Matthew 27:57-61

Jesus is Buried

TEXT: 27:57-61

57 And when even was come, there came a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus-' disciple: 58 this man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded it to be given up. 59 And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed. 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS

a.

Why did Joseph of Arimathea approach Pilate for permission to request the body for burial? What further interest would Pilate have in this question?

b.

Why did it take particular courage for Joseph to request the body of Jesus? What could it possibly have cost him?

c.

What do you suppose brought Joseph, a secret disciple, out into the open in this bold way?

d.

How many disciples of Joseph's caliber do you think moved in the circles of Jewish high society?

e.

Why was everybody in such a great hurry to bury Jesus-' body?

f.

Do you think Joseph's solution to bury Jesus in his own new tomb was a temporary or a permanent one in Joseph's mind?

g.

Why did they roll a great stone to the door of the tomb? Why not just shut the door?

h.

Why do you think the women followed Nicodemus and Joseph to the tomb?

i.

Why were there only two women at the tomb? Were they helping in some way or just watching? If the latter, what good would this do? Of what special importance to us is their being there watching?

j.

Do you think you could have buried Jesus? Would you have done it?

PARAPHRASE AND HARMONY

The time was already after mid-afternoon. Since it was Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, a man of means named Joseph of Arimathea came forward. An honored member of the Sanhedrin, he was a good, upright man who had dissented from that council's plot and its execution. He lived in the expectation of personally seeing the beginning of God's Kingdom. He too was Jesus-' disciple, however secretly, because he was intimidated by the unbelievers in Israel. He found the courage to go straight to Pilate and request that he might take away Jesus-' body.
Pilate was surprised to hear that He were dead so soon. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus were already dead. When he heard the centurion's report that He was dead for some time, Pilate ordered that the body be consigned to Joseph.
So Joseph purchased a linen sheet and lowered the body from the cross. Nicodemus, the man who had called on Jesus by night, arrived too, bringing a 33 kg. (75 lb.) mixture of myrrh and aloes. They took His body and wrapped it along with the spices in the clean linen sheet, like the Jews usually prepare their dead for burial.
Now in the area where Jesus was crucified there was a garden in which Joseph had recently carved his own new tomb right into the rock. It was so new that no one had been buried in it yet. So, because it was the Jewish Friday and the Sabbath was beginning, and since the tomb was conveniently close, they laid Jesus-' body there. They rolled a heavy stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.
Two women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and Nicodemus. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, the mother of Joses, were there sitting across from the tomb, observing how and where His body was laid there. Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments. Then they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

SUMMARY

Two secret disciples of Jesus came out into the open: Joseph of Arimathea, a godly Jewish senator, and a rabbi, Nicodemus. Joseph boldly requested Pilate's permission to bury Jesus and received it. Nicodemus brought the necessary burial spices. Once the body was ready, they laid it in Joseph's new tomb nearby. The two Marys watched the men work, then went home to prepare other burial spices, then rested on Saturday.

NOTES

... With the rich in his death. (Isaiah 53:9)

What was to happen to Jesus-' body when His leaderless disciples were caught completely unprepared to deal with the problem? God provided an unexpected solution.

Matthew 27:57 And when even was come, there came a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus-' disciple. Because these events occurred after three o-'clock on Friday afternoon (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:42), the dawning of the Sabbath at sundown was not far away. So, when even was come (opsias genoménes) would mean the first evening, according to the ancient Hebrew idiom for the middle of the afternoon, as opposed to the second evening at sundown. (See Exodus 12:6 in Hebrew: between the two evenings.) It is highly doubtful (1) that any orthodox Jew would begin to bury at sundown when Jesus-' death made this possible three hours earlier; or (2) that getting burial permission from Pilate, going to the cross, taking Jesus down, embalming and entombment could all have been accomplished in just a few minutes. It is more likely that Joseph and Nicodemus acted according to the usual custom of burying the dead shortly after death. Consequently, we may see them beginning sometime shortly after three o-'clock (Cf. Matthew 9:23 f.; Matthew 27:46; Matthew 27:50.)

Even if pagans commonly left victims of crucifixion hanging until they rotted or were eaten by scavengers, Jewish law demanded that they be removed the same day of the execution lest they desecrate the land (Deuteronomy 21:22 f.; cf. Joshua 8:29; Joshua 10:26 f.; Wars IV, 5, 2). Traditional preparation for the Sabbath, too, would render it doubly important that the bodies not remain on the cross, desecrating also the Sabbath. So the Jews asked Pilate to order that death be accelerated for the crucified so they could be removed (John 19:31 ff.).

Although burial preparations begun on Friday could proceed on the Sabbath (Edersheim, Life, II, 786; cf. Shabbath 23.4f. cited by Barrett, John, 465), Jesus-' friends would be actuated by the same logic as His enemies to terminate them whereinsofar possible before the Sabbath began. (See on Matthew 27:61.) To avoid the indignity of the common grave of criminals for Jesus, they must act rapidly. But who could care appropriately for this? From an unexpected quarter, there came a rich man. named Joseph, also. Jesus-' disciple (ematheteùthe tô Iesoû, discipled to Jesus. Cf. Matthew 13:52; Matthew 28:19; Acts 14:21). He hurried to Pilate, arriving shortly after the Jews obtained the governor's permission to kill the condemned men. (See on Matthew 27:58.)

Arimathaea, if identified with Ramathaim, birthplace of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1), lay about 14.5 km. (9 mi.) northwest of Jerusalem. There is another Ramathaim about 73.5 km. (45 mi.) northwest of Jerusalem. Others place Arimathaea on the Jewish side of the border between Judea and Samaria about 35 km. (24 mi.) northwest of Jerusalem. (Cf. Luke 23:50.) Although he was from Arimathea, he had since moved to the Jerusalem area, perhaps more easily to serve the Jewish Senate. The permanence of this move is suggested by his having built his tomb there. Thus, his name, Joseph of Arimathea, only serves to distinguish him from many other men of the same name in Jerusalem.

Joseph's position as honored member of the Sanhedrin makes his intervention here remarkable, because he had dissented from that body's majority decision to crucify Jesus. However, his charitable character makes his deed predictably plausible. (Cf. Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50 f.) Matthew omits every other distinctive except the fact that he was a rich man, perhaps to permit the sensitive reader to focus on this fulfillment of prophecy (Isaiah 53:9). Most of Jesus-' disciples were poor, obscure people and such lavish entombment would have been inaccessible for them. Unknown to them, God had reserved a man who had both loving devotion and wealth equal to the task of burying Jesus with dignity.

Matthew 27:58 This man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded it to be given up. Crises produce different reactions in people: those who had no hesitancy about admitting their discipleship to Jesus do not even come forward to claim His body, while it is the secret disciples who boldly step in to do this.

Considerable courage was required for this godly Sanhedrinist to approach Pilate, requesting for himself the corpse of someone who was not kin to him and whom his own colleagues condemned and Pilate executed as a criminal. He risked having to explain his connections with the Crucified. Although Joseph's loyalty had been hidden, it was genuine. Jesus-' death shocked him into action and gave him the boldness he had not possessed until now (John 19:38; Mark 15:43).

Whereas Jesus-' disciples had neither wealth nor connections, Joseph's loving respect moved him to throw his prestige into the balance by exerting his influence as a member of the Sanhedrin to obtain the body and his wealth to secure an honorable burial. It was at the time of His severest humiliation that these aristocrats first confess Him. In this they join the believing centurion and the penitent robber. Despite His being lifted up, Jesus has already begun to draw men unto Himself (John 12:32; cf. John 8:28).

Joseph apparently arrived at the Praetorium so shortly after the Jewish delegation had obtained the order for the bone-smashing, that Pilate was surprised that Jesus were already dead (Mark 15:44). Some consider Pilate's surprise incomprehensible, since he himself had just ordered that the condemned men's death be accelerated. Therefore, because he could assume that the soldiers-' obedience to this order would assure the death of Jesus along with the others, his wonder, expressed after his own order, is thought impossible. However, because Pilate's order assumed that all three men were yet alive and must be quickly dispatched, he does not expect anyone to arrive so soon requesting one of the corpses. Perhaps even the Jews who approached Pilate did not know Jesus was dead, hence could not inform him of this. (Alternatively: they knew it but would not inform him, so he would order Jesus-' legs broken too.) However, the governor had not yet received a final report on the execution of his order. Therefore, because he must not consign Jesus-' body to one of His friends until it be quite certain that He was no longer alive, the prefect rightly demanded the positive certification from the centurion in charge. Only upon receiving the centurion's certification of Jesus-' death, did Pilate grant Joseph the right to remove the body (Mark 15:44 f.). That men survive for several days on the cross has nothing to do with the governor's surprise, because he had ordered the end of their survival!

That Jesus-' body had not yet been removed from the cross need not seem strange. Joseph may have gone directly to the centurion at the cross and informed him of his intention to approach Pilate. The centurion, knowing that Jesus was dead and His side pierced, may have ordered his men to leave the body for Joseph to remove. Their duty ended with making certain the men executed were actually dead. To crush the legs of a man already demonstrably dead would be an unnecessary barbarity. Certainty of His death was assured by the fatal stab of the lance (John 19:31-37).

That these two secret disciples were so prepared for the burial of Jesus should not surprise, because anyone could foresee the political disaster to which Jesus-' collision course with the priesthood and the Pharisees must lead, making them pessimistic, hence, more ready for the crisis of His death than others. Further, Jesus-' crucifixion that morning made His death that evening a foregone conclusion because of the Jewish tradition of not leaving bodies hanging overnight. So, both Joseph and Nicodemus found their course charted for them, and began buying the necessary linen and spices that day. Charitable burial of the dead was all the contingency plan they needed to move decisively when the emergency arose. (Cf. Tobit 2:16ff.; Tobit 2:21:ff.)
That Joseph went straight to Pilate even into the Praetorium, thus defiling himself by traditional definitions is unimportant, because by touching a dead body, he would defile himself anyway.

Matthew 27:59 And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. We need not suppose that Joseph worked alone. Not excluding servants, he could work with the women, perhaps John and any soldiers yet stationed at the cross. Perhaps Nicodemus-' large quantity of spices were delivered by others who could help too. Taking the body down from the cross, it was perhaps first washed then taken to the tomb for final preparations, the linen and the spices.

Joseph had just bought this clean linen cloth (Mark 15:46). That he could do so during that Passover is established. (See notes on Matthew 26:17.) This linen was clean, i.e., not defiled by previous contact with something defiling, as another dead body. Nicodemus too came forward with a large quantity of spices: myrrh and aloes for the embalming (John 19:39-42; 100 lìtras = 100 ROMAN pounds = 33 kg = 75 lb.; cf. Psalms 45:8; 2 Chronicles 16:14). This profuse evidence of his final devoted service is not unusual in its richness. (Cf. Mary's generosity, John 12:3; Ant. XVII, 8, 3: The burial of Herod I, required 500 servants to bear the spices!) The linen cloth (sindòn) was apparently long enough not only to envelope the full body front and back, but also to be cut into strips (cf. pl. onthònia: John 19:40; John 20:5-7; cf. John 11:44 keirìaì). Then, spices in powder-form were sprinkled liberally into the various wrappings of the linen cloth as it was being wound around Jesus-' body before being bound (Mark 15:46; John 19:40; cf. John 11:44). Then His head was covered by a large special cloth (John 20:7). Such embalming is totally inconsistent with belief in an immediate resurrection. For these disciples Jesus-' death ended His ministry on earth and they express their last devotion in this way.

That these two men coordinated their efforts is suggested by their individual purchases: Nicodemus brought the spices without the linen and Joseph the linen without the spices. Neither item would be considered appropriate or complete without the other. Perhaps their kindred spirits had drawn them together much earlier, but only the death of Christ brought their secret discipleship out into the open.

The new focal point of history

Matthew 27:60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed. Joseph's own new tomb was located in a garden in the general vicinity of the crucifixion (John 19:41; cf. notes on Matthew 27:33). Even though Joseph had lived at Arimathea, he owned this garden near Jerusalem and, not impossibly, planned to be buried there. Its very nearness to the place of crucifixion may have prompted his offer, because time was not materially available for a distant burial. Its nearness to Jerusalem providentially facilitated the investigation of Jesus-' resurrection. His new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock seems to have been a man-made cave carved horizontally into the stone face of a hill, rather than vertically down into the soil. (Cf. Isaiah 22:16; Luke 8:27; Matthew 8:28.) Although it was large enough for at least two people to enter (Mark 16:5; Luke 24:3; John 20:5 ff., John 20:12), its doorway appears to have been low, requiring anyone to stoop to look inside (John 19:5; John 19:11). That Luke and John describe the tomb as where no one had ever yet been laid, denotes the honor Joseph showed the Lord by not hesitating to place His body in a completely new tomb intended for his own use. (Cf. Luke 23:53; John 19:41.) Joseph could not have foreseen that his new tomb would have been utilized so quickly or for something so significant. Nor could he imagine that what he so unselfishly surrendered to the Lord's use would be so amazingly and so soon restored to him for his own use! Is anything sacrificed for the Lord's service ever really lost? (Cf. Matthew 19:29; Matthew 13:44; Hebrews 10:34.)

Nicodemus-' 100 Roman pounds of embalming spices would not exclude the addition of more spices on the part of the women. Concerning these large quantities, McGarvey (Evidences of Christianity, 42) rightly noticed that the Jewish custom of burying was not like the Egyptian embalming. (Cf. John 19:40.) This latter view of burial aimed at conserving the body by arresting decomposition, whereas the Jews apparently utilized spices only to mask the odor of decomposition without arresting it. Naturally, the greater the quantity of spices utilized, the more adequately this would function. This would account for the 33 kg. (75 lb.) of spices brought by Nicodemus as well as the preparation or purchase of additional spices by the women, one on Friday evening and the other on Saturday just after sunset when Sunday began (Luke 23:56; Mark 16:1).

Why was Jesus not buried in one of the two places set aside by the Sanhedrin for executed criminals? (See Flusser, Jesus, 161, who cites Mishna. Sanh. 6, 5.) Is the choice of burial site evidence that the glorious Sanhedrin of Israel was not responsible for the condemnation of Jesus or that He did not get a true trial before the highest council of Israel? If so, then Jesus was condemned by a kangaroo court, not by the true fathers of modern Judaism who must be defended at the expense of the Gospels. But that this thesis is unfounded is proven by the consideration that the decisively daring move made by Joseph of Arimathea pre-empted conciliar action to bury Jesus elsewhere. Further, the prestigious position of Joseph as a respected member of the council, was his highest credential to convince Pilate to release the body to him (Mark 15:43). That Joseph acted without the knowledge and consent of the council may be assumed without proof, because, if the contrary were true, the Mishnaic citation of Flusser only proves, if anything, that the burial rule was of more flexible application in Jesus-' time than Flusser's defense of the Sanhedrin would allow.

Matthew 27:61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. Mark identifies the other Mary as Joses-' mother. (See on Matthew 27:56.) These loyal-hearted women from Galilee desired to see both the tomb and how Jesus-' body was laid in it, so followed Nicodemus and Joseph (Luke 23:55). Because He was not to have an entombment in the regular cemetery at Jerusalem and since they had not yet seen Joseph's tomb, they needed to know where He was laid (Mark 15:47). This information would be needed when they returned to complete the embalming after the Sabbath. Perhaps they originally intended to care for the body themselves, but found that others had come forward with care more adequate than they themselves could have given. They undoubtedly drew much comfort from knowing that their Lord was appropriately buried with respect by two of the nation's leaders. Thus, while Joseph and Nicodemus proceed, the women sit over against the sepulchre, watching to see how His body was laid. However, they did not remain at the tomb for long, because before sunset they left the tomb to prepare more spices and ointments to complete the embalming as soon as the Sabbath ended (Luke 23:56). That they could purchase whatever was needed that festal Friday is already illustrated at Matthew 26:17. However, despite the urgency of embalming a body before decay would render their work impossible, they respected God's will and did no work on Saturday. The women's observing the tomb and the position of the body became a precious part of the evidence for Christ's resurrection, since they knew precisely which tomb had contained the body of Jesus. On resurrection morning they did not return to the wrong tomb and mislead others into thinking He has arisen.

Without detracting one bit of the glory of these faithful women who followed the body to the tomb, where were all the men? Surely after Jesus-' death, they might hope that the pressure were over. No one came forward, because fear of the Jews haunted them until after the resurrection. (Cf. John 20:19.) Even if Joseph and Nicodemus were present and personally committed, the women acted themselves with greater courage than most of the men.

Instead of frantic wailing of mourning, Jesus-' burial was quiet, serene, and majestic. Two statesmen, who until shortly before were afraid to admit their sympathy with Jesus-' movement, now openly, tenderly and magnificently cared for His body. This loving care was completely different from what His enemies could have anticipated. Perhaps they imagined that His body would have been abandoned or tossed into the grave of common criminals. Instead, what had taken place was but the prelude of His glorification.

FACT QUESTIONS

1.

What time of day did the burial occur?

2.

On what day was Jesus buried?

3.

What prophecy (or prophecies) were fulfilled in Jesus-' burial? Give the reference and a brief quotation to identify the text.

4.

Describe Joseph of Arimathea, telling what you know of his character, economic strength and position in the Jewish society.

5.

What was Joseph's interest in Jesus?

6.

Describe the embalming and burial procedure followed by Joseph.

7.

List the people who probably helped Joseph with the burial procedure.

8.

Describe the tomb of Jesus, its location, its style, its closure, etc.

9.

What were the women doing at Jesus-' tomb?