation, has so fully answered all its (justice) demands of His chosen, that it can crave no more. For He by His obedience and satisfaction, as the surety of unjust sinners, has so perfectly paid all their debt, that justice is completely atoned and pacified. Hence our Redeemer drew breath on the cross with these words, “It is finished.”

2. To confirm and seal His testament. He had bequeathed many great and glorious legacies to His chosen; all of which had failed for ever, if by His death He had not ratified, and confirmed this His testament, “For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all whilst the testator liveth” (Heb. ix. 16, 17). Wherefore that our Lord’s testament might in that respect be made good, He sealed it with His heart’s blood: “This cup,” says He, “is the new testament in my blood,” i.e., the new testament, which is ratified by my blood.

3. To conquer and subdue the devil. This malicious and subtle enemy of mankind had by his craft and power brought the whole race of Adam in subjection to his empire, reigning over and leading them captive at his pleasure. But our Lord through death destroyed him that had the power of death. It is true, the crucifying of Jesus was the devil’s plot; for he put Judas upon betraying Him, the Jews upon accusing Him, Pilate upon condemning Him, and the soldiers upon executing Him. But our Lord outshot him in his own bow, and snared and took him in his own hands. Thus the devil, by plotting and pushing on the death of the Son of God, to prevent his own ruin, procured and promoted it.

4. To finish transgression, and put an end to sin, yea, to take away sin with all its direful effects. Rom. viii. 3, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” For when an elect world lay sunk under the guilt of sin, captives under the power of it, and most miserable under the baneful effects of it, Jesus humbles Himself to the death on purpose to rescue and deliver them from all this. “We have redemption through His blood,” says Paul, “even the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace.” And says another apostle, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.”

5. To deliver from the curse of the broken law, and the wrath of God. “Christ has redeemed us, from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Gal. iii. 13). “Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come” (I Thess. i. 10). When all the curses of the law were marching forth,

as it were in battle array, against the children of Adam, and the dreadful wrath of Almighty God was ready to pour in upon us, then our Lord steps in, and, by His deeply abased birth, life, and death, diverts the furious storm from His chosen, so that not one curse, or the least drop of wrath shall ever fall to their share.

1. Lastly. That in due time He might bring all His people to the complete possession of immortal glory. When He saw them wallowing and sinking in the depth of sin and iniquity; when He saw them exposed to eternal death and damnation by reason of sin, and when He took a view of them as absolutely unable to do anything towards their relief and deliverance, His soul pitied them, and His bowels of compassion yearned upon them; so that in their stead He satisfied divine justice, subdued their enemies, abolished sin and death, rescued them from sin and wrath, and prepared for them eternal life and glory.

I shall conclude with a few references.

1. Here see the love of Christ in its most distinguishing glory. For the deeper He debased and humbled Himself, the higher did He rise, and the more clearly did He manifest His love. What heart can conceive, what tongue can express, the greatness of this love! It is love without a precedent or parallel. It passeth knowledge.

2. Here are the awful and tremendous severity of divine justice, which no less could satisfy, than the Son of God humbling Himself, and becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Its resentment against sin swelled so high, that nothing could appease it, or remove it to let go the criminal offenders, till the Son of God fell in expiatory sacrifice to it. And when the time of its acting this bloody tragedy upon our Redeemer came on, it would not forego nor abate one tittle of its demands. It would not spare Him in one article of suffering which it could exact of Him.

3. See here the prodigious evil of sin. Though the generality of men look upon it with a very light and easy eye: though they account it a very small matter to break in upon the divine law and to transgress the bounds which the great God has fixed therein; yet whoever duly reflects upon the deep humiliation and sorrowful sufferings of Christ, will entertain other thoughts about it. Of all evils, sin is infinitely the worst. Though a holy and just God has given many severe and tangible testimonies of His displeasures against sin, yet none of them appear with such an amazing awe as that which appears in the humiliation, death, and sufferings of His dear Son.

4. Let this look the pride of our hearts out of countenance; and let us think nothing too mean or too low for us, whereby the glory of God and the good of others may be advanced. For Christ humbled Himself deeper and lower than any ever did or can do, to procure the favour of God to sinners, to magnify the divine law and make it honourable; and therein has left us an example, that we should follow His steps.

5. Let this teach you highly to prize the salvation purchased by Christ, and offered to sinners in the gospel. Say not of the sufferings of Christ, by your slighting the redemption thereby procured. What needs all this waste? Surely sin must be of a more malignant nature, the justice of God

more exact and rigorous, souls more precious, and salvation and mercy more difficult to obtain, than is ordinarily imagined. Take a view of Christ in his amazing humiliation and heavy sufferings, and see if ye can entertain those thoughts.

1. Let impenitent sinners and rejecters tremble. Was this done in the green tree, what shall be done to the dry? If Christ, when He became a sinner only by imputation, was exposed to such heavy sufferings as would have sunk millions of men, and angels, what shall be the fate of those who spurn at His love, reject the offers of His grace and mercy, and refuse to accept of His salvation? What can they expect, but that the wrath of God shall come upon them to the uttermost, and they shall undergo the sorest punishment that incensed and insulted justice can inflict?

2. Accept of Jesus Christ as He offers Himself in the gospel. He is willing to receive sinners, yea, the very worst and most abandoned of them. O be not despisers, but cheerful and willing receivers of Him who has written His love and good will to you in characters of blood!

3. Revenge the death of Christ on your lusts and idols. Give no quarter to, nor suffer them to live, that were the cause of His most humiliating and ignominious death. To cherish any sin or lust, is a high indignity done to the Son of God, and as it were crucifying Him afresh. O then fly from every sin, account it your enemy, and Christ’s enemy! and shew your love to the Redeemer, who humbled Himself so deeply for you, by doing whatsoever He commands you, and avoiding all appearance of evil.

4. Lastly. Grudge not to part with anything for Christ. He left the bosom of His Father, laid aside the robes of His glory, and exposed Himself to the severest hardships, and most intolerable sufferings, that you might not perish for ever! And will you refuse anything for His sake? Ye have no reason to shift His cross, or decline to take on His yoke, when He suffered on the accursed cross to procure your deliverance from everlasting wrath and burning.