38 Now after these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. 39 And Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about one hundred litras. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 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. 42 Therefore because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. John 19: 38-42 LSB
John 19: 38-42
V.38 Now after these things - This is following Jesus crucifixion and death. The sacrificial system was imperfect regarding the law and sanctification. They only pointed to the ultimate, what it would actually take, but they seared an unforgettable image into the mind of those who witnessed it. They harken back to a unilateral covenant between God and Abraham, wherein Abraham killed and split carcasses, yet he slept as God walked between them, the Father sealing a covenant with the Son and Holy Spirit. Later Abraham will take his own son Isaac to Mt. Moriah, and he will be told to offer him as a sacrifice, for life belongs to the Creator of life, and He has stated that the wages of sin is death. This is the promised son of Abraham's old age and Sarah's dead womb. He is a miracle child, the one in whom God says that the Seed will be called. Abraham is stopped from offering his own son and God provides a ram in his place. Herein we see the picture of substitutionary atonement. Later, David will purchase this plateau from Araunah the Jebusite, who uses it as a threshing floor for grain. This will later be the place where God's acceptable sacrifice will be made, the body of His Son, Who is also the Son of David by His birth.
…4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. 6In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight.… Hebrews 10: 4-6
…23O king, Araunah gives all these to the king.” He also said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.” 24“No,” replied the king, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the LORD answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Israel was halted.… 2 Samuel 24: 23-25
1A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” 2The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” 3Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.… Psalm 110: 1-3
V. 38b But secretly because of his fear of the Jews - Joseph was a Jew himself, and a prominent figure, as was Nicodemus, who was a ruler of the Jews. They are here, though quietly, identifying with Christ in His death and burial. There is still considerable risk in what they are doing. Both men were members of the council, the religious rulers, called the Sanhedrin. This is a guaranteed way to get you kicked out of the country club, go from hero to zero with the other religious rulers.
ii. “The Jews of that day regarded proper burial of the dead as most important. Many went out of their way to see that fellow-countrymen received proper burial, and this may have had something to do with Joseph’s action.” (Morris)
iii. God used these men to protect the body of Jesus. “As Achilles dragged Hector by the heels round the walls of Troy, so would Satan have liked that men should have mauled the dead body of Christ. He would have cast him to the dogs or to the kites if he could have had his way; but so it must not be.” (Spurgeon)
49But all those who knew Jesus, including the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things. 50Now there was a Council member named Joseph, a good and righteous man, 51who had not consented to their decision or action. He was from the Judean town of Arimathea, and was waiting for the kingdom of God.… Luke 23: 49-51
V. 39 Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night - Probably some three years before this, Nicodemus came to Him even stating then that they knew He had to be from God because no one could do the things Christ did otherwise. Below are two links to this interaction, and one of Jesus' most profound presentations of the gospel.
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.” 3Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”… John 3: 1-3
V. 40 As is the burial custom of the Jews - The wrapping and spices, in conjunction with covering the door, also probably helped to keep wild animals, that would smell the corpse, away.
V. 42 Because of the Jewish day of Preparation - Day before the Sabbath. They had to hurry so that they weren't working on the Sabbath Day.
i. They examined His entire body and found broken pieces of thorn all over the head. They saw His bloody, matted hair; the terrible bruising of the face, the areas of beard pulled out, the dry and cracked lips. They turned the body over to see His shoulders and arms are riddled with splinters; each one was removed with care. The back, from the shoulders down, was a bloody open wound from the terrible scourging suffered before the crucifixion. His hands and feet were smashed and bloodied. On the front – just beneath the rib cage – there was a gaping wound made from the spear thrust that confirmed His death. Worst of it all were the eyes that did not open; the voice that did not speak.
ii. We can only imagine what deep, life-long impressions this left upon both men and how for the rest of their life the smell of those particular spices would bring back every mental detail.
iii. As these two men did this – men who were experts in the law – they must have known that they were fulfilling prophecy; the prophecy in Isaiah 53:9 that said the Messiah would be with the rich at His death. Here the body of Jesus was, at the hands of two rich men – who customarily would have had a servant do such humble, bloody work. Yet they knew they had to do it themselves.
iv. This was a strange work for these two men to do; yet it was also strange that Jesus, in the plan of Godhead, passively submitted to it. Conceivably, after Jesus accomplished all things and yielded His life, Jesus could have sprung from the cross in a super-hero like flash of power and glory five minutes – or five seconds – after His death. Yet in the plan of God the Father, He hung lifeless on the cross for some period of time – long enough for Joseph to gain an audience with Pilate and receive permission to take the body. He hung on that cross until His body was laboriously removed, and hurriedly buried according to Jewish custom.
v. In God’s plan this burial of Jesus was so important that it is said to be one of the essential components of the gospel itself (1 Corinthians 15:3-4. We can consider many reasons for this.
· This burial fulfilled the Scripture. Isaiah 53:9 says, And they made His grave with the wicked; so that meant the Messiah would be buried in a grave – and He was.
· This burial fulfilled the promise, the prediction of Jesus. Jesus said that He, like Jonah, would be buried away for three days (Matthew 12:40), and so it had to be fulfilled.
· This burial demonstrated that Jesus was truly dead; it was proof of the glory of the coming resurrection. No one could tell Joseph of Arimathea or Nicodemus that Jesus did not really die.
· This burial was important because burial spices and preparations protected His holy body from decay; as it was said in Psalm 16:10: You will not allow Your Holy One to see decay.
· This burial gave both Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus a way to proclaim their relationship with Jesus; it called them out of their state of secret discipleship.
· This burial and the days of Jesus in the tomb tested the faith and devotion of the disciples; it made them die a certain kind of death for those days they knew Jesus lay in the tomb.
· This burial and the days of Jesus in the tomb were ways to prove that at the cross Jesus defeated not only sin, but also death. The burial and the empty tomb show that Jesus conquered sin and death. - E word
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