Proper Burial

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Jesus’ crucifixion

Jesus endured the cross and glorifies the Father as He forsakes His only son.

Now, The Father watches over His word to fulfill another prophecy.

Numbers 23:19 ESV

19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Isaiah 55:8–13 ESV

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 12 “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Burial as Evidence

As we look at these few verses today, they may seem like just minor details in the larger story of Jesus death burial and resurrection but the bottom line is that if these details weren’t recorded as truth of scripture and of history, and anyone could argue the validity of what the whole of scripture claims.

We have no need to believe the words of the Bible with blind faith, hoping and praying that they are all really true. The words on the pages of our bibles are the very words of God and give evidence in themselves, but that’s not all. History backs them up as well.

Matthew 27:57–61 ESV

57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

It was customary to have the bodies of crucified criminals left on their crosses to rot or to be eaten by wild animals. But the Jews wanted no such horror displayed during the Passover season, and Romans were known to grant the corpses of executed men to friends or relatives for proper burial.

It Was evening: This one detail is very important. We have to remember that in Jewish reference to time a day started and ended at sundown. This was evening just before sundown. Jesus was crucified and buried on Friday because Jewish sabbath started at sundown on Friday. This made the day Jesus died, the day of preparation as we will see in the next passage.

John records a few more details of who wall was involved.

John 19:38–39 ESV

38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.

These men were prominent men. Joseph was not just rich. He was a member of the Sanhedren and Nicodemus was a Pharisee. Both seem to be secret disciples of Jesus for fear of the repercussions of their association with Him. God raised up two previously secret disciples (Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus) to receive the body of Jesus and give it the best burial they could in the short time they had before sundown and the start of Sabbath.

Joseph did not serve Jesus in many ways, but he did serve Him in ways no one else did or could. It was not possible for Peter, James, John, or even the many women who served Jesus to provide a tomb, but Joseph could and did.

We must serve God in whatever way we can.

This fact about Joseph’s tomb being used for Jesus’ body also fulfills prophecy.

Isaiah 53:9 ESV

9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

“In the hours of crisis it is often the Peters who have sworn loyalty to Jesus with big gestures and fullness of self-confidence, that disappoint, and it is the secret and quiet followers of the Master (like Joseph, Nicodemus and the women) that do not hesitate to serve Him in love — at whatever the cost.” (Geldenhuys)

New Tomb:

“It was a new tomb, wherein no remains had been previously laid, and thus if he came forth from it there would be no suspicion that another had arisen, nor could it be imagined that he rose through touching some old prophet’s bones, as he did who was laid in Elisha’s grave.” (Spurgeon)

Myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds: “The enormous quantity has been accounted for as a rich man’s expression of devotion, or as required if the entire body and all the wrappings were to be smeared with it.” (Dods)

David Guzik: This was the customary way to seal an expensive tomb. A rich man like Joseph of Arimethea probably had a tomb carved into solid rock; this tomb was in a garden near the place of crucifixion.

John 19:41 ESV

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.

The tomb would commonly have a small entrance and perhaps one or more compartments where bodies were laid out after being somewhat mummified with spices, ointments, and linen strips. Customarily, the Jews left these bodies alone for a few years until they decayed down to the bones, then the bones were placed in a small stone box known as an ossuary. The ossuary remained in the tomb with the remains of other family members.

There is a simple fact in these verses. Anyone who lived in these times, having read these words about two VERY prominent men asking for the body of Jesus from the Roman governor and then burying Jesus in Joseph’s tomb could and would have been discredited if it had not been true. Every Jerusalem Jew would have known who Joseph of Arimathea was. It would have been all too easy to verify or deny the accuracy of the claim that he gave his tomb to be used for Jesus’ body, and ultimately, it would have been even more easy to see that the tomb that was claimed to be emptied was Joseph’s tomb as well.

All these are claims that have not been refuted by evidence or fact to this day.

Regardless, It was quite a sacrifice for Joseph of Arimathea to give his up — but remember, Jesus would only use it for a few days!

Verse 61 almost seems insignificant, but this sets up the witnesses of the resurrection. I believe that part of the reason the women mentioned, Mary Magdalene, the other Mary and Zebadee’s wife, were “sitting across from the tomb” was partially to offer the names of eye witnesses to Jesus burial and then His resurrection as well. If the disciples had witnessed the empty tomb first it wouldn’t have been as clear or valid both for scripture or for history.

The Tomb is Sealed and Guarded

Matthew 27:62–66 ESV

62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

“It must mean that the chief priests and Pharisees actually approached Pilate on the Sabbath with their request. If they did that, it is clear to see how radically they broke the Sabbath Law.” (Barclay)

In verse 63 we read two things in the statements of the chief priests and Pharisees. We see that they agreed with the fact that Jesus was dead, which debunks the swoon theory. We also see that these enemies of Jesus recalled His words saying He would come back from the dead, even when his disciples didn’t. The disciples ran and hid out while the “spiritual leaders” broke the sabbath to plot even more to attempt to stop Jesus’ mission.

Swoon Theory:

The “Swoon Theory,” was an argument that denied the resurrection, saying that Jesus never really died, but just “swooned” on the cross, and then somehow he was wonderfully revived in the tomb.

A humorous letter to the editor to a Christian magazine accurately evaluated the “Swoon Theory”:

Dear Eutychus: Our preacher said, on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think? Sincerely, Bewildered

Dear Bewildered: Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine-tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross; hang him in the sun for 6 hours; run a spear through his heart; embalm him; put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours and see what happens. Sincerely, Eutychus.

“So where is Jesus? Produce the supposedly living body of your risen Lord!” They knew that it would do nothing for the disciples to steal the body of Jesus, because they could not present a dead body and pretend it was alive. That would prove nothing. What they were really afraid of was the resurrection power of Jesus.

“Justin says that such stories were still being actively disseminated in the middle of the second century (Dialogues 108). The fact of such propaganda in itself indicates that it could not be denied that the tomb was empty; what was questioned was how it came to be empty.” (France)

The Jewish leaders and the Romans were well aware of the need to guard the tomb, and that they took all necessary measures to secure it. These security measures simply gave greater testimony to the miracle of the resurrection. If Jesus’ tomb was unguarded, one might suggest that an unknown person or persons stole the body, and it would be difficult to refute. Yet because the tomb was so well guarded, we can be certain that His body wasn’t stolen.

Sealing the stone and setting the guard: This describes the measures taken to secure the tomb of Jesus.

The tomb was secured by a stone, which was a material obstacle. These stones were large, and set in an inclined channel. This was a real obstacle. For sure, the stone could not be rolled away from the inside. The disciples, if you had enough of them, could roll away the stone — but not quietly. Besides, they would have to work together to roll it away, and that didn’t seem likely.

The tomb was secured by a seal, which was an obstacle of human authority. The seal was a rope, overlapping the width of the stone covering the entrance to the tomb. On either side of the doorway, there was a glob of wax securing the rope over the stone. You could not move the rock without breaking the seal. It was important that the guards witness the sealing, because they were responsible for whatever was being sealed. These Roman guards would watch carefully as the stone was sealed, because they knew their careers, and perhaps their lives, were on the line. The Roman seal carried legal authority. It was more than yellow tape barricading a modern crime scene; to break a Roman seal was to defy Roman authority. That stone was secured by the authority of the Roman Empire.

The tomb was secured by a guard, which was an obstacle of human strength. A typical Roman guard had four soldiers. Two watched while the others rested. This guard may have had more. The soldiers would be fully equipped — sword, shield, spear, dagger, armor. We should also remember that these were Roman soldiers. They didn’t care about Jesus or Jewish laws or rituals. They were called to secure the tomb of a criminal. To them the only sacred thing at this tomb was the Roman seal, because if that were broken, their careers were ruined and they might be executed themselves. Soldiers cold-blooded enough to gamble over a dying man’s clothes were not the kind of men to be tricked by trembling disciples, or would not jeopardize their necks by sleeping at their post.

None of these obstacles mattered. They will all fall away before Him!

No obstacle stands a chance against the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.

“Vain men! As if the same power that was necessary to raise and quicken the dead could not also remove the stone, and break through the watch they had set. But by their excessive care and diligence, instead of preventing Christ’s resurrection, as they intended, they have confirmed the truth and belief of it to all the world.” (Poole)

For every believer Jesus’ death and burial isn’t just important. We identify with Him in His death when we choose to be baptised. A physical demonstration of what happened spiritually.

Romans 10:9–10 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Romans 6:3–4 ESV

3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.