Among
them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. When evening had come, a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who himself was also Jesus’ disciple came. This man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given up. Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock, and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed. Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.
Matthew 27:56-61
Matthew 27 [50.] Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appeared to many. Now the centurion, and those who were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
Matthew 27 [55.] Many women were there watching from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, serving him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. When evening had come, a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who himself was also Jesus’ disciple came. This man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given up. Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock, and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed. Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb. Now on the next day, which was the day after the Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together to Pilate, saying, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Command therefore that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest perhaps his disciples come at night and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He is risen from the dead;’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”
Matthew 27 [65.] Pilate said to them, “You have a guard. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone.
Meaning:
While most of the disciples had fled, “Many women were there watching from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, serving him” (Matthew 27:55). Matthew now names some of them and tells how Jesus was buried. Mark records the same events: the women watching, Joseph’s request to Pilate and the burial in the tomb (Mark 15:40-41; Mark 15:42-45; Mark 15:46-47).
- “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee”
Mary Magdalene came from Magdala on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had set her free from seven demons, and she was among the women who supported his ministry from their own means (Luke 8:2-3). The mother of the sons of Zebedee was the mother of James and John, who had once asked Jesus to give her sons the places at his right and left in his Kingdom (Matthew 20:20-23). Now she saw who was on his right and left: two robbers. These women had followed Jesus all the way from Galilee, and they stayed when the men ran away.
- “a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who himself was also Jesus’ disciple”
Arimathaea was a town of Judea. Mark calls Joseph “a prominent council member who also himself was looking for God’s Kingdom” (Mark 15:43), and Luke adds that “he had not consented to their counsel and deed” (Luke 23:50-51). John says he had been a disciple “secretly for fear of the Jews” (John 19:38). Now, when it was most dangerous, he came into the open.
- “This man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body.”
Romans often left the bodies of the crucified on the cross as a warning, or threw them into a common grave. The law of Moses, however, said a hanged man’s body “shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day” (Deuteronomy 21:23), and the Sabbath was about to begin at sunset. To ask for the body of a man executed for treason took courage. Joseph risked his position on the council and his standing with Rome.
- “laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock”
Joseph wrapped the body in clean linen and placed it in his own unused tomb, cut into rock, with a great stone rolled across the entrance. Isaiah had said of the Servant, “They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death” (Isaiah 53:9). Jesus died between criminals and was buried by a rich man. The burial matters for the gospel. Paul’s summary of the faith includes “that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4). Jesus truly died, and his body was laid in a known place.
- “Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.”
The women saw where Jesus was laid. They would return when the Sabbath was over and become the first witnesses of the empty tomb (Matthew 28:1).
The Significance of Matthew 27:56-61
- Faithfulness to the end
The women stayed when others fled. They could do little but watch and wait, yet their presence was faithful love.
- Courage to come out of hiding
Joseph had kept his faith secret, but at the cross he stepped forward. Many believers hesitate to be known as Christ’s followers. Joseph shows that it is never too late to honour Jesus openly.
Cross-References:
Mark 15:47: "Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, saw where he was laid." Mark’s account of the same witnesses.
Isaiah 53:9: "They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death;" The Servant’s burial foretold.
1 Corinthians 15:4: "that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures," The burial as part of the gospel.
Luke 8:2: "Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out;" One of the faithful women.
Conclusion: The women who had followed Jesus from Galilee watched him die and saw where he was buried. Joseph of Arimathaea, a rich disciple who had kept his faith quiet, boldly asked Pilate for the body and laid it in his own new rock tomb, fulfilling Isaiah’s words about the Servant’s grave. The burial confirmed that Jesus truly died, and the women who sat opposite the tomb would soon be the first to find it empty.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible