Surprising Details About Jesus’s Burial
Matthew 27:55-61, NIV - Many women were there, watching
from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the
mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
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. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean
linen cloth, 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. Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
Jesus has just breathed His last
breath on the cross. Creation revolts in
anguish. Roman soldiers are convinced by
the display that “surely, this was the Son of God.” Then, what does Matthew tell us next? Who was there for it all? “Many women were there.” We should also notice who wasn’t there. Matthew, who’s telling the story, was not
there. Many of the disciples were not
there. They were hiding out of fear that
they might be next to hang on a cross. But
the women were there. The women were the
witnesses. For Matthew, to not only
admit that, but record it in his account is so surprising. It speaks to the role women played in the
early Christian community, a marked departure from their exclusion prior to Jesus’s
ministry. Jesus changed the world in a
million different ways, but often this one is overlooked. Women would play a central role in the community
Jesus founded.
Another surprising detail in this
passage is the rich man Joseph, described as a disciple of Jesus. Earlier in Matthew, Jesus said, “It is easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter
into the kingdom of God” (Matt. 19:24). Another
rich man had went away discouraged because Jesus suggested that the man give up
his possessions (Matthew 19:16-22). Yet, here, at Jesus’s death, Matthew
highlights a rich man who had heard those teachings and now, was counted one of
Jesus’s disciples. Even though His Master Jesus had been killed,
Joseph arranged to spare Jesus further humiliation by making sure His body was
buried before sunset, which was the Jewish custom. Left to the Romans (or the Chief Priests for
that matter), this almost surely would not have happened. This is the only reason history remembers
Joseph of Arimethea, but it is no small thing.
This was the camel would had walked through the eye of a needle. This was a rich man who used His possessions
to honor Jesus. The tomb Joseph surrendered
for the Savior would become the most famous tomb in history.
The women and the rich man saw to
Jesus while He was dead – a double-reversal in a long line of reversals in
Matthew’s gospel account. The kingdom of
God never ceases to surprise. There are
no usual suspects. God is always doing
something new and you never know who God will use to do it. I love that about God and I love that I have
been blessed to see God do the most amazing things with the last people you’d
ever expect to be involved. I can’t wait
to see who surprises me next.
Question: Who are examples
of people you have seen play a central role in the unfolding of God’s plan that
would have never-in-a-million-years expected?
Prayer: Lord, thank
you for the role that surprising people have played in the story of Jesus and in
the stories of our own faith in Jesus. Help
us to be open to your plan so as to not miss what You are doing because of our
biased expectations. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Ask God
to show you the potential of people around you, especially the people you might
have discounted for whatever reason.
Song: Were You There?
- Danny Rivera
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