Title: The Burial of Jesus Christ

Scripture reading: Mark 15:42-47

“Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. ⁴⁵ So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. ⁴⁷ And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.”

Main idea: Jesus fulfills his mission through his death on the cross for sinners. Jesus’s burial shows his royalty as God’s Messiah.

“Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member” (Mark 15:42-43).
Joseph is noted in all four Gospels (Matt 27:57; Luke 23:51; John 19:38). Joseph was originally from Arimathea, a village 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem. He was a wealthy (Matt. 27:57), reputable member of the Council (bouleutēs), a non-Jewish designation for the Sanhedrin. He had not approved of the Sanhedrin’s decision to kill Jesus (Luke 23:51). He was personally waiting for the kingdom of God (Mark 1:15). He was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, because he feared the Jews (John 19:38).

“He granted the body to Joseph” (Mark 15:44-45).
Jewish law demanded that even executed criminals receive a proper burial and that those hanged on a tree be taken down and buried before sunset (Deut 21:23). Under Roman law the release of a crucified man’s corpse for burial was determined only by the imperial magistrate. Aware of these regulations, Joseph of Arimathea courageously asks for Jesus’ body and buries it at his own expense (Acts 13:29).

Risk is involved because Mark tells us that he “taking courage” (“went boldly,”) to ask Pilate for the body. What Joseph of Arimathea was now doing, he was openly professing before the entire world, including the entire Sanhedrin, that he was a believer in Jesus Christ. Joseph of Arimathea realized that he “had come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). By God’s grace he saw his opportunity and made the most of it. A stranger, Simon, took up Jesus’ cross for his execution; another stranger takes down his body from the cross for his burial.

Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, for death by crucifixion could take hours or days, so Pilate called the centurion to verify his death. Upon confirming the death, Pilate gifted the (ptōma) “the corpse” to Joseph without requiring a fee to do with as he wished.

“He laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock” (Mark 15:46).
The burial of Jesus is described in six verses in all. After Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was probably washed (Acts 9:37) before it was wrapped in strips of linen cloth with aromatic spices placed between the wraps. All this was in accord with Jewish burial customs (John 19:39-40). With loving care, Joseph (and Nicodemus—John 19:38, 39) embalmed the body, wrapped Him in the linen, then put Him in a new tomb belonging to himself.

Jesus the royal Messiah receives a royal burial, first in the amount of spices about a hundred pound (John 19:39), and second, a rock-hewn tomb, Joseph’s own tomb (Matt. 27:60), one in which no one has yet been buried (Luke 23:53). The body is placed on a stone bench set on the right side (Mark 16:5). Prophecy was again being beautifully fulfilled (Isa. 53:9).

Jesus’ burial officially confirmed His death, an important point in early Christian preaching (1 Cor. 15:3-4). Only if he really died could he give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), and he did die. At the tomb it appears that Satan has been victorious. (But wait, Mark 16 tells about his resurrection). This is the lowest point on his earthly journey. The way he took on our behalf has led him to the grave. There is no dimension of our mortality he has not assumed; for he tasted death for everyone (Heb. 2:9).

In Romans 6:4, Paul speaks of Christians being buried with Jesus in his death, just as they are raised with him in his resurrection. He does this while discussing the Christian life, explaining why believers cannot continue in sin.

“Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid” (Mark 15:47).
The women, that is, the two Marys, are mentioned as being present. Undoubtedly, they planning their own return with spices to honor Jesus’s body (Mark 16:1). They are the faithful disciples, and they, not the male disciples, will be chosen by Jesus to be the first ambassadors of the resurrection tidings (Mark 16:5-7). We admire them for their fearless affection. Where are the men?

It is interesting to note the mention of woman at crucifixion in his burial and in his resurrection. In the Old Testament we see sin and death brought in by the woman’s transgression. In the New Testament, we see Jesus born of a virgin. In the Old Testament we often see woman proving a hindrance and a snare to men. The stories of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Delilah, Bathsheba, Jezebel, are all painful examples. In the New Testament we generally see women mentioned as a help and assistance to the gospel. For example, Elizabeth, Mary, Martha, Dorcas, Lydia and the women named by Paul to the Romans Phoebe, Priscilla are all cases in point.

Application
God presents supernatural proof of the significance of Jesus’s death. The tearing of the veil symbolizes that the temple is now open to all who will come to God through Jesus. The torn veil also signifies the judgment that God is going to heap upon the Jewish people who rejected his Son, Jesus. This Jesus who died on the cross is none other than the Son of God. Even Jesus’s burial shows his royalty as God’s Messiah.

In the faces at crucifixion, we can see how people respond to Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea and the women show that true faith, motivated by love of God, perseveres, even when it is difficult. Even in the darkest hours, they remain faithful and loyal to Jesus. So, the women mourn Jesus’ death and Joseph takes a great risk by taking charge of Jesus’ body. Their courage echoes Jesus’ courage, even as their love echoes his love.

We must imagine that the women at the cross and Joseph were even more frightened and confused. But they remained faithful. Their story inspires us to do the same. His death, in our place, spells the end of death and wins our resurrection from the dead. If we believe in him, it ends our separation from God. So let our love answer his love. Trust in him and serve him.

I leave you today with these words taken from Romans 6:4, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

Let’s pray together
heavenly Father, I thank you, Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord came to this world took the form of a man and lived among us and died for us. Thank you for Your grace that You redeemed me. In Jesus Name, Amen.