Jesus' Final Visit to JerusalemSample

The Burial

Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph who had become a follower of Jesus—a secret disciple (because he feared the Jewish leaders). He was a rich man from the town of Arimathea in Judea. Joseph was an honored member of the Jewish high council, but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come. As evening approached, he took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for permission to take down Jesus’ body. Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet. The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body and issued an order to release it to him. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth. Then he took Jesus’ body down from the cross. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of clean linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a tomb, never used before—Joseph’s own new tomb—that had been carved out of the rock. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. Then Joseph rolled a great stone in front of the entrance and left. This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation, as the Sabbath was about to begin.

As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb. Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, the mother of Joseph, were sitting across from the tomb and saw where Jesus’ body was laid. Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law.

The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”

Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.