To the Tomb …
Now since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, especially because that particular Sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken so their bodies could be removed more quickly. And Pilate obliged their request, and the soldiers came and broke the legs of the bandits who had been crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, whereupon blood and water came forth. And these things also occurred so that the passages of scripture might be fulfilled: “None of his bones shall be broken.” and “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.” [John 19:31-37]
That evening [Matthew 27:57a, Mark 15:42a & Luke 23:54], a good and righteous wealthy man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was both a member of the Sanhedrin council (though he had openly disagreed to their plan regarding Jesus) and also a disciple of Jesus who was expectantly awaiting the Kingdom of God (though in secret, because of his fear of the Jewish elders), boldly came to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. After hearing this request, Pilate marveled that Jesus could actually be already dead, and so he summoning the centurion and asked him whether Jesus had truly passed on. When he learned that Jesus had indeed been ruled dead, Pilate ordered that the body be given to Joseph. [Matthew 27:57-58, Mark 15:42-45, Luke 23:50-52 & John 19:38]
So Joseph purchased a linen cloth and went with Nicodemus (who had brought a large mixture of myrrh & aloes weighing about a hundred pounds) to Golgotha, where they took down Jesus’ body and wrapped it with the spices in the new cloth. [Matthew 27:59, Mark 15:46a, Luke 23:53a & John 19:39-40] And they took the body to a nearby garden where an unused tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea had been hewn into the rock, and they laid Jesus’ body therein. And then Joseph alone rolled a great stone over the tomb’s portal, and they departed. [Matthew 27:60, Mark 15:46b, Luke 23:53b & John 19:41-42] A small group of women who had come with Jesus from Galilee, including Mary Magdalene and Mary – the mother of James & Joses, had followed Joseph & Nicodemus. They were sitting opposite the tomb when Jesus’ body was placed there, and they saw where the body was laid. [Matthew 27:61, Mark 15:47 & Luke 23:55] Then they too returned to prepare more spices and ointments. [Luke 23:56a]
The next morning, while all the Jews were resting according to the Commandment [Luke 23:56b], the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, namely, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead’, and the last deception would be worse than the first.” And Pilate said to them, “You have your own guard of soldiers; so go and make it as secure as you know how.” So they went with their own guard that mid-morning (on the Passover Sabbath) and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone. [Matthew 27:62-66]
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