DAY #52: February 21, 2009 - Matthew 27:57-28:10

The Sabbath began at sundown on Friday and ended at sundown on Saturday. Jesus died just a few hours before sundown on Friday (at about three o’clock). It was against Jewish law to do physical work or to travel on the Sabbath. It was also against Jewish law to let a dead body remain exposed overnight (Deuteronomy 21:23). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea asked for Jesus’ body so he could give it a proper burial. Arimathea was a town about twenty-two miles northwest of Jerusalem. Although an honored member of the Council, Joseph was one of Jesus’ followers. Thus, not all the Jewish leaders hated Jesus. In the past, Joseph had been reluctant to speak against the religious leaders who had opposed Jesus; at this time he went boldly to Pilate and Pilate released Jesus’ body to him.

As evening and the Sabbath approached, Joseph had to hurry. Fortunately he had help. John wrote that Nicodemus, another member of the Council, brought spices in which to wrap Jesus’ body. Joseph brought a long linen cloth. The body was carefully taken down from the cross, washed, wrapped in layers of cloth with the spices in between, and laid in a tomb. Jesus was given a burial fit for a king. This new tomb was unused (some tombs were large enough to hold several bodies). It had been carved out of the rock, so it was a man-made cave cut out of one of the many limestone hills in the area around Jerusalem. It was large enough to walk into. Joseph and Nicodemus placed Jesus’ body in the tomb and rolled a great stone across the entrance. A wealthy person’s tomb would often have a groove sloping down into the doorway, and a stone slab a yard in diameter would be rolled into it. The stone would be easy to roll in, but it would take several men to roll it up the slope to open the tomb.

Two of the women who had been at the cross, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, followed Joseph and Nicodemus as they carried Jesus’ body to the tomb. No mourning was permitted for those executed under Roman law, so they followed in silent grief. They wanted to know where the body would be laid because they planned to return after the Sabbath with their own spices to anoint Jesus’ body. Apparently, the leading priests and Pharisees knew where Jesus was buried. Jesus may have died, but they remembered that he had said he would be raised from the dead. The religious leaders did not believe Jesus’ claims, but they were afraid of fraud—after all, the body had been taken down by two followers of Jesus. The Pharisees wanted Pilate to seal the tomb until the third day to make sure that no one would steal Jesus’ body and claim he had risen from the dead.

So they made sure the tomb was sealed and guarded. The tomb was made secure by stringing a cord across the stone that was rolled over the entrance. The cord was sealed at each end with clay. Pilate gave them permission to post guards at the tomb as a further precaution. These may have been some Roman soldiers or the Temple police who were at the Jewish leaders’ disposal. With such precautions, the only way the tomb could be empty would be for Jesus to rise from the dead. The Pharisees failed to understand that no rock, seal, guard, or army could keep them secure, nor could any power prevent the Son of God from rising again.

The women could not make the trip to the tomb until early on Sunday morning after the Sabbath. As dawn approached, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb. Both of them had been at Jesus’ cross and had followed Joseph so they would know where the tomb was located. Mark explained that they had gone back to the tomb to bring spices and perfumes to anoint Jesus’ body because they had had no time to do so before the Sabbath. Anointing a body was a sign of love, devotion, and respect. Bringing spices to the tomb would be like bringing flowers to a grave today.

Again a supernatural event took place: a great earthquake occurred as an angel of the Lord came down from heaven. Mark records that the women were concerned about how they would get into the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body. They had seen Joseph put the stone at its entrance, although they may have been unaware of the sealing of the stone and of the guards who had been posted. When they arrived at the tomb, they saw that the large stone had already been rolled aside. An angel was sitting on the stone, whose face shone like lightning and clothing was as white as snow. For fear of him, the guards fell into a dead faint.

The angel spoke reassuringly to the frightened women. They were looking for Jesus, the human being who had been crucified on the cross. But Jesus was not there; he had risen. The angel invited the women to look into the inner burial chamber and see where his body was lying. Jesus had been raised from the dead, just as he said would happen.The women who had come to anoint a dead body were given another task—proclaiming the Resurrection to the frightened disciples. The disciples had deserted Jesus in the hour of trial, but the angel’s words held hope of renewal and forgiveness. The disciples had deserted Jesus, but they were directed to meet Jesus in Galilee. This was exactly what Jesus had told them during the Last Supper.

The women ran quickly from the tomb realizing that they had seen the results of an awesome miracle in the empty tomb and had been in the presence of an angel. This revelation from God had filled them with a mixture of fear and joy. They obeyed the angel’s command and rushed to the eleven disciples with the good news. As the women ran from the tomb, in their path appeared Jesus himself! The women held his feet and worshiped him, giving homage to their Savior, Lord, and King. Jesus told the women to pass a message on to the disciples—that they should leave for Galilee as he had previously told them. But the disciples, filled with fear, remained behind locked doors in Jerusalem. So Jesus met them first in Jerusalem and later in Galilee.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

I am reminded today of the importance of the Resurrection. Why is the Resurrection so important? Because of the Resurrection, we know that death has been conquered and that we, too, will be raised from the dead to live forever with Christ. The Resurrection gives authority to the church’s witness in the world. The Resurrection helps us find meaning even in great tragedy. No matter what happens to us as we walk with the Lord, the Resurrection gives us hope for the future. Without the resurrection, the Christian life has no power. The Resurrection proves that Jesus was who He said He was.

PRAYER

Lord, as we build towards Easter, build and awareness into our people about the immensity of the Resurrection. Build into them an understanding of the uniqueness and power of the Resurrection. Give everyone of us a burden to invite folks to Easter at COV - where they will hear the love and hope of a life rooted in Jesus Christ.