“Burial” – Mark 15:42-47

In Luke 9:57-62, Jesus is approached by three different men asking to become His disciples, but with conditions. To the first man, Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head” (v. 58).

Perhaps nowhere does this hit home more than when Jesus died for our sins. When Jesus died, His clothes had been taken from Him and given to those who executed Him. He had no family to claim His body, nor did He have a place where He could be buried.

There are those, even today, who deny that Jesus died at Calvary; that He merely swooned as He was exposed to the desert sun that day, and that He revived in the cool tomb. But today’s passage not only that Jesus was buried, but that He was buried because He had died. The Bible gives us the witness of three distinct groups of people to this truth.

Background

We live in a world where things are open to interpretation. The old “glass half full or half empty” question illustrates this truth. I have had numerous discussions with people who deny the Civil War was about slavery. They claim it was about states’ rights. With the retirement of Tom Brady, people began debating whether or not he was the greatest quarterback of all time. All of these things that we debate and argue about are all a question of interpretation.

Some things are really not open to interpretation, though. Things that are universally true cannot be refuted with “alternate facts.” One plus one will always equal two. Gravity will always pull things toward it.

As we look at today’s passage, we look at the truth of Jesus’ burial, and that this burial shows clearly that Jesus died on the cross.

Central Truth: The events leading up to Jesus’ burial confirms that Jesus really died on the cross.

Jesus’ burial:

1. Was initiated by Joseph of Arimathea (42-43)

It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked him for Jesus’ body.

We just called a new director of missions to our association. I’m looking forward to his leadership and service to our churches. One of the things he said as he was telling why he applied for the job is that when we see something that needs to be done, we should do it. Rather than say, “Someone should do something about that,” we should instead realize that we are someone, and if we are able to do what needs to be done, then we should do it.

Mark had just written that Jesus had died at Calvary. What happened next was someone stepping up to do the right thing. A lot is going on as Jesus is dying. The Passover Sabbath is fast approaching. It was Jewish law that a person who is hung should be cut down before the end of the day. For Jewish culture, the day ends and begins at sundown. Because of this, the religious leaders had come to Pilate to ask that he hasten the deaths of the three condemned men (cf. John 19:31-37). By the time they had made the request, though, Jesus had already laid down His life.

What was to happen to Jesus’ body. Rome would often bury the condemned in a hastily dug grave. Occasionally, they would release the body to a family member, but this was rare.

Joseph of Arimathea, though, had other ideas for Jesus. We don’t know much about Joseph. Matthew wrote that he was a disciple of Jesus. John agreed, but added that he was a secret disciple because of his fear for the religious leaders and because he was a member of the Sanhedrin. Luke simply wrote that he was a good man. It is probable that Joseph was a man of wealth and possibly an important member of the Sanhedrin. If this is so, then it is possible he was present when Jesus was on trial.

Mark wrote that Joseph went boldly to Pilate. The reason for his boldness is for several reasons. First, to go to Pilate and make such a request was unheard of. Pilate was not related to Jesus and therefore had no real claim to His body. Second, to go to Pilate was to risk his own security. Pilate was not happy with the Sanhedrin, and for a prominent member to come to him would require courage. Then there is the very real possibility that requesting Jesus’ body would be an open declaration to the other members of the Sanhedrin that Joseph followed Jesus. In this, Joseph shows us that following Jesus requires us to be willing to take bold steps in following Him. To take a stand for Jesus invites all sorts of possible repercussions. Still, we should follow Joseph’s example.

The hour was late, probably about an hour before sundown and the onset of Sabbath. Joseph had to act fast and so he boldly went to Pilate to request Jesus’ body. Joseph saw something that someone needed to do, and he recognized that he was that someone. We are called to do the same.

In making the request, Joseph confirmed that Jesus had died. Otherwise, there would be no reason to request the body.

2. Was approved by Pilate after hearing from the centurion (44-45)

Pilate was surprised to hear that He was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.

It had been a busy day for the Roman governor of Judea. He had been awakened to preside over a trial of an accused enemy of Rome. It didn’t take long for Pilate to realize that Jesus was innocent of all charges but that He was guilty of incurring the religious leaders’ wrath. Trying to appease the rabble, Pilate had Jesus brutally beaten by his soldiers. Not content with the beating, Pilate finally agreed to have Jesus condemned to crucifixion.

Crucifixions could take days to lead to death. According to John, a delegation from the Sanhedrin had requested Pilate hasten the deaths so that the bodies would not be hanging on the Passover Sabbath. Pilate had so ordered, and the method to hasten death was to break the legs of the condemned to prevent them from raising up to breath.

Mark wrote that Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus had already died. It is possible that Joseph’s arrival at the governor’s home had occurred only moments after Pilate had ordered the legs to be broken. Joseph’s assertion that Jesus was dead needed to be confirmed. Pilate sent for the centurion to determine if, in fact, Jesus was dead.

The centurion was needed to confirm death for several reasons. For one, the regular soldiers were not above taking bribes to proclaim someone dead in order to save the crucified person’s life. For another, the centurion would be familiar with death and would be able to realize whether someone has died or merely fainted.

Pilate sent for the centurion. The centurion appeared before the governor and confirmed that Jesus had already died. There had been no reason to break Jesus’ legs. It’s possible the centurion added that Jesus’ body had been pierced by a lance to confirm His death.

So now we have the word of Joseph that Jesus had died at Calvary, and now we have the official declaration of death by Rome itself. Pilate released the body to Joseph, and that leads to the third testimony that Jesus died.

3. Was witnessed by the women who followed Jesus (46-47)

So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where He was laid.

It is doubtful that Joseph of Arimathea knew that he would be burying Jesus. It was only after he was granted the permission to take Jesus’ body that Joseph had to make some hasty preparations for the burial. He hastily got enough linen to wrap Jesus’ body, then he had to rush to Calvary to receive the body. Next he had to wrap the body in preparation for burial. John wrote that Nicodemus accompanied Joseph in these tasks and supplied burial spices (cf. John 19:38-42).

An interesting thing about this. According to the law given to Moses, when a person comes in contact with a dead body, the person became unclean for seven days (cf. Numbers 19:11-13). When Israel was given the laws regarding Passover, they were to observe the holy day on the fourteenth of the first month. When Israel was preparing to observe the first Passover, a group of men came to Moses and said they could not observe Passover because they had become unclean due to a dead body. Moses asked God, and God told the men that they could observe Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month. By taking Jesus’ body and preparing it for burial, Joseph and Nicodemus made themselves unclean to observe Passover with the rest of Israel.

Finally, the body having been anointed with the spices and wrapped in linen, the body was placed in an empty tomb. Mark wrote only that the body was placed in a tomb cut out of rock. John says it was a grave near Calvary. Matthew wrote that the grave belonged to Joseph and that it was new. Luke noted that the grave had never been used. A stone was rolled against the opening to seal the grave.

Watching all of this were two women, both of whom had been followers and supporters of Jesus. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched Jesus be buried. They knew Jesus was dead, and they wanted to come back after the Sabbath to formally prepare the body for burial. With this testimony, we have concrete evidence that Jesus did die at Calvary.

Conclusion

Jewish law required at least two witnesses in agreement to confirm an issue before the court. With Joseph of Arimathea, Pilate, the centurion and the two women, the Bible provides ample evidence that Jesus died at Calvary.

Jesus had to die. Only in this way could Jesus pay the price for our salvation. Only in dying on the cross could Jesus redeem up with His blood and set us free from sin’s wages. Jesus died for you and for me. If this was all there was to Jesus’ ministry, it would be enough to give us salvation.

But there is better news just around the corner. Jesus said He would lay down His life only to pick it up again. The good news is that Jesus did indeed pick up His life again.