Basic HTML Version
464
Humble Hero
cross and got a report from him of the events at Calvary, confirming
the testimony of Joseph.
Joseph returned with Pilate’s order for the body of Christ, and
Nicodemus came bringing an expensive mixture of myrrh and aloes,
about a hundred pounds of it, to embalm Him. The most honored in
all Jerusalem could not have been shown more respect in death. The
disciples were astonished.
Neither Joseph nor Nicodemus had openly accepted the Savior
while He was living. Such a step would have excluded them from the
Sanhedrin, and they had hoped to protect Him by their influence in
its councils. But the wily priests had made their plans useless. Jesus
had been condemned when Joseph and Nicodemus were absent.
Now these two men no longer hid their attachment to Him. They
came boldly to the aid of the poor disciples.
Gently and reverently, with their own hands they removed the
body of Jesus from the cross. Tears of sympathy fell as they looked
on His bruised and lacerated form. Joseph owned a new tomb, cut
out of rock, reserved for himself. But it was near Calvary, and he
now prepared it for Jesus. There, with John’s help, they straightened
the mangled arms and legs and folded the bruised hands on the
pulseless chest. They rolled the heavy stone over the entrance to the
tomb, and the Savior was left at rest.
While the evening shadows were gathering, Mary Magdalene
and the other Marys lingered around their Lord’s resting place, shed-
ding tears of sorrow. “Then they returned and ... rested on the
Sabbath according to the commandment.”
Luke 23:56
.
The disciples, the priests, rulers, scribes, and people would never
forget that Sabbath. The Jews observed the Passover as they had
done for centuries, while He to whom it pointed lay in Joseph’s
tomb. Worshipers filled the courts of the temple. The high priest
was there, splendidly robed. Priests, full of activity, performed their
duties.
But some who attended were restless as the blood of bulls and
goats was offered for sin. They were not conscious that symbol
[357]
had met fulfillment, that an infinite Sacrifice had been made for the
sins of the world. But never before had they witnessed that service
with such conflicting feelings. A sense of strangeness spread over
everything. The Most Holy Place had always been sacredly guarded