The Burial of Jesus (J72)

What Jesus had come to do was now done;
Surrounded by soldiers, His body lay;
Two were permitted to bury God’s Son,
Near the end of that significant day—
Nicodemus, who questioned Him by night,
And Joseph; in secret did both believe,
But this evil deed drew them into light,
Caring not what hazards they might receive!
His body these two lovingly prepared,
And placed it in a nearby borrowed tomb,
Closely watched by a few who His life shared:
Mary, John, and she who lent Him her womb!
Jesus was buried, Christ Jesus came out—
Proving we, too, will live, beyond a doubt!

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Commentary on: John 19:38-42 (NIV)
In flesh as the man, Jesus of Nazareth, God had come to earth and lived 33 years a completely sinless life; He voluntarily died, to offer all men and women a way to escape condemnation for sin. The way to accept His offer is that you must believe He was sent from God; if you do believe, He will impute His righteousness to you. There is no other way for you to to be saved (See John 14:6).

Joseph of Arimethea, a wealthy Jew and perhaps a Pharisee, was a believer in Jesus who had kept it secret for fear of the Jews. He was given permission by Pilate to take charge of the body of Jesus; he planned to bury it in his own tomb that was near the cross. Nicodemus, the Pharisee who had come to question Jesus at night, came with Joseph. Nicodemus had believed Jesus was sent from God, but he had kept it secret, also. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, the council of 23 Pharisees and priests that governed religious matters of the Jews. He, too, was very rich, but after it became known that He was a follower of Jesus, tradition reports that Nicodemus was severely persecuted and lost his wealth.

The Sabbath began at 6 pm, and the day was called “Preparation” day for the Passover meal that night. Jesus had to be buried by that time. They brought linen strips and spices to wrap around His body and a cloth to cover His face. I assume His mother Mary, the apostle John, Mary Magdalene, and a few others closely accompanied the two men until the stone was rolled into place to cover the entrance to the cave. We are told in the other gospel books that the Jews had Pilate assign soldiers to guard the entrance, to make sure the disciples did not steal His body, conceal it, and claim His resurrection.

The priests and Pharisees that hated Jesus so much must have enjoyed their Seder meals that night, thinking they had successfully rid Israel of Jesus of Nazareth. However, they had not. “The Way” was about to explode, covering Israel, and the entire Roman Empire, the “known world” in the first century. Not only that, they had brought upon themselves the judgment of God; 38 years later, in 70 A.D., Roman general Titus destroyed Jerusalem, killing one million Jews and sending the rest into slavery. They cut down all the trees and plowed up the land of all Israel, sowing the ground with salt. To this day, modern Israel has not finished restoring fertility to much of the land.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)