Week 4: Burial

Buried as Gospel

I’ve often wondered why Paul includes “buried” in his description of the Gospel. He says specifically in 1 Corinthians 15:4, “he was buried.” None of the Gospel sermons in the book of Acts include the note about his burial. Of course, all four Gospel accounts include his burial, as you have already this week. Those are expanded narrations of Jesus' final days, and it would almost be odd for them not to include a note about the burial. Yet, in all of the shortened summary statements of the Gospel in the NT, Jesus' burial is only mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:4. Paul intentionally points to the burial. Why?

I’m still not sure, but I think there is something important to it. Here are a few things I’ve been thinking about.

First, it is standard throughout the Bible to always couple the words “died and was buried” together. So maybe Paul couples them together. Second, there is a focus throughout Genesis on the burial of the Patriarchs. The Patriarchs are those fathers of Judaism often described with the phrase, “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Maybe, Paul is establishing Jesus as the new patriarch of faith. Yet, the resurrection seems to counter this argument as the place of his burial becomes quickly lost.

Richard Hays point out my personal favorite argument in his commentary on 1 Corinthians. He points to the literary structure of the verse. Four lines poetically mirror each other and are structured around the verbs.

That Christ died according to the Scriptures,

That he was buried.

That he was resurrected according to the Scriptures,

That he appeared….”

When read like that, the poetry seems obvious. There are two pairs of two lines. The second line expounds upon the first line. Thus, buried supports died like appeared supports resurrected. Jesus’s appearances after his resurrection validate his resurrection. In the same way, Jesus’s burial validates his death. Hays says, “The stark reference to Christ’s burial in verse 4 confirms the reality and human finality of his death.”

Tomorrow we will begin to reflect personally upon our own burial with Jesus from Colossians 2, but pause today for a moment and reflect. The burial validates the death of Jesus; it confirms it. Jesus was truly dead and laid in a tomb for three days. Part of the Gospel is God being buried.

Do you struggle with the idea of God being buried? Why or why not?