Easter - The Tomb

(MT) As evening approached there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.

Then Joseph (MK) bought fine linen and took Him down, (JN) And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and (MT) wrapped (JN) it in strips of (MT) clean linen cloth with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, (MK) and Joseph laid him in (MT) his new tomb which he had hewn out of rock, (JN) in which no one had yet been laid (LK) before. (MT) and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb and departed.

(MT)  Matthew 27:59-66
(MK) Mark 15:46-47
(LK)   Luke 23:53-56
(JN)   John 19:39-42


From a borrowed manger to a borrowed tomb. The life of a humble carpenter-preacher - but in death His body was treated with royal love and care.

He was, after all, a King.

MYRRH and ALOES. A very expensive mixture. Myrrh (also given to the baby Jesus by the wise men) was a valuable fragrant gummy resin. The Jews turned it into powder and mixed it with aloes (a rare sandalwood product).

Jews, unlike Egyptians, did not embalm. But this special mixture would delay decay and suppress the odor.

Some historians say this seventy-five pounds would cost, in today's money, several hundreds of thousands of dollars. And some say even powerful kings of the time would have received no more than this for their burial.


WRAPPED IT IN LINEN....Since Jews did not embalm, they wrapped bodies in perfumed burial cloths. Nicodemus, another prominent member of the Sanhedrin (John 7:50) assisted Joseph in caring for the body of Jesus.

The two men, who apparently kept their love for and faith in Jesus secret during His lifetime, came forth publicly to bury Him, while His disciples, public followers before His death, fled and hid afterwards.

STRIPS AND SPICES. The spices were spread along the full length of the cloth strips which were then wrapped around His body. Additional spices were placed underneath the body and set around it.

The sticky resin would serve to help the cloth adhere to the body.

TOMB HEWN OUT OF THE ROCK. This "tomb" was located near Golgotha (John 19:42). Mathew adds that it was Joseph's own tomb.

Joseph, a wealthy man, undoubtedly had the tomb prepared for his own family, much like the royal families of Egypt would prepare their final resting places.

Christ's burial there was a wonderful fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9 - He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death.

Likely, as in many of these rock-hewn burial places, shelves were carved from the inside walls, providing a space for the body to be placed above the floor.

These shelves facilitated the handling of the bodies.

A fascinating reflection is of the Ark of the Covenant, with its mercy seat covering the broken law tablets and the two angels gracing the right and left sides of the mercy seat. The priest would sprinkle blood from the sacrificial animal on the mercy seat, between the angels. (See Exodus 25)

Symbolically, when God looked upon the Ark of the Covenant He would see the blood of the sacrifice covering the actual tablets of the broken law.

The blood of the perfect sacrifice made atonement for the people for the broken law.

That's why it was called the Mercy Seat. God's people found mercy there in God's presence amidst the shed blood.

Imagine the scene - Mary stood outside the tomb crying on Easter morning. "As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot" (John 20:10-12).

The shelf in the tomb images the mercy seat cover of the Ark and the blood of Christ sprinkled on the shelf with the two attending angels.

It's all there!

God's mysterious plan - His ultimate rescue plan - revealed to us by our gracious and loving God. A glimpse into the past and into the future.

     The LORD confides in those who fear Him; He
     makes His covenant known to them. Psalm 25:14