Oct 30 2024 17 mins
Talk 47 Mark 15:40-47 The Burial of Jesus
Welcome to Talk 47 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. We have now reached Mark 15:40. Today we’ll be concentrating on Jesus’ burial and, as we do so, we’ll take time to note the importance of the certification of his death and of the key roles played by Joseph of Arimathea and women like Mary Magdalene. Next time, which will be our final talk in this series, we’ll be looking at Mark’s account of the resurrection and the Great Commission.
As we proceed we will take time to stress the importance of each of these historical facts without getting involved with relatively minor issues like the apparent differences in the Gospel accounts, or whether, as some have argued, Jesus was actually crucified on the Thursday, rather than, as is traditionally taught, on what we know as Good Friday. Such discussion is generally unproductive.
As far as any differences in the accounts are concerned, I have already pointed out in my book, You’d Better Believe It, that the Schofield Bible offers an explanation of how the different accounts of Christ’s resurrection appearances can be reconciled. What’s more, any such differences actually strengthen the case for the resurrection as they suggest that there was no collaboration between the four writers. And does it really matter what day he was crucified? Surely what matters is that Christ died for our sins… was buried… and rose again. This, says Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, is the essence of the gospel.
So, over these two final talks, we’ll take the text of Mark’s Gospel as we have it and consider Jesus’ burial, the confirmation of his death, his resurrection, and his last instructions to his disciples.
We’ll begin today by reading verses 42-47:
42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 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. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 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. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
We’ll start with the confirmation of Jesus’ death. Joseph goes to Pilate and asks for the body of Jesus, but Pilate needs to be sure that Jesus is already dead. Some victims of crucifixion had been known to survive for days. He summons the centurion who crucified Jesus, who assures him that Jesus really is dead. So Pilate gives the body to Joseph.
Why is this important? Why has Mark chosen to include this detail about the certification of Jesus’ death? Because the entire truth of the resurrection rests upon it. There have always been those who, refusing to believe the clear evidence of the Gospel writers, have argued that Jesus only appeared to die on the cross but recovered in the tomb and walked out! And if Jesus did not die, the resurrection is a myth! There is no truth in the gospel that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried and that he rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The certainty of the resurrection rests securely on the certainty of his death.
And his burial is important too. This not only gives added confirmation to the fact that Jesus was truly dead, but it also helps us in our understanding of the significance of baptism. In Romans 6:4 and Colossians 2:12 Paul teaches us that in baptism we are buried with Christ and raised with him to live a new life through our faith in the power of God. Of course, the word for baptise in Greek is baptizo which always means immerse, and all baptisms in the New Testament were by immersion. But how does this relate to Jesus’ burial? Let me put it like this:
When we first put our faith in Jesus we acknowledged that on the cross he died in our place, to take the punishment for our sins. In so doing we identified ourselves with his death. That’s why Paul could say in Galatians 2:20, I was crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. When you gave your life to Christ, you became a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old you died and a new you came alive. Baptism is a wonderful picture of that truth. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. In baptism you act out your identification with him as you are buried in the water and come up out of it to live out the new life he has already given you. (See my book, You’d Better Believe It, for more on this).
But let’s look now at the man who buried the Lord Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea. Let’s read again verses 42-43.
42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 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.
And verses 46-47
46 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. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
First, please note the urgency of the situation. As I’m sure you know, the Jewish Sabbath lasted from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. That’s why it was important for Jesus to be buried very soon after he died. Apart from the fact that it was against the Law for a dead body to remain exposed overnight, for the Jews all forms of work were prohibited on the Sabbath. So if Jesus’ followers didn’t bury him before sunset the Romans would have disposed of his body as they were not subject to the laws of the Sabbath. And, as verse 42 tells us, evening was already approaching when Joseph went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body.
Joseph was a well-respected member of the Sanhedrin, most of whom, as we know, were bitterly opposed to Jesus, but Joseph was an exception. When Mark says that he was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, he is implying that Joseph was a follower of Jesus, albeit until now, secretly. He had been present at Jesus’ trial before the high priest, but we’re told in Luke 23:51 that he had not consented to their decision and action.
Clearly Joseph had now decided to let his respect for Jesus be known publicly. What he was about to do could hardly be kept a secret. By coming in contact with a dead body he would make himself ritually unclean and would not be able to attend the synagogue the following day. His absence would be noticed. What’s more, it was a risky thing to show sympathy with anyone who had been crucified, especially on a charge of sedition. He was in danger not only of incurring the wrath of the Jewish authorities, but of the Romans too. No doubt that’s why
Mark says that Joseph went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.
Verse 46 tells us that, after Pilate had authorised Joseph to have the body
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.
Matthew 27:60 explains that this tomb was one which Joseph had had carved for himself, and, to complete the picture, John 19:39 tells us that he was accompanied by Nicodemus, the member of the Sanhedrin who had come to Jesus by night in John 3. Perhaps he too had decided that it was high time to make his secret discipleship public. The message of Christ crucified demands a decision of us all. In the light of his death, are we prepared to stand up for him?
But Joseph and Nicodemus were not the only ones to play a significant part in the burial of Jesus. Verse 47 tells us that Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. It’s time for us now to consider the important role of such women in the life of Jesus, and now at his death. We’ll start by going back to verses 40 and 41.
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
In many ways these verses should have been included at the end of our last talk, as they are part of the story of the crucifixion, but I have left them until now to link them with the references to these women a little later in the story. We have been told so much about Jesus’ male disciples that it’s easy to forget that he had female disciples too. Three women are named in these verses, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Salome. But Mark tells us that many other women were also there watching the crucifixion from a distance. They had followed him since the early days of his ministry in Galilee and had cared for his needs. And, as we see in the last verse of the chapter and the first of the next, these devoted disciples were determined to care for his needs even after his death.
47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. 15:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body.
The three women named in these verses were among many who were not only devoted followers of Jesus, but who also supported Jesus and the apostles out of their own means. Luke 8:1-3 tells us that as Jesus travelled about proclaiming the good news of the kingdom…
…The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out 3 Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
These verses indicate the highly valued role of women among the early disciples, their devotion to Jesus often exceeding that of the men, as it does so often today. Apart from the apostle John, it was women, not men, who stood near the cross as Jesus was crucified (John 19:25-27), and, apart from secret disciples like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, it was women who participated in his burial and brought precious spices to anoint his body. And, as we see in the next chapter, it was to women that was given the first good news that Christ was risen. We’ll move into Chapter 16 next time for the final talk in our series, but let’s conclude today’s talk by considering the role of Mary Magdalene.
Perhaps the first thing to notice is that it is Mary Magdalene who is mentioned first each time these women are mentioned:
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.
47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
15:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body.
Secondly, Mary was the first person to witness the resurrection of Jesus:
15:9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.
Thirdly, she was the first person to proclaim the news that Jesus was risen:
15:10 She went and told those who had been with him.
The question naturally arises as to why Mary was so honoured. That verse in 1 Samuel 2:30 comes to mind – Those who honour me, I will honour. Mary had honoured the Lord by supporting him throughout his ministry, by remaining to the end at the scene of the crucifixion, by following Joseph to see where Jesus was buried, and by buying spices to anoint his body. She was clearly devoted to him. And that devotion sprang from what Jesus had done for her. He had driven seven demons out of her. Her deliverance led to a lifetime of devotion.
And isn’t that what motivates us? We love him because he first loved us. And if we honour him, the day will come when he will honour us.