^“And when the centurion, which stood over against Him [Jesus], saw that He so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome; (Who also, when He was in Galilee, followed Him, and ministered unto Him;) and many other women which came up with Him unto Jerusalem.

And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if He were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether He had been any while dead. And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen, and laid Him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where He was laid” (Mark 15:39-47).

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There were certain people who followed Jesus to the grave. They had the privilege of seeing what happened to Him right up to the end. They were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Salome. They loved Jesus and were devoted to Him. I think the mother of Jesus would have been taken home away from the scene by that time. It was too much for her to see her Son whose birth was announced by angels, her wonderful Son, to die a criminal’s death.

Joseph of Arimathaea made a bold decision to go to Pilate and ask for the body of Jesus. He was clear of the blood of Jesus. He did not agree with the decision of the Sanhedrin. Very few people could have done what Joseph did. Pilate was surprised to learn that Jesus was so soon dead. The Centurion who was stationed at the cross handed over the body to Joseph of Arimathaea. Joseph bought a long piece of fine linen cloth. It must have been very costly.

Nicodemus also came bringing a hundred pound weight of spices, to keep the body from putrefying. They did not know what great service they were rendering. It was their darkest hour. The sun which gave them light till now was suddenly darkened. In their darkest hour they did not forget their duty to Jesus.

Faith is the habit of looking to God. When the subconscious is relieved of all sin, we get to the place where we always think hopefully—even under the worst circumstances. This is only possible for Christians. Oh! The wailing at Hindu funerals. This was their darkest hour, yet Joseph and these women had some kind of hope. It was the darkest hour for the disciples too. They were all sitting together in a room. Their darkest hour had come. Their hopes were shattered. It is wonderful how they faced and came through that hour. Those who know Jesus develop the capacity to stand with hope in the darkest hours of their lives. To know Jesus and to know Him as the Lord of life is the greatest thing.

Death is vanquished. The last thing that God is going to remove from this world is death. Do not think that death will always be here. During the thousand years of Jesus’ reign, there will be no death. Death and sin are conquered. A Christian must believe that death and sin will be conquered in his life. How Joseph of Arimathaea must have rejoiced when he saw Jesus on the throne in Heaven and remembered the service that he had rendered to Him. You will never rejoice in anything at the end of your life but in the service you render to Jesus like Joseph who served Him in that darkest hour.

People invited Jesus to dinner, when He was famous and acclaimed. But at this hour when Jesus was killed like a criminal, Joseph valued that bruised and lacerated body. Kings and great warriors receive great honour at the time of their burial. There was no one to pay such homage to Jesus here. The faith of Joseph was a wonderful faith. He did not expect anything like the resurrection. If people knew He would rise on the third day and receive great glory, many would have done Him honour. But Joseph did Him honour when he did not know about the resurrection. Sometimes when you are straining every nerve and serve God, it appears like a thankless job. People criticize you, your dress, your actions, and everything about you.

Jonah was three days in the fish’s belly. Jonah 2:2-4: "And he said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and He heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple." 7th verse: "When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord…" There will come times when our souls faint within us. In our desperate condition let us look again to God. Where else is there hope? Jesus used the case of Jonah as an illustration of His death. Jesus was three days in the grave. He was in the darkest place. He went to hell, where lost souls dwelt. But there was nothing to hold Him down there. The Father raised Him again from the dead.

The mystery of Christian life is the life-giving principle in the darkest hour. When temptation is very hard upon you, do not forget to utter the name of Jesus. At the worst moment of your life cry unto Jesus. As Joseph was serving Jesus there must have been some faint hope in his heart. For ten years I served in this City of Madras during very dark days, when there was no sign of any success. But I looked to God. Now as I see the development of the work, I wonder at it.

Your youthful life will stand as a witness. Victory should be yours in your youth. The victory in your youth will have a great influence on all your life. Get victory over the flesh and in your spirit. Christ’s body was bruised for you. One day you will wear a body that cannot be touched by sin. You will enjoy Heaven. Abraham will be there but Judas will not be there. Blind Bartimeus will be there, but the Pharisees who troubled Jesus will not be there. Lazarus will be there but the rich man will not be there. This was the darkest night but it led to the brightest morn.
                          
— N. Daniel

A young German lad sat before me sighing more deeply than I have ever seen anyone sigh. He was in deep anguish of heart, for God was convicting him of his sins. He drew my attention to Romans 1:26 and said, “God has given me up.” He seemed to entertain no hope at all of forgiveness. His homosexuality had left a dark stain in his heart and a wound in his soul that throbbed with pain. There, in that camp centre, I assured him that he could yet find peace and pardon if he would deeply repent and confess his sins to Christ and yield his life into His hands. Many were the young people that likewise repented and found peace during the few days of meetings in that beautiful scenic camp venue.

Modern life, despite all its pretensions to refinement and culture, is churning out a swelling stream of men and women and young people who are too deeply stained with sin to be able to enjoy any real peace or rest. These vile affections that are such a conspicuous part of our times are no doubt a mark and a sign of an endtime day and generation that has abandoned the holy laws of God and has thrown itself without any restraint into shameless lusts and moral vices. These vile affections are contagious and deadly. They enter the soul through the eye-gate and infest the thought-life and destroy the soul.

Beware of what you see, let not your eye rest on the scantily clad women that smile at you with coy and devilish looks, from every vantage point along our roads and highways, from the giant-size hoardings. If the devil ever needed hell hounds, he has any number to augment the packs of Hell in the Cinema-crazed men and women of our day.

We are surely reaching a saturation point in terms of adultery, immorality, unfaithfulness in marriage, homosexuality, and all manner of uncleanness. These vile affections are running riot in our colleges and institutions, in our hospitals and our churches.

It is not preceptors and philosophers that we need. We have wagon-loads of them—ready to be shipped to Hell. What we need are LIVE-RS—holy men and women of God who live the Christian life.

Oh the sorrow and the heartache that I have shared with young men and women, while they have told me of their wrecked and ruined lives. Oh the anguish and the tears of those young women, who had thrown their virginity to the winds, as they have sat before me, seeking peace with God. Oh the cruelty and beastliness of those men and women who have seduced innocent children with their wicked ways. What but the Blood of Christ can wipe away such tears—such stains!

Holy living is the true test of religion. At the Cross of Christ a repentant sinner can find not only cleansing from his sins but a glorious freedom from his sins.

The judgment Day of God is at hand. Both clerics and preachers and men and women in the ordinary walks of life will have to render an account to God for all the unclean deeds done in this body. Christianity has no shortcut or tentative remedies or opiates to offer. The rituals of our churches can hardly wash away the dirt of the body, much less the uncleanness of the soul.

Christ has the redemption to offer that your guilty soul requires. By the shedding of His own blood, He has purchased for all men true salvation, which includes and involves holiness in daily life. Make no mistake, if you should see a clergyman or professed leader of Christian thought dive into the low-down cinema, to purchase for himself an evening’s fare of unclean antics of ill-clad women, be sure that he neither knows the Saviour of all men nor has part nor lot in the holy ministry of redeeming men and women from unclean living.

Beware. Repent. The judgments of God are near. Confess your sins to the only Saviour who died for you. Those also who have once repented must repent again for every lapse in holiness. Then will you receive pardon, deliverance from your dark past, and power to live victoriously.

—Joshua Daniel

There must be a time when life begins to rise; when the dead soul begins to live [conversion].

[B]ear in mind, it was the ark that saved Noah: it was not his righteousness; it was not his feelings; it was not his tears; it was not his prayers. It was the ark that saved him. If he had tried to make an ark of his feelings, or of his prayers, or of his life, he would have been swept away: he would have been drowned with the rest. But, you see, it was the ark that saved him.

My friends, be wise tonight, and get behind the blood. The blood has been shed. The blood is on the mercy-seat; and while it is there you can be saved. God is imputing to His Son your trespasses and sins. He says, "I will look at the blood on the mercy-seat." Press in, my friends; make haste and get in tonight; for the Master of the house will rise up by-and-by and shut to the door, and then there will be no hope.

If Christ tells us that we are free, we are free. My friends, Christ is calling tonight. Get out of the devil's territory as quick as you can. ... Take my advice tonight, and escape for the liberty of your soul.

My friend, let me ask you what is repentance? It is right-about-face! I think these soldiers understand that expression. Someone has said that everyone is born with his back to God, and that conversion turns him right round. If you want to be converted, and want to repent, I will tell you what you should do. Just get out of Satan's service, and get into the Lord’s. Leave your old friends, and unite yourself with God's people.

Repentance is getting out of one train and getting into the other. You are in the wrong train; you are in the broad path that takes you down to the pit of hell. Get out of it tonight. Right-about-face! Who will turn his feet towards God? "Turn ye, for why will ye die?" In the Old Testament the word is “turn.” In the New Testament the word is “repent.” “Turn ye, for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” God does not want any man in this audience to perish, but He wants all to be saved. You can be saved now if you will.

There is another illustration I wish I had time to dwell upon and that is about looking. There is that serpent in the wilderness. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man also be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Look here! Just give me your attention for a few minutes. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” How long does it take a man to believe? Or, if you will, how long does it take a man to look? Some people say they believe in educating people to be Christians. How long do you educate children to look? You hear the mother say, “Look,” and the little child looks. It does not take a child three months to learn to look. Look and live! You need not go to college to learn how to look. There is not a child here but knows how to look. Christ says, “Look unto me; for I am God, and there is none else.”

There is the brazen serpent on the pole. God says to the children of Israel, who are dying of the bite of the fiery serpents—“Look, and live!”

Now, there is nothing in looking at a piece of brass which can cure the bite of a serpent. It is God who cures it, and the looking is the condition. It is obedience; and that is what God will have.

One moment the poor sufferer is dying; the next there comes a thrill of life through his veins, and he lives: he is well. My friends, look to Christ, and not to yourselves. That is what is the matter with a great many sinners; instead of looking to Christ, they are looking at the bite. It is not looking to the wound; it is looking to the remedy. Christ is the remedy of sin. What you want is to look from the wound to the remedy—to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Who will look tonight, and live? Turn your eye to Calvary; believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

—Excerpts from D. L. Moody’s last sermon in London