30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 23 50-56 THE BURIAL OF JESUS 09 19Feb2022 Luke 23 54 Bury the old man
📖 Luke 23:50-56
09 – 19 Feb 2022 – Bury the old man - Luke 23:50-56 - THE BURIAL OF JESUS - Bible reading: Ephesians 4:22-24
“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You are showing us that we must identify with You in Your death, burial and resurrection. This is a wonderful reality that we can experience. We give You all the glory and praise and in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”
Luke 23:54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.
John 19:40-42 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. (41) Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. (42) So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.
We will consider for one more day, this matter of the body of Jesus, which was laid in the tomb but did not see corruption. The body of Jesus is alive and victorious over sin in the church.
Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
This is the precise burial experience that we identify with. The body of sin is being done away so that we are no longer slaves to sin.
Ephesians 4:22-24 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, (23) and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, (24) and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
We were created in the image of God but because of sin, we are marred and disfigured. Sin has made us be incongruous to Christ. This old man must be buried with Christ so that we can put on the new man, which was how we were created to be, in the first place.
This putting off of the old man and putting on of the new man is the burial experience. This is the meaning of Baptism. This is the experience of the church.
To get a better sense of what it is to put off the old man, we will look at what our Lord taught us. We could approach this matter in several ways but let us consider our Lord’s teaching.
The Lord taught about the four different types of soils in which the seed fell but it was only the fourth soil that yielded fruit. Let us look at the third type of soil and why it did not yield a harvest.
What was the condition of the third soil?
Mark 4:18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word,
The seed germinated and grew but fruit-bearing did not take place because the plants were choked. What caused the choking of the plants?
Mark 4:19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
There are three items given here that caused the plants to choke. These three things relate to the old man, which must be buried with Christ.
Many of us in the church are still giving room to the old man. The old man must be buried with Christ and we must put on the new man, in which we were first created.
The cares of the world
Many of us in the church are filled with the cares of this world. The temporal matters of life occupy us. We are anxious and troubled about many things. We are like Martha. Our entire relationship with God is for God to solve our problems. This is the old man.
This must be put off. Tell the Lord that you don’t want to be worried about these issues anymore. Tell Him that you want to set your mind on things above not on the things of the earth. Be clear that you have died and your life is hidden with Christ. You are not in this world, seeking to save your life but to lose it for Christ and for the Gospel.
The deceitfulness of riches
God’s people fall into this problem with riches.
I Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Money is not the problem but it is our attitude to money which is the problem. Obey the Lord in money matters. Be generous. Learn contentment. Know that the Lord knows your needs much more than you do, so trust Him to provide.
If we do not die to this matter of love for money, we will wander away from our relationship with God. Our walk with God will only be an outward show without an inner reality. This is another factor of the old man which must be buried with Christ.
The desires for other things
For each of us, this is different. Some of us crave acceptance, some for recognition, others for importance etc. What are the things that you are hankering after? Surrender them to the Lord and let them go. These are all the issues of the old man that must be buried with Christ.
Thought to ponder
Say ‘good bye’ to the old man.