JOSEPH PAVED THE WAY FOR THE RESURRECTION
Soon after Jesus died on the cross, Joseph of Arimathea among others, including the Jewish leaders and Pilate himself, were involved in what happened to the body of Jesus. The fact that His body was rescued and put in a private tomb was totally unprecedented and an absolute exception to the rule because normally once a prisoner had died, his body was left on the cross to decompose and be ravaged by wild animals.
Dr Bart D. Ehrman who is a Professor at the University of North Carolina has studied all the evidence closely and this is what he said:
“Crucifixion was meant to be a public disincentive to engage in politically subversive activities; and the disincentive did not end with the pain – it continued on in the ravages worked on the corpse afterward.
Evidence for this comes from a wide range of sources. We have an ancient inscription found on the tombstone of a man who was murdered by his slave, in the city of Caria, on which we learn that the murderer was “hung … alive for the wild beasts and birds of prey.” The Roman author Horace says in one of his letters, that a slave was claiming to have done nothing wrong, to which his master replied, “You shall not therefore feed the carrion crows on the cross” (Epistle 1.16.46-48). In sum, it was the common Roman practice to allow the bodies of crucified persons to decompose and be attacked by scavengers on the cross, as part of the disincentive for crime. I have not run across any contrary indications in any ancient source. It is always possible that an exception was made, of course...”
Before Joseph went to claim the body of Jesus, the Jewish leaders aided him unwittingly, by going to see Pilate first: “Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.” John 19:28
Those Jewish leaders were total control freaks and they had already twisted Pilate round their little fingers by making sure that Jesus was crucified in the first place, but what they did not realise was that by getting permission for all three of the prisoners to be taken down from the crosses they paved the way for Joseph also to be given permission by Pilate to bury Jesus in his own tomb.
“It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.” (Mark 15:43-46)
Why did Pilate do this unprecedented thing by allowing Joseph to have the body of Jesus? I think there were several factors:
Firstly, Jesus had made a big impression on Pilate, and he had been predisposed to let Him go free but had been pressurised by the Jewish leaders to have Jesus crucified - and he still felt guilty about that.
Secondly Pilate’s regret had been compounded by his wife who had sent a message to him while he was in the courtroom saying: “Leave that good man alone; for I had a terrible nightmare concerning him last night.” (Matthew 27:19 LB)
Thirdly by giving Joseph permission he possibly felt he was doing something to clear his conscience as he had previously done by defying the Jewish leaders by putting the inscription “King of the Jews” above Jesus on the cross.
Joseph is described in Matthew’s gospel as “a rich man who had himself become a disciple of Jesus” and in Mark’s gospel as “a member of the Council.” Joseph was extremely brave in doing this and exposed himself to strong opposition from his fellow Sanhedrin members, but he was willing to face the consequences out of his love for the Lord. His devotion is further illustrated by the fact that he wrapped the body of Jesus in "fine linen."
Furthermore, Joseph in his capacity of being an important dignitary in Jerusalem had the possibility of access to Pilate and he: “went in boldly” to ask for the body. This was something no one else could do! Jesus’ disciples were all scattered and in fear and His friends and the women who followed Jesus were powerless to make such a request. Only Joseph could even attempt to get the body and by doing so he saved the day!
Joseph may not have known it, but he was fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah: “From prison and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people of that day realised it was their sins that he was dying for—that he was suffering their punishment? He was buried like a criminal, but in a rich man’s grave; but he had done no wrong and had never spoken an evil word.” (Isaiah 53:8-9 Living Bible).
The fact of the matter is that Joseph kept the body of Jesus safe until the resurrection and in this way, he did not only do a great service to Jesus but to all of us as well. The idea of Jesus’ body being left on the cross to quickly decompose is unthinkable to us now, but it would have happened but for the intervention of Joseph of Arimathea!
“The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. (Matthew 27: 62-66)
The fact that Joseph put Jesus in his own tomb meant that when the resurrection happened – the stone had been rolled away, the guards were like dead men and the tomb was empty! This presented the authorities with a huge problem! Pilate and the Jewish leaders knew that the body of Jesus had been laid in a sealed tomb with 24 hour security guards - yet the body was gone!
“Some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the Governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed. (Matt 28:11-15)
By providing a tomb for the body of Jesus, Joseph preserved His body intact and kept the body safe ready for the resurrection morning when Jesus was raised from the dead inside that tomb. The tomb could not hold Him – the stone was rolled away – the guards were struck down – Jesus came out of the tomb and when the women came early in the morning the tomb was empty!
If Joseph had not gone boldly to Pilate, disregarding any consequences to himself, the body would have been left to rot in the heat of the day and be ravaged by wild animals over three nights and it would have been an unimaginably different story! Even if Joseph, like the other disciples was so consumed by grief that he was not expecting Jesus to be raised from the dead, by his act of love and devotion to Jesus in giving up his own tomb –
Joseph made way for the resurrection!