EVENTS OF THURSDAY, NISAN 14, 32 A.D. - [AFTER 3:00 PM]

THE BURIAL OF JESUS CHRIST

 In regards to the burial of Jesus Christ, we need to take a very close look at the four Gospel accounts regarding the timing and method of His burial.

In Matthew 27:57-61, we read: 

“When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.” 

In Mark 15:42-27, we read: 

“And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath [it was the “preparation day” before the “high-day Sabbath” of the Feast of Unleavened Bread according to John 19:31], Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and took him down [off the Cross], and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.”

 In Luke 23:50-56, we read: 

“And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation [the preparation day before the “high-day Sabbath” of the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread according to John 19:31], and the sabbath drew on [the “high-day Sabbath of the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread began at sundown]. And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.. And they returned [home], and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day [rested the “high-day Sabbath” of the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread] according to the commandment.” 

In John 19:38-42, we read: 

“And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes [plural] with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre [garden tomb], wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day [the day before the “high-day Sabbath” of the Feast of Passover an Unleavened Bread according to John 19:31]; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.” A careful reading of all four Gospel accounts about the burial of Jesus Christ’s body (after the soldiers found that He was dead on the Cross) reveals the “hurry up” priority that immediately began concerning the burial of Jesus Christ’s body by Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus. 

In John 18:31-33, we read: 

“The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day (for that sabbath day was an high day) [it was the preparation for the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread which would begin after sunset], besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs.” 

The reason for ‘breaking the legs’ of a victim being crucified on a cross was so that the victim could no longer push himself up with his feet and legs in order to breathe. The victim would soon die of asphyxiation after his legs were broken. The Roman soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves but when they came to Jesus they found that He was already dead. 

When Jesus died on the Cross at 3:00 PM, it was nearing the late afternoon (the “even”) of Thursday, Nisan 14, which was the “Preparation Day” for the “Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread” (Friday, Nisan 15) and the upcoming regular weekly Sabbath Day (Saturday, Nisan 16). 

On that Thursday afternoon of Christ’s death on the Cross, from about 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM, the Jewish people had been slaying their Paschal lambs for the Passover Seder Meal that would be eaten by the Jewish people ‘after sundown’ when ‘the night’ part of the new Jewish day of Friday, Nisan 15 began.

About the time that Christ was being prepared to be laid into a sepulcher owned by Joseph of Arimathaea, the Jewish people were now getting ready to roast their Paschal lambs for the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread meal that would be eaten immediately after sunset. -- Now, because the Feast of Unleavened Bread would be beginning right after sundown, Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus were now in a rush to get the body of Jesus prepared with spices and laid into the sepulcher before sunset. It was Jewish law (not Roman law) that the bodies of those hanged on a cross were not to remain all night on a cross, but were to be taken down that very same day, before sunset, and buried.

In Deuteronomy 21:22-23, we read: 

“And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.” 

Please notice that from the time of Christ’s death, until the time that He was laid in the sepulcher of Joseph of Arimathaea, there were some things that had to be done that took some time. – First, Joseph of Arimathaea had to go to the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, and request that He be allowed to take the body of Jesus Christ down off the Cross and then bury it in his sepulcher. Pontius Pilate granted his permission to Joseph to take care of Christ’s body. – Second, according to Mark 15:46, Joseph had to “purchase some linen” in order to “wind up the body of Jesus” (John 19:40) which was according to the Jewish burial custom. – Third, Joseph and Nicodemus had to return to the crucifixion site, take down the body of Jesus from the Cross, and then wind up the body in spices with the linen Joseph had bought.

 OBTAINING PERMISSION FOR CHRIST’S BODY FROM ROMAN GOVERNOR PONTIUS PILATE 

At the time of Jesus Christ’s death, Roman law required that the bodies of those who underwent capital punishment were not to be refused to their relatives. Raymond Brown comments on Roman attitudes to the bodies of the crucified:

[BEGIN QUOTE] - In investigating Roman customs or laws dealing with the burial of crucified criminals, we find some guidance in DJ 48.24, which gives the clement views of Ulpian and of Julius Paulus from the period CAAD 200. 

The bodies of those who suffer capital punishment are not to be refused to their relatives (Ulpian) nor to any who seek them for burial (Paulus). Ulpian traces this attitude back to Augustus in Book 10 of Vita Sua. [END QUOTE]

In Mark 15:43, we learn that Joseph of Arimathaea “went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.” We also learn that Joseph was a “secret disciple” of Jesus Christ because of “his fear of the Jews” (John 19:38). 

Matthew and Luke tell us that Joseph “begged the body of Jesus”. In order for Pontius Pilate to obey Roman law, it was necessary that he grant permission to Joseph of Arimathaea to remove and to bury the body of Christ. After Joseph received permission from Pontius Pilate he returned to the crucifixion site to remove Jesus from the Cross with the help of Nicodemus.

THE JEWISH BURIAL CUSTOM

The Jewish custom for burial of the dead was to WIND THE BODY in linen with spices. In Fred H. Wight’s book, “Manners & Customs of Bible Lands” he writes the following about preparation of the body for burial on p144:

[BEGIN QUOTE] –In Syria the custom has prevailed of wrapping the dead. Usually the face is covered with a napkin, and then the hands and feet are bound around with linen cloth. The body is then put upon a bier, with a pole at each corner, and thus carried on the shoulders of men to the tomb for burial. 

The description of Lazarus, when Jesus called him forth from the tomb, indicates that the same custom was practiced in those days: “Out came the dead man, his feet and hands tied with wrappings, and his face tied up with a handkerchief” (John 11:44, Williams). 

Also we know that the body of Jesus was thus wrapped by Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus: “Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.” (John 19:40). Embalming spices were used when they could be afforded. [END QUOTE]