LUKE 23:49-56 LINEN-WRAPPED LORD LAID TO REST

LINEN-WRAPPED LORD LAID TO REST

LUKE 23:49-56

Luke 23:49 And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.

Susie: Jesus’s acquaintances would be His disciples, especially the eleven remaining Apostles. But who were these women? John MacArthur did the legwork on this question for us:

MacArthur Study Bible

23:49 the women…from Galilee. Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:40, 41  report that this included Mary Magdalene; Mary, mother of James (the less) and Joses; Salome, mother of James and John, and many others. The same women were present at His burial (v. 55; Matt. 27:61; Mark 15:47) and His resurrection (24:1; Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1)—so they were eyewitnesses to all the crucial events of the gospel (cf. 1 Cor. 15:3, 4).

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures

Susan: The disciples and these women followers were witnesses to the crucifixion. I imagine that the women felt anguish, disbelief, and dismay while watching Jesus die slowly. John’s gospel even records that Jesus gave the Apostle John responsibility for the care of His mother Mary:

John 19:26-27 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

Luke 23:50-51 And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.

Susan: Joseph of Arimathaea was an incognito disciple of Jesus—a covert convert.

John 19:38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

Susie: He kept his trust in Jesus a secret for fear of reprisals by others of the Jewish religious leadership. Remember, we have brought out in earlier passages that those who professed belief in Jesus as the Messiah were thrown out of the synagogues. Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin who was not in agreement with their condemnation of Jesus. 

Susan: He was probably not there when the decision was made to deliver Jesus to Pilate to be crucified. Otherwise, he surely would have been a dissenting vote, as would Nicodemus.

Susie:  I have a feeling that the leaders only gathered those they knew would vote with them to condemn Jesus.

Susan: The reason they had met secretly at night was so the vote would not be muddled up by those who were for Jesus like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.

Luke 23:52-53 This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.

Susie: Matthew tells us that this tomb belonged to Joseph of Arimathaea.

Matthew 27:59-60 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

Susie: Joseph was bold enough to ask Pilate to allow him to take Jesus’ body for burial, and Pilate granted his request.

Susan: Preparing a body for burial is a very intimate exercise, especially as it was done in the day of Jesus by family or friends. The incognito duo of Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus became bold enough to ask for Jesus’ body and perform this final service for their Lord. After Joseph of Arimathaea was allowed to remove Jesus from the cross, he laid him in his very own tomb. 

Susie: He wrapped the body in linen with spices as was the custom, but he did not perform this task alone.

John 19:39-41 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.

Susie: Remember Nicodemus from John chapter three? He came to Jesus at night to ask Him questions. Now he comes in the daylight to assist in preparing Him for burial. 

Susan: One hundred pounds is about what I weighed when I was 5’1”! That’s a lot of aromatic spices and a lot of money put into perfume! They were having to commence with the preparations speedily because it was almost time for the Sabbath.

Luke 23:54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.

John 19:42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

Susie: Wrapping a body for burial would be considered work and would also render them “unclean” for a period because touching a dead body caused defilement under the law. Therefore, they had to prepare the body in haste.

Susan: Joseph offered his tomb because he loved the Lord, and it was in proximity to Golgotha, the place called “the skull” where the Lord was crucified. Jesus was the first to occupy this tomb but only borrowed it for three short days. Even His burial place fulfilled messianic prophecy:

Isaiah 53:9 (VOICE) And when he was dead, he was buried with the disgraced in borrowed space (among the rich), Even though he did no wrong by word or deed.

Luke 23:55-56 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

Susie: The women who were devout followers of Jesus followed Joseph and Nicodemus to see where they would put Jesus’s body. Then they went back home to prepare spices and perfumes themselves to anoint the body. Perhaps they did not think the two men would correctly prepare the Lord for the tomb or that the men may not have had time to perform this final ministry. Then the women rested according to the law of the Sabbath.

Ponder this and Apply it: None of Jesus’s followers seem to remember at this point that He said He would rise from the dead. They are lovingly preparing His body for burial while thinking their hopes that He was the Messiah are gone. Would we have had any more confidence than they did? Looking back from this side of the cross, we may think we would have held on to belief. However, how easily do we lose faith in God’s power when we have a much less traumatic event than seeing the One we believed in crucified? We suffer financial loss or illness and ask ourselves whether God is in control, so I am sure we would have been shaken to the core at the foot of the cross. But God is in control. Christ did rise from the grave. We can place our trust in Him.