40Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
The Burial of Jesus
42It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. 44Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46So 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. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
BACKGROUND READING:
Numbers 9:1-14
Luke 23:50-56
Dig Deeper
Professional baseball teams all have a group of pitchers that are called middle relievers. There job is to go in after the primary pitcher, called the ‘starter’, has done his work. What they really are, however, is set-up men. They are not the main story or the climax. They go in to set things for what is called the ‘closer’. This is the big power pitcher who comes in and brings the game home, hopefully preserving the win for his team.
Much like that, Mark uses these verses here as the set-up for what he will describe in the next chapter. As we read through these verses we can almst feel the impatient, trembling, anticipation that Mark had as he wrote down this section. He knows what is going to happen next and can’t wait to tell us. As we read this short passage, though, we will be well served to remember two details. The first is that Mark has not added any detail here needlessly. Every single item is necessary. The second thing is that although Mark knows what is about to happen and so do most of his readers, the real people described in this event have no clue of the miracle that is about to occur. Mark has already gone to great trouble to drive home the point that they had not grasped the idea of one man being resurrected before the full consummation of the age to come.
The first detail here would be one of great annoyance to most men in the early centuries of the church. Women at that time were not considered viable witnesses at all. This is yet another item that the early church would not have made up if this was an invented story. The only reason that Mark includes this detail is because it happened. He wants us to be clear that the women were there when Jesus died. They were watching, they knew he was dead, and they knew where he was buried. This will all come into play in an important way in the next chapter.
The next detail that we get concerns a man named Joseph of Arimathea, whom we are told was a prominent member of the Council. It is likely that Mark includes this detail because Joseph and his family were still well known in Jerusalem at the time he wrote his gospel. If someone wanted, they could seek out Joseph and verify Mark’s account. Being a part of the council means that Joseph would have been there during Jesus’ trial, listening all of the evidence against him. Luke tells us that Joseph did not approve of the decision, a detail that Mark leaves to our imagination.
To fully understand Joseph’s actions, we need to know a bit about first-century burial practices for the Jews. A body would be taken, cleaned, and wrapped with spices to help with the smell. It would then be placed inside a tomb on a shelf and left to decompose for a year or two. At that point the second stage would happen. People would go back into the tomb and take the bones and put them in a small ossuary box which would be placed on another shelf for permanent keeping.
The whole process of preparing the body, though had to be done by nightfall when the Sabbath would begin. This means Joseph had to move quickly between 3 PM and sundown. He has to go from Golgotha to Pilate to make his request, then he still needs to get the necessary shroud and spices for the burial preparation. Then he is slowed down as Pilate sends another centurion to ensure that Jesus has actually died so quickly. Again, this is not a wasted detail. Mark knows that some people will try to claim that Jesus never really died, so he heads that argument off before it can begin. As time continues to fly, Joseph prepares the body for burying. We are not told that the women mentioned earlier assist him in this, but it is a reasonable speculation.
What we shouldn’t miss is the great potential personal costs that Joseph’s actions would have had. For starters, he was handling a dead boy which would have made him unclean for the Passover, and unable to partake in many of the elements of it until later. Then there are the serious implications. Showing sympathy for someone that was just executed for sedition to the Roman Empire was a dangerous move, one that would raise suspicion about Joseph. Joseph had been waiting for the kingdom of God, and we can assume has been a quiet supporter of Jesus. Now, he is so moved that is he is willing to make a move that could cost him greatly in the eyes of the other members of the council Joseph was risking a great deal to care for a Messiah that was showing all the signs of a failed Messiah. Mark has given us yet another example of someone willing to give up everything he has to follow Jesus.
Devotional Thought
Joseph is another example of someone who was willing to give up everything dear to him in this life in response to Jesus. Have you done that completely yet? Mark has given us so many examples of this in hopes that we might really identify with one of the people were willing to give up everything or learn something from those who were unwilling and hung onto their life. Which story has most impacted you so far? Why?
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