Isaiah chapter 53. We have come now to the ninth verse. In the words of verse 9, And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Through the eyes of the prophet, we have seen Jesus. We have watched him grow up before his heavenly Father as a tender plant and as a root out of the dry ground. We have also seen how he was despised and rejected of man, because he had no form nor comeliness, and there was no beauty that man should desire him. We have seen just how deeply and intimately he was acquainted with grief And we have said without a doubt, this man is truly a man of sorrows. Because we realized that he had borne our grief and carried our sorrows. And we knew that he had been smitten of God and afflicted. But then the prophet brought us right to that place of suffering and shame. And it was there that we saw how he was winded for our transgressions. And we looked and saw how he was bruised for our iniquities. We were brought to realize through the eyes of the prophet Isaiah that the chastisement of our peace was upon him. Then with stunned amazement they watched the Savior suffer and suffer in silence And we couldn't believe how he bore so much. And yet he bore it all in silence, for he opened not his mouth. We were immediately reminded of the silence of the Lamb when it is brought to the slaughter. But then the end of the sufferings came when at last he was cut off out of the land of the living. And the sufferings were over. And so there he hangs, a lifeless form suspended between heaven and earth on a Roman gibbet. And we say to Isaiah, what now? Who will attend to his burial? How many will attend his funeral? We must look again to the eyes of the prophet to see what was to be done with the holy body of Jesus Christ, the crucified one. And verse 9 tells us, in a wonderful way, this 9th verse tells us what was done with the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, because, or that word may be rendered though, though he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. I want us first of all, in this verse 9, to consider the intention of the haters of Christ. What they intended. Those who had arrested him. Those who had hurried him on to Pilate. Those who had led him out to be crucified. What did they intend to do with the body of the Lord Jesus? That's what I want to consider in this first point. Because Isaiah tells us what his enemies intended to do with him after he was dead. We remember, of course, that in the garden the Savior had been left alone to pray. Recall that he stood alone in Pilate's judgment hall, because all his followers, all his friends, and every member of his family had deserted him. And there, in Pilate's judgment hall, he stood as a lonely figure, while the crowd cried out, Crucify! crucified. He was alone when the band of cruel soldiers surrounded him to mock and ridicule him. And apart from the presence of Simon of Cyrene, he was alone when he climbed God offer's hill. And none was ever so alone was when the Lord Jesus Christ hung upon the cross. So the Lamb of God was forsaken of His Father. So He prayed alone. He trod the winepress alone. He suffered alone. And on Calvary, He died alone. So what was to be done with his body? If there was no one there to stand beside him, to support him, to encourage him in his sufferings, if all of his disciples had forsaken him and fled, who was going to take care of his body? Who is going to claim the body of Christ? Isaiah tells us what the authorities wanted to do with him. And he made his grave with the wicked. In those words we see the poverty of Jesus Christ. Remember what he said to some of his would-be followers? You remember whenever man came to them and said they wanted to follow him? Do you remember what he said to them? He said, foxes have holes, the birds of the air have their nests, but the son of man has not where to lay his head. And he said to his would-be followers, you better know what it's like to be my disciple. You better know what it's like to be a follower of mine, because I have nowhere to lay my head. You better know the price of discipleship. You better know the cost of following me. I have not where to lay my head. And that was very true during the years of the Saviour's earthly ministry. And now we see that it is true in the hour of His death. He has not where to lay His head. There's nowhere to bury Christ. He who was rich became poor. And we see here just how poor he was when he had not even a sepulcher in which to lay his hat. And that person is poor indeed, even today. The poorest of the poor will be taken care of in their death. There will be somewhere to place that lifeless frame. But here we behold the poverty of the Lord Jesus. That person is poor indeed who does not have a resting place for his last remains. And oh dear child of God, what poverty is this? What humiliation is this? That one who was so high, was higher than the heavens, was brought down so low that he had not where to lay his head, not even in death. Now we are told he was to make his grave with the wicked. If a grave was found for him, if a burying place was found for him, then it would be with the wicked. Was the holy Emmanuel to be lowered into the grave? with the corrupting bodies of wicked sinners. That was the intention of his enemies. That's what they intended for the Lord Jesus Christ. And we bless the Lord today for the one who was rich, and yet for our sakes he became poor. And here we see his poverty. Jesus Christ became poor that we through his poverty might be made rich. And dear child of God, through the poverty of the Lord Jesus Christ, you and I who trust him today are richer than millionaires. We have riches untold because of the poverty of Christ. There's the poverty of Christ, then we notice the plan for Christ. The authorities had planned what they would do with the body of this stranger of Galilee. Look at the words again, and he made his grave with the wicked. That may be translated another way. The words may be rendered as follows. And they made, or the word made means appointed. And they appointed his grave with a wicket. That's what the words of Isaiah mean. They, the authorities, the enemies of Christ, they appointed a grave for him. And that grave was to be found with a wicket. That's what their intentions were, to bury Jesus Christ with the wicked. He was numbered with the transgressors in his death, and so why not have him numbered with the transgressors in his death and in his burial? His enemies who had a part in his death intended that his burial would be as disgraceful as his death. They intended to carry on treating Jesus Christ as a common criminal. And they were going to see to it that he would have the burial of a common criminal. He would be dealt with in his burial the way the worst of sinners would be dealt with. You've heard, I'm sure, of Josephus, the historian. And this is what Josephus has to say about how common criminals, how the worst of criminals were dealt with after their death. Josephus says, He that blasphemeth God, and that's what they charged Christ with. He that blasphemeth God, let him be stoned, and let him hang upon a tree all day, and let him be buried in an ignominious and obscure manner. And that's what the enemies of Christ intended to do with the body of the Saviour. They intended to bury him in an ignominious and obscure manner. It was intended to deny him an honorable burial and to conspire him to the same ignominious grave with the violators of God's law and the laws of man. They were going to treat him in this burial as they had treated him before and during his death. That's what they intended. And if the enemies of Christ had have had their way, let me tell you this, without one shadow of a doubt, They would have dealt with Jesus Christ's body as the body of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah was dealt with. Listen to these words. Regarding Jehoiakim, it is said, they shall not lament for him. saying, Ah, my brother, or Ah, sister. They shall not lament for him saying, Ah, Lord, or Ah, his glory. He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. And I tell you this, if the enemies of Jesus Christ had have had their way, they would have dealt with Jesus Christ in the same way. He would have had the burial of Jehoiakim. The burial of an ass. That's what they intended. Make no mistake about it, that's what the enemies of Christ intend. Or perhaps they intended to deal with him as the king of Babylon was dealt with. For we read about him, but thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch. and as the raiment of those that are slain thrust through with a sword that go down to the stones of the pits as a carcass trodden on their feet. Why that's what they did with Jesus Christ before he died. There's no telling what they would have done with Jesus Christ after he died. That's what they intended. And I tell you, something like this was planned and was in the minds of his enemies, for they had appointed his grave with the wicked. And it's quite possible they intended burying Christ in the same grave. as the two malefactors who were crucified with him, treating him as a common criminal. The Son of God, who did no sin, would be treated like a common criminal. And dear child of God, we should keep reminding ourselves The Lord Jesus stood so low for you and me. This land and this poverty, we notice also, was no pity for Christ, not even after his death. Even the worst of men will refrain from saying evil things about someone who has passed on. But here we see that the enemies of Christ didn't care. And they showed no pity. It is a hard and callous man indeed who will deny The deceased, a decent and honorable burial. But his enemies were determined not to honor Christ in any way, not even after his death. They were determined they would not honor him in any way, shape or form. Not even by giving him a decent He'd been given up to be treated as a common criminal. He was made to take the vacated place of a murderer. Barabbas. He took his place on the cross. He was subjected to the same indignity and cruelty to which the two malice actors were. And it was evidently designed also that he should be buried in the same manner, and as I said, possibly the same grave. They weren't going to honour this Jesus of Nazareth. I'm going to turn to John 19. Here we have A verse that really reveals to us what his enemies were thinking. John 19, verse 31. The Lord Jesus has cried and he has bowed his head and he has given up the ghost. It's all over. Hallelujah. There is no more suffering. It's all over. Verse 31. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was a high day, they saw Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. Just taken away. We need to get rid of these bodies. I don't care what you do with them, but just take them away. Like some unclean thing that marred the landscape. That's what they thought of Christ. What they wanted for Him was that He was taken away, to be removed. They didn't care where to, as long as He was taken away out of their sight. And believe me, when I read those words again, I've read them many times in the past, but I read them again and I thought to myself, nothing much has changed, has it? We live in this day and generation, and the attitude to Jesus Christ is just the same, taken away. We don't care what you do with them. But take them away out of our sight. You see it everywhere today. Just take them away. Unregenerate man is still as cruel and hard and callous as ever he was. Man's opposition and hatred for Jesus Christ is still as fierce as ever. Thank God there are some. And we praise the Lord that we're numbered amongst them, who will say with Mary, tell me where thou hast led him, and I will take him away. I'll take nobody else wants them, then I'll take them. And thank God in this world, where it seems as though so many don't want Christ, we're happy to stand up and be counted and say, I'll have Christ. I'll take him. We have the intention of the enemies of Christ. Next we have the intervention of heaven for Christ. The last enemy hand that was laid on Jesus Christ was at his crucifixion. Only hands of the faction may touch him now. He would not be exposed to any further indignities. For when he gave up the ghost, his humiliation ended. Not only did his suffering end, his humiliation ended. when Jesus Christ bowed his head and gave up the ghost. Yes, his enemies intended to bury him with the wicket, but that would not take place because heaven intervened on his behalf. Because the next clause in our text here tells us He made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death. Made his grave. They intended to make his grave with the wicked. That was their intent. But here you have the intervention. For we are told and with the rich in his death. You see, there was someone who was willing to claim Jesus Christ. And that one, of course, we know was a man by the name of Joseph of Arimathea. God had used Joseph of Arimathea to intervene in the situation and take the body of Christ out of the hands of his enemies and to make sure that he was given a dignified, honorable burial. You see, whenever you look at those words, and with the rich in his death, Those words may be rendered, and with the rich man in his death. And so here in Isaiah, his prophecy written some four, five hundred years before the death of Christ, already God has a man, chosen, set apart, to be used in the hand of God to intervene in the situation of Christ's burial. A rich man. And that rich man was Joseph. And here we have, first of all, heaven's preparation Heaven was preparing for that day. Heaven was preparing for that hour when the Lord Jesus would give up the ghost. And there was nobody around except his enemies to take the body of the Savior. Oh, the Lord had already prepared a man. And that man was Joseph of Ireland. Here we have a wonderful proof that what took place happened outside the control of a sovereign God. Yes, there was that mob that came to the garden. And there was that mob that stood right beside the Pilate's judgment hall, chanting, Crucify! Crucify! And there was the mob that followed him to Calvary. And there was the mob that gathered around the cross and mocked him. But I tell you, nothing happens Merely because of an unruly mob, everything was according to the workings and the planning and the will of a sovereign God. And here's the proof of it, if proof is needed. That when there was no one but the enemies of Christ around to take care of the body of the Savior, God had a man chosen and prepared to take care of the body of the Saviour. It's all under control. Dear child of God, we can learn from that. Whatever happens to us, it's all under control. We believe in a sovereign God. And while at times things seem to be out of control, and we wonder maybe at times what's happening, fear not. God is in control. He knows the end from the beginning. He'll work all things out according to his will and to his purpose. for our good and always for His glory. But we read over in John 18, sorry, John 19, verse 38, And after this Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly foreseer of the Jews, besought Pilate, that he might take away the body of Jesus and Pilate gave him leave and he came therefore and took the body of Jesus. Here Isaiah refers to this rich man 500 years before he was born. Here the Lord already had Joseph of Arimathea chosen When Isaiah was writing the prophecy, God already knew who he would have to take care of the body of Christ. This reminds me of what I read in Jeremiah. In Jeremiah chapter 1 and verse 5, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. Before I formed thee, I knew thee. And before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nation. Why, before Jeremiah was even thought about in the mind of man, he was already chosen in the mind of God. He was already ordained in the mind of God. And here we have Joseph of Arimathea. Why, before he was born, before he was formed in his mother's womb, God knew him. And God had a work and a plan for Joseph of Arimathea. Remember what he said about Paul, our Saul of Tarsus? He is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. Joseph of Arimathea was a chosen vessel unto the Lord. Saul of Tarsus was a chosen vessel unto the Lord. Joseph of Arimathea was created for the purpose of taking care of the body of Christ. You think of that. God created Joseph as our Messiah for the purpose of taking care of the body of Jesus Christ. Now that begs the question, what has God created you and me for? What work Does God want us to do for Jesus Christ? Before we were formed in our mother's womb, the Lord knew us. Dear child of God, He brought us forth into this world to do something for Christ. That's very obvious when we look at the life Joseph of Arimathea. What has God created us for? Just to go through life and enjoy all the goodness and the gifts of the Lord without ever doing anything for Him? I don't believe that. God has created us that we might do something for Jesus Christ. It's the chief end of man, isn't it? To glorify God. That's why I've created us, to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. And the only way we can enjoy God and glorify God is serving Jesus Christ. That's how we are enjoying. It's the preparation menu of the person. Joseph of Arimathea. He was heaven's person. Isaiah spoke of the rich man, and heaven had already chosen to take care of the burial of the Lord Jesus. Now we've looked at Joseph before. We could say many things about Joseph of Arimathea this morning. But I just want to highlight a few things. I want first of all to say that this man who was chosen by God, Heaven's man, was first of all the right man. He was the right man for this job. God has so blessed Joseph and prospered him, making him a wealthy man, making him a rich man, as the Gospels tell us, that only someone like him could possibly have taken care of the body of Christ and given him an honorable burial. He was a rich man to do that. Otherwise, he would have been tossed into a grave with a wicket. And maybe not from that. But God had prepared this man, had blessed this man, had made him a rich man. He had his sepulcher there in the garden. He had already cut it out himself. He had chiseled out of that rock the sepulcher. He was the right man for the job. And you know, dear child of God, there is a work to be done. And whatever that work is, you and I are the right people for that job. You think of it here was a work to be done for the Lord Jesus, and who else could have done it? Certainly none of the disciples. First of all, they weren't even there. But what were they up until they became followers of the same that they were just common fishermen? They couldn't afford a chapel care of this nature to give the Lord an honorable burial. No, Joseph was a man. He was a man to take care of that matter. You know, believer, there's work It need to be done for the Lord Jesus and only you can do it. Only you. Maybe it's a word of witness. And only you are in contact as a Christian with those people. You're the right person for the job. He was the right man. He was a revised man. We of course know that Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of the Lord Jesus, but secretly, secretly, for fear of the Jews. He was a secret disciple, but oh, not anymore. He was afraid of the Jews. And yet, now we find him going up to Pilate himself and begging the body of Christ. Chained Joseph of Arimathea. What was it that revived him? I'll tell you what it was. It was the cross. When Joseph of Arimathea saw what Jesus did for him, then surely Joseph felt this is the least I can do for my Savior. And suddenly the timidity was gone. What was it that missionary said? If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice is too great. for me to make for him. And believer, if there's anyone here this morning in your coldened heart and indifferent to the things of God, look to the cross and you'll be revived. And he was a remembered man. He was a remembered man. There are a number of Josephs in Scripture, but there's only one Joseph as our Messiah. And he'll always be remembered. He'll always be remembered for what he did for Christ. As Willie Mullen used to say, He'll always be remembered for what he did for Christ. That's why I want to be remembered. I would like to be remembered as John the Baptist was remembered. This man did no miracle, but all things of his speck of isn't it? A good way to be remembered. A good way for Joseph to be remembered. What he done for the Saviour. To care of the body, took it down, anointed it, wrapped it in the grave clothes along with Nicodemus, placed it lovingly and in his own sepulchre. Isn't that interesting? A sepulchre, we are told, in which never man was left. In other words, you could call it a virgin sepulchre. And he who was born in a virgin's womb was left. in a virgin grave, where never man had laid his head. Jesus Christ was separate from sinners in his life, and through Joseph of Arimathea, he was separate from sinners in his death. Bless the Lord. And finally, and very briefly, You have the innocence of the Holy Christ. During His trial, no one was prepared to step forward and speak a word for Christ. No one was prepared to speak a word in His defense. When the choristers of hell cried out, He's guilty. It wasn't one voice. to say, no, he's innocent. Not once. So after prophetically observing what was done to the son of man at Calvary, after seeing how he was treated as a common criminal, yes, the worst of sinners, the prophet Isaiah, as it were, speaks up. It's as if Isaiah is saying, I must say something. I must say something in the defense of Jesus Christ. And what I have to say is this. He hath done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. There's the claims about Christ that tells us then that he has done no violence and there's no deceit in his mouth. and he's an innocent man, then he must have died for somebody else. And bless the Lord, we can say, yes, he died for me. There's the conduct of Christ. He had done no violence. No violence. It's interesting where the first mention of the word violence is found. And in what context? It's found in Genesis 6. Here's the first mention of violence. Genesis 6 verse 11. The earth also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence. Notice the order. The earth also was corrupt, filled with violence. Corrupt and violent. and violence. Verse 13, And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Violence comes from corruption. Violence is the child of sin. And why was Isaiah able to say of Jesus Christ he had done no violence? Because he was without sin. That's why. Why Jesus Christ could not be violent. He could never commit one act of violence. Why? Because he was without sin. And that's how Peter interpreted the word. Because in 1 Peter 2, in verse 22, there we read the words. He is, or who did no sin, neither was any deceit in his mouth. And that's why he did no violence, because he did no sin, because he could not sin. Indeed that's something needs to be preached again and again and again. Who did no sin, 1 Peter 2, 22. Who knew no sin, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. In him is no sin, 1 John 3, verse 5. And his character. His character is mentioned there. Neither was deceit in his mouth. Hallelujah. Isn't he a wonderful person? Never committed one act of violence. Never any deceitfulness. I never deceived anyone. He never deceived me. He has never deceived you. Remember his first message that he preached in Nazareth? sit up and preach from Isaiah 61. We read the scriptures. We are told, and all bear him witness, and wondered at the gracious words. The gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. Nothing but gracious words came from the mouth of Christ. We could say with the Bride and Song of Solomon, his mouth is most sweet. Let him kiss us with kisses of his mouth, because there's no deceit there. Judas kissed him with the kiss of defeat. But Christ will never kiss us with the kiss of deceit because there's no deceit in his life. Never deceived anyone. He's so precious, so pure, so dear to us today. And here again, through the eyes of Isaiah, We see how low the Saviour was brought, that he might lift you and me and set us so high. Bless his name. Let's bow in prayer. Our dear Lord and gracious Father, we bless thee for our Saviour. We thank Thee for what He has done. We thank Thee that He came so low, came down so far, leaving His throne in heaven, the ivory palaces of glory, and came to a place where He was ready to be cast in, to a grave with the wicked. O gracious Father, we can only say today, O come, let us adore Him. And we'll give Him all the glory. Because Jesus Christ alone is worthy. Worthy is the Lamb to receive honour, praise and glory. Lord, help us to meditate on thy word today and be with us now as we leave this place of worship. Go with us, Lord, and go before us. And in thy will, return us tonight to learn more about our blessed Saviour, our wonderful Saviour, and our wonderful Lord. the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit abide with us now, and until that day, we see Him. Amen.