John 19:31-42 Death Confirmed, Jesus Buried

We look at the Empty Tomb as significant evidence for Jesus’ resurrection.  But had it not been for the actions of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both of whom were members of the Sanhedrin and who had come to believe in Jesus, the body of Jesus would not have been buried in a marked grave.  Those who were crucified typically did not make it into tombs.  Their bodies were disposed of in less honorable manners.

Here we are told of how the death of Jesus was verified.  His side was pierced, where as the other two men crucified with Jesus had their legs broken.  They had not yet expired.  Breaking their legs would hasten death because they would not be able to push against their feet to take pressure off their lungs so they could breathe.  This was not necessary with Jesus.  He had already died, so a secondary test was made, the piercing of his side to determine that he was indeed dead.

This act alone, disproves one of the theories which was circulated to discredit the resurrection, that being Jesus had not actually died, but that he had merely passed into unconsciousness.  So indeed Jesus had died.

Now Joseph of Arimathea is used by God to give Christianity for all time an irrefutable evidence for the resurrection.  By requesting Jesus’ body and donating his own tomb (Matthew 27:60 tells us the tomb belonged to Joseph) Joseph gives us a great gift.  Jesus body was placed in a tomb, one which the location was known, and could not be disputed.  Also this passage makes clear that Nicodemus, following his conversation with Jesus recorded in John 3, has indeed become a believer.  Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, may have been the only two members of the ruling council who had accepted Jesus as the Messiah prior to his death, resurrection, and the preaching of the disciples following Pentecost.  And here they stuck their necks out for Jesus.  They couldn’t persuade the other members at his trial, but they could see that he had an honorable burial.

What kindness and love they show to Jesus by caring for his body!  It was an act of true devotion.

And their actions probably led to the request by others of the ruling council that a Roman guard be placed at the tomb, and that the tomb be sealed.  Understand that this act of sealing was the placement of wax with an insignia stamped in it after the stone had been rolled in place.  It would tell officials if the stone had been removed, which would break the seal and disrupt the insignia.

The reporting of these details–the piercing of Jesus’ side and his burial in the tomb of someone as prominent as Joseph of Arimathea–are not insignificant.  They set the stage for Christian apologetics to point to these pieces of evidence for the bodily resurrection of Jesus:  No one ever produced a body saying, here this is the dead Jesus of Nazareth, and no one ever disputed that his tomb was empty.  Jesus did not appear to anyone after his resurrection who was not already among his followers–except for these noted exceptions his half-brothers and Paul on the road to Damascus.  The resurrection appearances were for believers.  They would bear witness to others.  They would tell what they had seen and touched.  But for everyone else, they would have to accept their testimony, and look at the evidence of the empty tomb, and no body to present as Jesus’.

Thank you Joseph and Nicodemus.  Thank you God for making these events come to pass.