A man named Joseph took upon himself the responsibility to bury Jesus (Luke 23:50-53). He went to Pilate and all three Synoptics declare he asked, perhaps begged for Jesus’ body, that it would be given him for burial (Luke 23:52; cf. Matthew 27:57-58; Mark 15:43-45). According to the Gospel of John, Joseph had been a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one, who came to Jesus at night (John 19:38). It is interesting that none of the Synoptics tell us that his relationship with Jesus was a secret one. They say only that Joseph was a righteous man (Luke 23:50, a rich man and a disciple (Matthew 27:57), and that he waited for the Kingdom of God (Mark 15:43). It is almost as though the author of the Gospel of John makes a confession about himself.[1]
It is also said that Joseph was a councilor (Luke 23:50; cf. Mark 15:43). That is, he was a member of the high court of the Jews that had condemned Jesus to die and turned him over to Pilate. However, Joseph, although he was a member of the Sanhedrin, did not take part in the evil deed of condemning Jesus (Luke 23:51). Nevertheless, Joseph’s secret relationship with Jesus (John 19:38), seems to be over now, in that he went boldly, and publicly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body, so he could bury him (Mark 15:43).
Jesus body was laid in a newly constructed tomb, carved out of stone (Luke 23:53; John 19:41). In fact, this was Joseph’s own tomb, which he had recently made (Matthew 27:60). It may be that Jesus’ placement in Joseph’s tomb was supposed to be a temporary matter, until other arrangements could be made, because it is said Jesus was put there, because the sepulcher was close by, and it was already near sundown, and the Sabbath was approaching (Luke 23:54; cf. John 19:41-42). Joseph had bought spices and linen (Mark 15:46; John 19:39-40), but these may have been bought earlier for his own use, and it doesn’t seem as though Jesus’ body was sufficiently prepared for burial, according to Jewish tradition, due to the approaching Sabbath (Luke 24:1; Mark 16:1; cf. 2Chronicles 16:14; Jeremiah 34:5).
The women who came with Jesus from Galilee watched how Jesus was laid and returned and prepared spices and ointments to anoint Jesus’ body, after which they rested on the Sabbath, according to the commandment (Luke 23:55-56). However, one needs to ask, if the tomb was chosen because of the closeness of the Sabbath (John 19:41-42), when did the women buy the spices to anoint Jesus’ body (Mark 16:1)?
It is interesting that we are told Jesus’ body had to be placed in Joseph’s sepulcher, because it was close at hand, for the Sabbath was approaching. Yet, the women were able to prepare the spices and ointments sometime after Jesus’ burial (Luke 23:55-56. According to Mark, they bought what they needed after the Sabbath was past (Mark 16:1), but according to Luke, they prepared the spices and ointments before the Sabbath arrived (cf. Luke 23:56)! This implies that there were two Sabbaths that week, an annual Holy Day plus the seventh day Sabbath, with at least one day between them, in which the women could buy and prepare the spices and ointments to anoint Jesus’ body (cf. Mark 16:1 and Luke 23:56), and only after the second Sabbath were they able to bring to the tomb the spices they had bought and prepared.
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[1] See my earlier study Barnabas – Whom Jesus Loved!
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