Luk 23:53 | KingComments | STEP | Now someone appears on the stage of whom we haven’t heard before. It is Joseph from the city of Arimathea. He is a member of the Council. Luke says of him that he is “a good and righteous man”. Luke also mentions that he did not participate in the hate campaign against the Lord. He may even have protested against their plans and its realization. This man is a believer who, like the one criminal, looks forward to the kingdom of God. Joseph comes out of the hiddenness ( ). He openly takes side for the dead Christ by going to Pilate and asking him for His body. It may take a long time before someone really choses for the Lord, but when there is real new life, the public confession comes. Joseph takes the body of the Lord from the cross with the greatest caution. Then he wraps it in a piece of linen and places Him – not ‘it’, that is to say the body, but His Person – in a tomb “where no one had ever lain“ (cf. ). When the Lord was born, He was wrapped in cloths. Now that He has died, He is wrapped in cloths again. The cloths consist of a piece of linen. This speaks of the perfectly righteous life of the Lord (cf. ). Everything is ready before the Sabbath starts. While everyone is busy preparing everything for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Lord is laid in the tomb. He will spend the Sabbath in the tomb. The day of rest thus becomes the symbol of the eternal rest that He has brought through His death to all who believe in Him. Joseph also has spectators. They are the women who came with the Lord from Galilee. They stood by the cross and are now at the tomb. Their attachment to the Lord is great. They want to be where He is, whether He is on the cross or in the tomb. There is no trace of the disciples here. In their love for Him, the women prepare spices and perfumes to bring them to Him as soon as possible after the Sabbath to care for His body. As faithful Jews, they first wait until the Sabbath is over, which they spend in rest according to the commandment.

‏ Luke 23:53

The Burial

Now someone appears on the stage of whom we haven’t heard before. It is Joseph from the city of Arimathea. He is a member of the Council. Luke says of him that he is “a good and righteous man”. Luke also mentions that he did not participate in the hate campaign against the Lord. He may even have protested against their plans and its realization.

This man is a believer who, like the one criminal, looks forward to the kingdom of God. Joseph comes out of the hiddenness (Jn 19:38). He openly takes side for the dead Christ by going to Pilate and asking him for His body. It may take a long time before someone really choses for the Lord, but when there is real new life, the public confession comes.

Joseph takes the body of the Lord from the cross with the greatest caution. Then he wraps it in a piece of linen and places Him – not ‘it’, that is to say the body, but His Person – in a tomb “where no one had ever lain“ (cf. Lk 19:30). When the Lord was born, He was wrapped in cloths. Now that He has died, He is wrapped in cloths again. The cloths consist of a piece of linen. This speaks of the perfectly righteous life of the Lord (cf. Rev 19:8).

Everything is ready before the Sabbath starts. While everyone is busy preparing everything for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Lord is laid in the tomb. He will spend the Sabbath in the tomb. The day of rest thus becomes the symbol of the eternal rest that He has brought through His death to all who believe in Him.

Joseph also has spectators. They are the women who came with the Lord from Galilee. They stood by the cross and are now at the tomb. Their attachment to the Lord is great. They want to be where He is, whether He is on the cross or in the tomb. There is no trace of the disciples here.

In their love for Him, the women prepare spices and perfumes to bring them to Him as soon as possible after the Sabbath to care for His body. As faithful Jews, they first wait until the Sabbath is over, which they spend in rest according to the commandment.