And Was Buried
The Sabbath Day was at hand, and that Sabbath was a high day because it linked the Sabbath rites with the ceremonial of the Passover. It was necessary, therefore, that whatever had to be done should be done at once, and God, to whom the dying Lord had committed His Spirit, cared for His Body also.
Mary had anticipated this hour when she came to anoint His Body for the burying. She alone, -as is probable of all who gathered round His Sacred Person, had realized that His Death would be by violence, and that there would be no opportunity for women to perform the last offices of love. She hoped that the tenacious fragrance of the sweet spikenard would cling to His beloved Body, through all the scenes of anguish and shame, not only reminding Him of her love, but ensuring to Him the same tender regard as would have been His had He slept His last sleep in the Bethany home. But His Father was even more thoughtful of the Body of His Beloved. Let us
not shrink from trusting God utterly with our 85 body as well as our soul, which may be sown in dishonour, but shall be raised in glory.
It had been predicted by the olden prophets that if His grave was made with the wicked, He should be with the rich in His death. And so it befel, for Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, a man of high character and great wealth, who had never ventured to confess the Master during his earthly life, and had given no indication of his affection, except that he had abstained from the vote of the Sanhedrin, hastened from the cross with its lifeless burden, and begged of Pilate that the dead body might be given to his care.
The Romans were indifferent to the fate of the body, and left it to the birds of the air, but Pilate readily assented to Joseph’s request, and the more so, because his heart smote him for his own action in the earlier part of the day. He was moreover astonished that death had already taken place, and inquired of the centurion whether such were the fact.
Nicodemus, a man of enormous wealth, became his coadjutor; the one purchased a long piece of fine linen, whilst the other spread it with myrrh and aloe-wood, and the two, with the help of others who were lingering near, bore the precious casket from which the Divine-human spirit had passed, to rest in the new tomb, which Joseph had hewn out for himself in the solid rock.
The burial of Jesus has been the theme of matchless pictures, and we need not stay to paint the scene. But as strong and loving hands bear the body to the open grave, wrap the head in the white napkin, roll the limbs in fragrant linen, and lay the Body reverently on its rocky niche, we take one last look at all that was mortal of the immortal Saviour. With united strength the great stone is rolled upon the aperture as the last rays of the setting sun bathe the world. But this is not all. Though we see them not, angels sentinel the spot, and sit within the vault, shedding the radiance of heaven. It is but a little while, and the grave, rejoicing for but a brief spell in the victory, must surrender her spoils. This is He who leads captivity captive.
We cannot forget the repeated reference which the Apostles make to the burial of Christ. Paul says, “We were buried therefore with Him through baptism unto death”; and again, “Having been buried with Him in baptism.” (Rom. vi. 4; Col. ii. 12.)
In his view the grave of Christ had been transformed into a garden grotto in which each redeemed disciple should quietly sit, remembering in the silence and solitude of the grave, how definite a barrier it made between Christ’s earthly ministry, and that eternal priesthood which He exercises in the Unseen World. If it made so definite a break for Him, it surely can do no less for those who are the members of His Body, “of His Flesh and Bone.”
Who need fear to lie in the Grave, since Christ has lain there? Why should we be anxious about our dust, since God was so careful of His Son’s? We cannot be holden any more than He was. For us, too, the Day of Resurrection must come apace.