The Burial of Jesus

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Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Christ. John the Apostle wrote that he kept his beliefs to himself due to his fear of the Jews: “Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders” (John 19:38). Luke wrote that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of Israel composed of the seventy elders. Luke tells us that Joseph “had not consented to their decision and action” (Luke 23:51).

Upon Christ’s death, Joseph was moved to go to Pilate, the Roman Governor, asking him if he could have the body of Jesus to give Him an honorable burial. Meanwhile, another member of the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus, the principal teacher in Israel, i.e., the one who had come to Jesus at night with questions about how to be born-again (John 3:1-18), had gone to purchase seventy-five pounds of spices to put around the body and fulfill usual burial customs (John 19:39). The two disciples now gently lowered the body of Jesus from the cross and carried him a short distance to a tomb that was owned by Joseph in a nearby garden. 

38Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. 39He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there (John 19:38-42).

Why do you think Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were open about their faith after the death of Jesus? What are some of the reasons why people hide their faith from others?

Perhaps, their love for Christ moved them to stand up for what they believed. The body more than likely would have been put into a pit with the thieves if they had not requested it. The body needed to be in the tomb before the Sabbath, which started in just three hours from the time Christ died at 3 pm. They both felt moved to give Jesus a proper, honorable burial. Accompanying the two men were several women who had made their journey down from Galilee with Jesus and the disciples (Luke 23:55). They saw exactly where the tomb was so they could return with more spices and perfumes when the Sabbath concluded. Merrill Tenney, in his book The Reality of the Resurrection, writes about the customary procedure for the burial. 

The body was usually washed and straightened and then bandaged tightly from the armpits to the ankles in strips of linen about a foot wide. Aromatic spices, often of a gummy consistency, were placed between the wrappings or folds. They served partially as a cement to glue the cloth wrappings into a solid covering. When the body was thus encased, a square piece of cloth was wrapped around the head and tied under the chin to keep the lower jaw from sagging.[1]

Matthew’s Gospel tells us that Jesus was placed into a new tomb cut out of the rock. It was owned by Joseph who was a rich man (Matthew 27:57). All these things were factors in evidence of what we will look at next, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Keith

[1]Merril C. Tenney, The Reality of the Resurrection(New York, NY: Harper and Row Publishers, 1963, Page 117.

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