Day 33
The Main Event: burial
Read: Luke
23:50-56
“At the place where
Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which
no one had ever been laid (23:53).”
Joseph
of Arimathaea was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin council and a secret
disciple of Jesus (23:50-53; John 19:38-42). After the crucifixion he asked
Pilate for Jesus' body. Joseph, accompanied by Nicodemus took Jesus’ body,
wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in Joseph’s own new tomb that
he had cut out of the rock.
The
burial of Jesus, recorded in the New Testament Gospels, is one of the few
events in the story which archaeology helps us to understand better.
Jesus’
resurrection, the basis for the existence of the Christian church, is a matter
for faith. No excavation or archaeological research could ever prove or
disprove that Jesus rose from the dead. If someone were to find Joseph's tomb,
and to find it empty, he could still say nothing about its occupant.
Eighteen
months before Jesus had said to his’ disciples “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They
will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” Mark notes, “But they did not understand what he meant
and were afraid to ask him about it” (Mark 9:31-32). Ever been afraid to
ask Jesus what does he mean? Jesus was dead, most of the disciples had fled,
but Nicodemus and Joseph who had encountered him in their lives were not ready
to walk away from his crucifixion empty handed. That day they moved from
private disciples to public followers.
Ponder Point
(reflect)
- When things look “dead”
don’t just walk away empty handed
Consider
(respond)
- What would shift me from
private disciple to public follower?
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