38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.
Commentary
Vs. 38-39 38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
After Jesus’ Crucifixion death there was a man named Joseph of Arimathea who being a disciple of Jesus but secretly, for fear of the Jews, that is what they would do to him if he openly confessed Jesus Christ, now taking courage comes to Pilate to ask Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus and give Him a proper burial. Now that Joseph was able to come to Pilate the Roman governor and ask him directly for the body of Jesus, and that Pilate readily granted Joseph his request indicates that Joseph was an influential man of no small means. Now when Joseph came to take Jesus’ body, Nicodemus who first came secretly to Jesus at night to ask questions of Him (see John 3) and who later subtly defended Him before his Jewish counterparts (John 7:50-51), now likewise openly comes bringing about a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes so as to prepare the body of Jesus for a dignified burial. Both of these men then by doing so were not only casting aside their fears and concerns for their own reputations and standing in the Jewish community, but they were now taking their stand with the Lord Jesus Christ! A move that everyone of us will at some point also have to make. For to be ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ, as a believer, or disciple, or follower, or however you want to word it, is ultimately to have none of Him (Mark 8:38)!
Vs. 40 “Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.”
Having then received permission to take down the body of Jesus Christ from Pilate, Joseph having taken down the body, they then take it away and prepare it for burial, by bounding it in strips of linen with the spices they brought as was the custom of the Jews to bury.
Vs. 41 “Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.”
The garden mentioned here is not Gethsemane, but was a garden which was near the Crucifixion sight. Now in that garden was a new tomb in which no one had been laid, a tomb which Joseph who was a wealthy man had hewn out of the rock (Matt. 27:60), thus fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah (Isiah 53:9).
Vs. 42 “So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.”
Now Jews Preparation day (i.e. Friday) was when they laid Jesus’ body in the tomb. Now their urgency in doing so before the Sabbath was in itself their unknowingly partaking in fulfilling the Word of the Lord that He would be three days and nights in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:40 gleaned from Believers Bible Commentary).
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.
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