57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. Why did Pilate release Jesus' body?
2. How come the Pharisees remembered Jesus said He was going to rise on the third day, but the disciples didn't?
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1340-burial-of-christs-body-the says:
ReplyDeleteFrom a strictly human vantage point, the burial of Jesus’ body in the manner described above was a radically unusual procedure. Christ was crucified by Roman authorities (at the behest of rebellious Jews – Acts 2:23). According to the Latin poet, Horace, it was the Roman practice to leave a body upon the cross until it decayed. He spoke about crucified slaves “feeding crows on the cross” (Epistle 1.16.46-48).
On the other hand, it was the custom of the Jews that any sentenced to death by the Sanhedrin was “not to be buried in the sepulchers of their fathers; but two burying places were appointed by the council, one for those that were slain by the sword and strangled, the other for those that were stoned who also were hanged and burnt” (Lightfoot, 2.374; emp. original).
The Jewish historian Josephus wrote: “We consider it a duty to bury even our enemies” (Wars 3.8.5). But, as one scholar has observed, an “area far outside the city of Jerusalem had been consigned for the burial of executed criminals” (Lane, 578).
Additionally, it has been noted that for Pilate “to release the body of a condemned criminal — especially one condemned of high treason — to someone other than a relative was highly unusual” (Wessel, 8.785).
Why would the governor permit the corpse of this Jesus, who had created such an upheaval throughout the region, to be released to anyone — particularly in view of the fact that Christ had foretold his own resurrection? Great care, therefore, would have been taken to prevent any confiscation of the body.
The burial of the Savior’s body conformed to neither Jewish nor Roman custom, in terms of how the remains of criminals were dispatched. Why was this the case?
The immediate explanation lies in the fact that Joseph was an influential Jew of “honorable estate” (Mark 15:43), who “asked for the body of Jesus.” And Pilate, the Roman governor, for reasons not explained in the biblical text, “commanded it to be given up” (Matthew 27:58).
The ultimate explanation, however, is to be found in the fact that divine prophecy foretold that though Jehovah’s suffering Servant would be “assigned a grave with the wicked” (NIV), nonetheless he would be buried “with a rich man in his death” (Isaiah 53:9). Divine providence clearly was at work in the fulfillment of this prophecy.
My 2 cents on why the Pharisees remembered and the disciples didn't:
ReplyDeleteI think this was a difference with the level of education. The Pharisees understood and analyzed what Jesus said. The disciples didn't.
It's interesting how the Pharisees who intellectually understood Jesus, didn't believe Him (or didn't want to). While the disciples didn't understand Jesus, they wanted to follow Him, but didn't because they didn't understand Him. It was not until later when the Holy Spirit revealed what Jesus was talking about, did they follow Him fully.
I think intellectual understanding doesn't really help us. We need the Holy Spirit to teach us. Only then will be believe and follow.
My 2 cents on when Jesus was in the grave:
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading I came upon different people's view of when Jesus was in the grave. The issue was that the traditional view says that Jesus was only in the grave 36 hours, which is not 3 days and 3 nights.
Some people say that Wednesday was a Holy Day, and Wednesday night is when Jesus was buried, and arose Saturday evening.
Other's say that (because of other Jewish writings and examples), it was common for 3 days and 3 nights to be any part of 3 days. There was even another example from the Old Testament (I can't remember what it was now).
I don't know the answer to the above, and I don't really care.