Behold,
a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their counsel and deed), from Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who was also waiting for God’s Kingdom: this man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body. He took it down, and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that was cut in stone, where no one had ever been laid. It was the day of the Preparation, and the Sabbath was drawing near. The women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid. They returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
Luke 23:50-56
Luke 23 [47.] When the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous man.” All the multitudes that came together to see this, when they saw the things that were done, returned home beating their breasts. All his acquaintances, and the women who followed with him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Luke 23 [50.] Behold, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their counsel and deed), from Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who was also waiting for God’s Kingdom: this man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body. He took it down, and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that was cut in stone, where no one had ever been laid. It was the day of the Preparation, and the Sabbath was drawing near. The women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid. They returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
Luke 24 [1.] But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they and some others came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body. While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing. Becoming terrified, they bowed their faces down to the earth. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He isn’t here, but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again?”
Meaning:
Jesus died in the middle of the afternoon on Friday, the day before the Sabbath. Under Roman custom the bodies of the crucified were often left on the cross or thrown into a common grave. But a member of the very council that had condemned Jesus stepped forward and gave him an honourable burial. Luke closes the account of the crucifixion with this quiet scene, and with a group of women preparing to return. The parallel accounts are in Mark 15:42-45, Mark 15:46-47 and Matthew 27:57-61.
- “A member of the council, a good and righteous man”
Joseph came from Arimathaea, a town of Judea, and he sat on the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews. Luke is careful to say that he “had not consented to their counsel and deed.” Not every leader had joined in the plot against Jesus. Luke describes him in the same way as Simeon, who was “righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). Joseph too “was also waiting for God’s Kingdom.” He had hoped that Jesus was the one God had promised, and even after the cross he did not abandon that hope.
- “This man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body”
It took courage to go to the Roman governor and ask for the body of a man executed for claiming to be king. Mark says that he “boldly went in to Pilate” (Mark 15:43). Those who had followed Jesus openly had fled, but this secret disciple now acted openly. The law of Moses required that the body of an executed man “shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day” (Deuteronomy 21:23), and with the Sabbath beginning at sunset, there was little time.
- “A tomb that was cut in stone, where no one had ever been laid”
Joseph took the body down, wrapped it in linen and laid it in a new rock tomb, an expensive burial place for a wealthy family. Isaiah had foretold that the servant’s grave would be with the wicked, “and with a rich man in his death” (Isaiah 53:9). Jesus died between criminals but was buried by a rich man. The detail that no one had been laid there before also matters for the resurrection: there could be no confusion about whose body was missing when the tomb was found empty.
- “Saw the tomb, and how his body was laid”
The women from Galilee, who had watched from a distance as Jesus died (Luke 23:49), followed Joseph and saw exactly where and how the body was placed. On Sunday morning they did not go to the wrong tomb. Paul’s summary of the gospel includes that Christ died, “that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4). The burial confirms that Jesus truly died.
- “On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment”
The women went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint the body properly, but they did not do the work on the Sabbath. Even in their grief they honoured God’s law. On the first day of the week they would return with their spices (Luke 24:1).
The Significance of Luke 23:50-56
- Courage to stand with Jesus
Joseph had been a quiet follower, but at the moment when following Jesus seemed most useless and most dangerous, he identified with him publicly. Faith sometimes shows itself most clearly after a loss, when there is nothing to gain and much to risk.
- The silence before Easter
The Sabbath between the cross and the resurrection was a day of grief and waiting. Many believers know days like that, when God seems absent and hope seems buried. Yet God was at work, and the morning was coming.
Cross-References:
Mark 15:43: Joseph of Arimathaea “boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body.”
Isaiah 53:9: “They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death.” Fulfilled in Joseph’s tomb.
Deuteronomy 21:23: “his body shall not remain all night on the tree.” The law required burial the same day.
1 Corinthians 15:4: “that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” The burial is part of the gospel.
Conclusion: In Luke 23:50-56 Joseph of Arimathaea, a righteous council member who had not agreed with the verdict, boldly asks Pilate for the body of Jesus and lays it in a new rock tomb. The women from Galilee see where he is laid, prepare spices and rest on the Sabbath. The burial confirms that Jesus truly died, fulfils Isaiah’s prophecy and prepares the way for the empty tomb.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible