Taking Care of the Body of Jesus (John 19:38-42)

What was to happen to the body of Jesus now that he was dead? If it had been left to the soldiers at the cross they would probably have thrown it on to a rubbish pile along with the bodies of the two criminals. Yet we can see from the details that God had the appropriate people ready to come into the picture. It is interesting that God could have used angels to take care of the body of Jesus and each of them would have been glad to do so. Yet he did not use those heavenly servants.

The other Gospel writers mention the involvement of Joseph, but only John mentions the contribution of Nicodemus. This inclusion points to John being an eyewitness of what they did when they took care of the body of Jesus. It is certain that both men would have died by the time John wrote his letter. No doubt they did many things as rulers among the Jews, but those activities have long been forgotten and they are now only remembered for what they did to take care of the body of Jesus.

It is interesting that God in his providence arranged for Jesus to have a dignified burial party. He was buried by two of the most important dignitaries of the land, with one of them - Nicodemus - having a prominent role as the teacher of Israel. Moreover their involvement ensured that a prophecy of Isaiah, that the Messiah would be with the rich in his death (Isa. 53:8), was fulfilled through their actions.

John does not say that Jesus was buried in the tomb of Joseph, although the other Gospels tell us that he was (Matt. 27:60). Probably this burial would have been regarded by Joseph as a temporary arrangement, which is what it turned out to be even although Joseph would not at that time have understood that Jesus would be raised from the dead. They might have intended to move the body of Jesus to another tomb once the Sabbath was over.

Joseph

John tells us that Joseph was a secret disciple. We are not given any information as to when he became a disciple. It has been suggested that he was the rich young ruler who refused to sell all that he had and follow Jesus, but that suggestion is only an impossible-to-substantiate guess. Nor are we told what it was about Jesus that caused Joseph to become a secret disciple. I suppose the fact is that there was nothing commendable in him being a secret disciple, so why give any details of a period in his life of which he would later be ashamed.

John tells us of whom Joseph was afraid. Secret disciples are always afraid of someone or something. Joseph was afraid of the opinion of his fellow-rulers among the Jews. I suppose he wanted to keep his status that belonging to them gave him. Yet why would someone want to belong to a group whose conduct created fear? I suspect that belonging to them gave to Joseph a sense of security. Yet when the cause of Jesus had entered into a very low state Joseph came out of the shadows and identified himself with Jesus.

Joseph therefore resolved to do what he could to take care of the body of Jesus. As a member of the Sanhedrin Joseph would have access to Pilate. There were not many other believers who would have access to the Roman governor. Joseph resolved to use his status for the benefit of the Saviour even although his faith would not have been as fully informed as it should have been. Perhaps being a secret disciple had prevented him from hearing Jesus as often as he could have done. So we can see in Joseph an example of a believer who can show love and loyalty despite having an inadequate grasp of what had happened.

How would Joseph have taken down the body of Jesus? No doubt he would have taken it down carefully, determined not to damage it in any way. Moreover he would have taken it down sympathetically, because his hope was in the advance of the kingdom of God and at the least he would have linked Jesus with the kingdom. We can also say that he would have taken it down with a sense of disappointment, because he would have been hoping for a different outcome as far as his hopes for Jesus were concerned. And he would have taken the body down gratefully, sensing he had been allowed a very privileged role.

Do we not see in Joseph's response a pattern for how we should involve ourselves in the affairs of God's kingdom even if we do not understand what is taking place at that moment? Within a few days Joseph would discover that his contribution had been far greater than he could have imagined, and that is how it usually will turn out when we involve ourselves in kingdom work at times of difficulty of understanding or purpose.

Nicodemus

We know from earlier references to Nicodemus that he also was a member of the Sanhedrin. Moreover he is said in John 3 to have been the teacher of Israel, which in modern terms makes him into a prominent theologian, holding a position of trust among God's people. No doubt he had been asked on many occasions what he thought about Jesus. Indeed the visit to Jesus described in John 3 seems to say that Nicodemus was a kind of official delegate from a group within the Sanhedrin who had recognised Jesus' superior abilities in contrast with other religious teachers. Perhaps that visit to Jesus had been the catalyst for a journey of discovery.

During that initial meeting, Jesus had told Nicodemus that he needed an individual experience of the new birth. Nicodemus would have known the various Old Testament descriptions of spiritual recovery from God, but he probably would have understood them as happening in a corporate way to the people of Israel. He would have been right in connecting them to the people of God, but it looks as if Jesus was instructing him and saying to him that new life was connected to Jesus. During that discussion Nicodemus had been informed by Jesus that he would raised on a pole similar to how a bronze serpent was raised on a pole for the purpose of curing sick Israelites during an incident in the time of Moses. Did Nicodemus now realise that Jesus had been raised on pole? He certainly had an interest in Jesus that was more than mere sympathy.

John tells us the weight of spices that Nicodemus brought with him. The fact that he took spices indicates that he did not expect Jesus to be raised from the dead. It has often been pointed out that the weight of spices was far more than was usually used for a burial; indeed it is a weight that would have been used for a royal person. This action of Nicodemus reveals that he did not share the views of the Sanhedrin that Jesus was a false prophet. Moreover, his example encourages us to be exuberant in showing our affection for Jesus.    

Reading this by faith

So far we have looked at the contribution of two men, Joseph and Nicodemus, who were true believers but whose faith at the time was not as informed as it should have been. Yet we also know that John wrote this Gospel in order to help his readers to believe in Jesus and to continue to have faith in Jesus. So how should the latter type of reader approach this passage? Here are some suggestions.

The first lesson is that uninformed people can do great things for Jesus. It is a fact that we lay a great stress on knowing a great deal, and rightly so. It should be our aim to know as much as possible of the gospel. Yet when we do have such knowledge, we should always remember that God can use relatively weaker people in the progress of his kingdom. So if we feel that we are not as competent as others we should still offer to do what we can for the kingdom.

A second lesson is note that the time when some are backsliding can be the time when some are recovering their devotion. The disciples of Jesus who served him as a group had been loyal to him for three years and had not acted as secret disciples. Now they had forsaken their devotion to Jesus and had left him out of fear of the authorities, which made them similar to how Joseph and Nicodemus had responded. They were going downhill, yet Joseph and Nicodemus were on the road to recovery. God's grace was at work even when some who had known it more than others were failing.

A third application is that here we are seeing the finish of the ceremonial law. For the first time we can say that Jewish believers in God touched a dead body and there were no negative consequences for them as far as God was concerned. Of course, Joseph and Nicodemus would be regarded as ceremoniously unclean by the Jewish leaders. Maybe they realised that somehow it did not matter anymore. Although they may not have regarded the ceremonial as finished, readers of the Gospel would. The death of Jesus was the death of the ceremonial law.

Fourthly, it would be difficult for a reader familiar with the biblical story not to notice the significance of a tree in a garden. The place where Jesus was crucified must have been part of the ground owned by Joseph, although it was where the public road went through. Maybe part of it had been confiscated by the authorities. Yet John makes clear that the cross was in the garden. Occasionally in the Bible the cross is called a tree. A tree in a garden would cause a reader to think of Eden where the tree of life was located. Now the real tree of life was where Jesus had been crucified. His death would become the way of life for sinners.

Fifth, when Joseph and Nicodemus looked at the body of Jesus they would have seen a sin offering that had not been consumed. In the Old Testament ritual, the sin offering was entirely consumed and destroyed. Here the body of the real Sin Offering was still there, waiting for a future role that would commence at the resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week.

Sixth, as later believers considered the fact that Jesus had been placed in the tomb of Joseph they would see a picture of Jesus preparing it for Joseph to use later on for himself (whether he did or not no one knows). The picture pointed to a greater reality, a reality that has been beautifully explained as Jesus warming the grave for his people.

Seventh, the burial of Jesus is, according to Paul, part of the gospel. It was a stage in his humiliation and a step towards his exaltation. We see how far he was willing to descend on behalf of sinners. Yet when he was in the grave he did not decompose. We are to stand and look at it, consider the way he was lovingly put there, and recall that soon he was to leave that tomb in the power of a risen life.