The Burial of Jesus
November 11, 2021
Commentary
Since the Jews were anxious to speed up the death process, the Roman soldiers were sent to break the legs of the crucified (vv. 31-32). A crucified person could live for many hours, sometimes even days, so long as they kept the use of their legs, which they could use to lift their chest allowing them to breathe. If the legs were broken, the chest cavity would bear the pressure of the body’s weight, and the victim would stop breathing. When the soldiers came to Jesus, they found that He was already dead. His legs remained unbroken (v. 33), fulfilling prophecy (Psalm 43:20). The Soldiers pierced His side instead (v.34), also a fulfillment of prophecy (Zechariah 12:10). Even these wicked soldiers were completing God’s plan (vv. 35-37).
The Romans usually left the dead bodies hanging for the animals to eat. The Jews, however, preferred to remove the exposed bodies. Two high ranking men arrived to prepare Jesus’ body for burial, Joseph of Arimathea (a town about 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem) and Nicodemus. They were both secret disciples of Jesus who were also both wealthy members of the Sanhedrin. (vv. 38-39). Since Sabbath began at sundown, it was necessary for the burial to take place quickly. Joseph and Nicodemus must have carefully planned their activities during the crucifixion. It would have been difficult to secure a tomb at the last minute, and they would not have been able to purchase 100 pounds of costly spices. Joseph got permission from Pilate to bury Jesus’ body. Jewish burial customs included washing the body and covering it with cloth and oils or spices (v. 40). As soon as they had Jesus’ body in hand, they started preparing it for burial. They placed it in a new tomb near the place of the crucifixion (vv. 41-42). Matthew records that this was Joseph’s own tomb that he had cut out of the rock (Matt. 27:60). This fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah, though despised and rejected by men, would be with the rich in His death (Isaiah 53:9).
Application
Joseph and Nicodemus acted out of love for Jesus. It was dangerous, costly, and without any personal gain. My service for God should be equally courageous and sacrificial.
John 19:31– 42 (NET)
31 Then, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not stay on the crosses on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was an especially important one), the Jewish leaders asked Pilate to have the victims’ legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men who had been crucified with Jesus, first the one and then the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out immediately. 35 And the person who saw it has testified (and his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth), so that you also may believe. 36 For these things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled, “Not a bone of his will be broken.” 37 And again another scripture says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.”
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he went and took the body away. 39 Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus at night, accompanied Joseph, carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about seventy-five pounds. 40 Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, in strips of linen cloth according to Jewish burial customs. 41 Now at the place where Jesus was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried. 42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus’ body there.
Illustration: CE Macartney Monument to an Oldtime Country Doctor
Right in the middle of the highway at Midlothian, Virginia, there is a singular monument to an old-time country doctor. He had done such service to the community that the people wanted to erect a memorial to him in the village while he was yet alive, but the doctor was too modest for that and said, “When I die, you all just bury me wherever I be.” Shortly afterward, as he was driving his buggy on his way to a sick patient, he died there in the middle of the road, and there today, right in the middle of the road, so that you have to drive your automobile around it as you pass through the village, stands that singular monument. (C.E. Macartney – Encyclopedia of Illustrations #75200).