ST_Burial of Jesus

Have you ever thought about what a blessing it is to be buried? Burial practices illustrate how a culture’s beliefs about death and the afterlife. Historically, for the those of the Jewish and the Christian faiths, the practice has been to bury the remains, based on the hope of the resurrection of the dead. That on the last day, our body and our soul would be reunited in a glorified state. For the Christian the hope is 1 Cor 15 :42, “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable”.

But to have a proper burial, you must have the remains of the person to be buried. (not a proper burial to be resurrected), but a proper burial show your hope and for the family.

Currently I am reading a book about Winston Churchill and the Battle of Britain called the Splendid and the Vile. This battle of Britain was fought at the beginning of World War II after the Germans had conquered the continent of Europe. In the Battle of Britain, the German Air Force were trying to bomb England into surrender. During the three months of bombing over 14,000 civilians were killed and another 20,000 wounded. People were so afraid they would die and be nameless in burial, they made homemade name tags so their bodies could be identified after they were pulled from the rubble. The mortuary people in England took great pride in their ability to identify the dead.

To account for lost in batt, her in the United States, the Department of Defense has a little known organization called POW/MIA Accounting Agency conducts missions all the time as part of its charge to find the remains of approximately 34,000 missing Americans who might be recoverable from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. In fiscal year 2019 they found the remains of 218 servicemen. There are another 41,000 are presumed missing or lost at sea that will never be recovered. The purpose of this agency is to give those are missing a proper accounting and to return the remains to their family for a proper burial. Periodically you will see a news item in the newspaper or on the news, where someone have been returned and his remaining family are there at their burial with honors after so long.

It is a blessing to be buried, primarily for the family of the person who died to help them have closure in the sense of knowing what happened to them.

This evening, we will be looking at the burial of Jesus. Last Sunday evening, Pastor Sam had left us at the foot of the cross, with Mary Magdalene and the other women looking at the crucified Jesus, with the hope of Mark 10:33-34. Jesus had said "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise."

But before he can arise, he must be as the Apostle Creed confesses, he was crucified, died, and was buried.”

So please turn in your Bibles to Mark 15:37- 47. The text I was given starts in verse 42, but we are going to start in verse 37, to help us in the context of what is happening. And then we are going to read Matthew 27:62-66. The Gospels of Mark and Matthew are very similar in content and both have detail the other doesn’t, so that is why I want to read both these texts. There is a little overlap

Mark 15:37- 47 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" 40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. 42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

Matthew 27:59-66

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. 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."

Pray. Father in Heaven, as Pastor Doug preached to us this morning, one of the most important things that a pastor can do, is to interpret your inspired words correctly. I pray for your help now as we study your word tonight, in Jesus name, Amen..

So starting in Mark 15:40, we see the three women at the cross. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and a woman named Salome. These women, plus others had been ministering to Jesus in Galilee and they had come up with him to Jerusalem as noted in v41.

If you were only a reader of the Gospel of Mark, you could have concluded up to this point that the movement which Jesus began was an all-male movement. There has been no mention of supporting women nor of specific women associates like Martha and Mary. Women have appeared in Mark’s narrative as the recipients of Jesus’ ministry of deliverance, but the nearest we have seen to a woman follower has been the woman who anointed Jesus in 14:3–9, and she was an anonymous figure in Mark (though Matthew and John identify her as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus) who featured only in that one incident.

It is only at this point, when all Jesus’ male followers have fallen by the wayside, that Mark lets us know that all the time there has been a female element to Jesus’ entourage, who are now ready to pick up where the men have left off. The important role played by these women in the closing stages of Mark’s narrative (and indeed their earlier role in Galilee, now for the first time revealed) is a pointer to something new in the movement Jesus has begun which contrasts strongly with the male domination of the society of that time. When all the male disciples have deserted, the women are still there, faithful to the last. And it will be to them first that the message of the resurrection is entrusted. In contrast with the soldiers who have direct access to the cross, the women as says in verse 40 must look “from a distance;” the term here does not connote a lack of courage or identification but merely the practical reality.

In v42, a problem is presented. It is Friday, the day of preparation, and Mark explains what that is, it the day before the Sabbath. The Sabbath will be occurring at sundown when all work had to cease. Last week Pastor Sam explained how this ancient time system, but Jesus died at the 9th hour, which would be about 3pm. And sunset would about be 6pm in about 3 hours. It should be noted these women have stayed to watch even when they are no longer able to help.

Compounding this time before sunset problem was Jesus had died as a condemned man. Roman law dictated the loss of all honors in death, and even the right of burial was determined by the magistrate. It was not all uncommon for a body to left upon a cross either to rot or to be eaten by predatory bird or animals. The release of the of a corpse for burial depended solely upon the generosity of the magistrate, who in this case was Pilate. The request for the body of Jesus would normally have come from a member of his family. Mary, however, must have been emotionally exhausted by the course of events, and there is no evidence that Jesus’ brothers or sisters were in the city. The disciples had fled.

In v43, in the absence of those related to Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea, a much respected of the Sanhedrin whose piety is clearly indicated by the statement that he was looking for the kingdom of God, the fulfilment of Israel’s messianic hope. This earnest expectation of the coming redemption had apparently attracted him to Jesus. His request is daring because it amounted to a confession of his commitment to the condemned and crucified Jesus. As a member of the council, undoubtedly, he was familiar with the Roman regulation governing the disposal of a corpse. Even though Jesus was unrelated to him, he boldly petitioned Pilate for the right of burial. The approach of the Sabbath, which began at Sundown, made this request more urgent if the burial was to be completed within the time prescribed by the Pentateuchal law.

Deuteronomy 21:23 his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.

In v44 Pilate takes Joseph’s request seriously. He is surprised that Jesus is already dead. Crucified men often lived 2-3 days before dying. Pilate assures himself that Jesus is dead by checking with the centurion that Jesus had been dead for some time. He then released the body for internment. The release of the body one condemned for high treason, and especially to one who was not an immediate relative, was unusual. And probably confirms that Pilate that thought Jesus was innocent, but Pilate pronounced the sentence begrudgingly to placate the irate mob. And so, he released the body to Joseph of Arimathea.

In v46, the removing of the body from the cross, the purchase of the linen cloth, and actual burial are actions expressed of Joseph alone. John 19:39-42 mentions that Nicodemus had brought 75 lbs of myrrh and aloes. Joseph since he was rich, probably had servants who had assisted him between the brief time between the granting of permission for burial and sunset. It is probably best to read the entire verse in a causative sense, he caused the body to be taken from the cross, linen cloth to be purchased, and the body prepared for burial. With servants to assist him, two-three hours was sufficient time

Once the body was removed from the cross, it was hastily prepared for burial. Mark speaks only of the tight wrapping of the body with fine linen. This detail indicates that Jesus was accorded an honorable burial. In Jewish practice washing of the body was so important it was allowed to occur on the Sabbath. In John 19:40, there is the statement that Jesus was buried according to Jewish tradition, so the presumptive evidence is the body was washed before it was wrapped tightly with linen.

After they wrapped him in a linen shroud, according to Mark, they laid him in a tomb, and rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. The gospels of Luke and John report it was a tomb that no one been laid in before. To explain what that means, the burial practice was to put the remains in a tomb. And then after about a year, when the soft tissue was gone, they would remove the bones and put them into a bone box called an ossuary. The tomb could be used over and over again, and that is why you could have empty tombs, that someone might have lain in. The gospel of Matthew reports it was Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb.

After Jesus is lain in the tomb, all the three synoptic gospels report that that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there and saw where Jesus laid.

I want to take a little deeper look at the main characters of this passage. First, there is Joseph of Arimathea. He appears no where else in Scripture except in the four Gospels and in only in the passage of the burial of Jesus. Almost as soon as he appears, he is gone. If you take all four Gospel accounts together, he is described as rich, a good and righteous man, a respected member of the council, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, and who also himself was looking for the kingdom of God. Joseph is thus a leading figure in Jerusalem, and in the light of all the events, it is remarkable to find such a man taking a personal and risky initiative in favor of Jesus, whom his own Sanhedrin had condemned as a blasphemer. the passage in Mark 14:64 indicates that “all condemned him deserving death” but maybe it shouldn’t be taken literally, as Luke 23:51 states Joseph “had not consented to their decision and action”. Mark also states that Joseph was looking for the kingdom of God. The term in itself need not imply any connection with Jesus. Every pious Jew would pray regularly in the synagogue for the coming of God’s kingdom in the Kaddish prayer: ‘May he let his kingdom rule in your lifetime and in the lifetime of the whole house of Israel, speedily and soon.’ The phrase of the kingdom of God (in the Greek: ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ), for Mark is so bound up with the mission of Jesus, so that anyone who has a concern for the kingdom must be on Jesus side. So though Joseph was a disciple secretly in the beginning, it becomes apparent now as he stands against the Sanhedrin, and even the Roman government with great courage for asking for the body of Jesus, it is no longer a secret. He is a disciple of Christ.

The other main characters in this passage are Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses. But before we look at them specifically there is a transition that happens in the text in Matthew between the two.

Going to the second text, I read, Matthew 28:59-61: 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. I need to say one technical Greek thing about this. After Joseph roll the stone into, the text says “he went away”. The verb tense used here is the Greek Past tense called the Aorist, that denotes a completed action. When you look at all of scripture, he went away. Joseph does show great courage by asking for the body and insures Jesus is buried, but we don’t hear from him again in Scripture, his mission is complete.

On the other hand, the women are described as “were there sitting opposite the tomb.” The verb tense here is the Greek imperfect, which denotes a continuing action. A paraphrase would be “but the women stayed there after he had gone.” I am not sure how long they stayed.

Now getting back to the text in Mark 15:47, “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he laid. The purpose in the narrative is that they are a witness that Jesus was placed in particular tomb, (Joseph’s tomb), and a stone was placed at entrance and at a particular time, before sunset before the Sabbath. Now I just to want peek at Mark 16:1. This is Bob Rumbaugh’s passage for next time. If we look at Chapter 16:1, the women show up with spices to anoint him. Apparently, they didn’t think the 75 pounds of spices that Nicodemus brought were enough, so they brought more. As they ministered to Jesus in his life, they continue to minster in his death. Even though Christ had been buried, and after having a whole day (the Sabbath) to think about it, they went back to see Jesus to minister to him, because they had hope. If they had no hope in their Savior, they never would have gone back.

The last group of people I want to mention, even though they are not text in Mark, and that is chief priests and Pharisees. When they find out that Jesus has indeed been buried, they are either concerned as the text says the disciples will steal the body and say he has risen from the dead, or they are afraid he will actually rise from the dead. If their intention is to keep Jesus rising from the dead, this is another illustration of the irrationality of sin that makes think you can thwart God’ plan. In several places in Scripture, the Jewish leaders have had to acknowledge Jesus performed miracles. In John 12, the Jewish leaders were even plotting to kill Lazarus, the one that Jesus had raised from the dead. Because of their concern that something might happened to the remains, on the Sabbath they go to Pilate and asked for soldiers to guard the tomb. Pilate tells them they have their own guard. It is not clear if these soldiers are Roman Soldiers or the Jewish Temple Police. But nonetheless, the Jewish leaders are told by Pilate to make it as secure as they can.

Now we know how all of this is going to turn out. And I do not want to infringe on Bob Rumbaugh’s sermon that closes out the gospel of Mark. But we know neither the guards or the Devil are not going to be able to keep Jesus in the grave. Despite all that has happened in the crucifixion of the Lord, the women are the ones that “were there and remained watching” and the women are rewarded for their faithfulness serving the Lord Jesus by being the first witnesses to the resurrection.