When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
Comment: This is Friday night and things need to be fixed up quickly as the Sabbath began that evening and the Sabbath laws meant that nothing further after a quick bit of work would now have to wait until Sunday morning. Lovingly the rich disciple went and got permission from Pilate to take the dead body and bury it in his own cave tomb. The two Marys who are recorded as going later to the empty tomb are sitting knowing where their loved Jesus was being placed for later care.
The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.”
Comment: The disciples seem as the story goes to have forgotten Jesus’ promise of resurrection, but the Pharisees hadn’t. They said they wanted the guards to stop any disciple interference to make it appear that Jesus had risen. I wonder how much they wanted the guards there to stop Him getting out if He did rise again!
Prayer: You told the man crucified with You that He would be in Paradise with You, what else happened, Lord.
As I read it! 