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Jesus Rests in Joseph’s Tomb
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After the Resurrection, the priests circulated the report that Christ
did not die on the cross, that He merely fainted and later revived.
The action of the Roman soldiers proves that He was already dead. If
His life had not been already extinct, this wound would have caused
instant death.
But it was not the spear thrust nor the pain of the cross that caused
the death of Jesus. That cry, uttered “with a loud voice” (
Matthew
27:50
;
Luke 23:46
) at the moment of death, and the stream of blood
and water declared that He died of a broken heart—broken by mental
anguish, killed by the sin of the world.
The Disciples Discouraged
With the death of Christ the hopes of His disciples also died.
Until the last they had not believed that He would die; they could
hardly believe that He was dead. They were overwhelmed with
sorrow, and nothing that He had said gave them comfort now. Their
faith in Jesus had died, but never had they loved their Lord as now,
never had they felt their need of His presence so much.
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Christ’s disciples longed to give Him an honored burial, but they
did not know how to accomplish this. People put to death for treason
against the Roman government were assigned to a burial ground for
criminals. John and the women from Galilee could not leave the
body of their Lord to be handled by unfeeling soldiers and buried in
a dishonored grave. Yet they could expect no favors from the Jewish
authorities and had no influence with Pilate.
In this emergency, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus came
to the disciples’ help. Both were members of the Sanhedrin, were
wealthy and influential, and were acquainted with Pilate. They were
determined to see that the body of Jesus received an honorable burial.
Help From an Unexpected Place
Joseph went boldly to Pilate and asked him for the body of Jesus.
For the first time, Pilate learned that Jesus was dead. The knowledge
of Christ’s death had been purposely kept from him. When he heard
Joseph’s request, he sent for the centurion who was in charge at the