The Burial of Jesus Christ John 19:31-42 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
The other passages we will be referencing in this lesson are Matthew 27:55, Mark 15:40 and Luke 23:48.
Beginning in Luke we see that many of the people who gathered to watch the crucifixion were so moved by what they saw that they smote their breast (Luke 23:48). Then the Jews requested that the bodies be taken down from the crosses so as not to pollute the preparation (John 19:31) for the extra Sabbath day which was the Holy Day of Convocation during the feast of unleavened bread (as explained in a previous lesson which can be found here: https://www.my3bc.com/index.php/6958/the-day-of-jesus-crucifixion/).
The soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves on the cross to make sure they were dead. They could see that Jesus was already dead and so did not break His legs, but instead pierced His side with a spear and saw water and blood issue forth. Two prophetic scriptures were fulfilled in this passage (Ex 12:46, Zech 12:10, 1Co 5:7, John 19:34). John even wrote in an epistle about the water, blood and spirit, so that we might understand the significance of this event (1Jn 5:6-8). The witness of God in the Earth is the spirit, the water and the blood. When the water and blood issued forth from His side it was to bear witness to the fact that He was God manifest in the flesh who had come to die and shed His blood for the remission of sin that is required to fulfill the Law.
Joseph of Arimathaea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus (Luke 23:50, Mark 15:42, John 19:38) and after checking with a centurion to insure that Jesus was dead Pilate conceded. Nicodemus brought one-hundred pounds of a myrrh and aloe mixture to prepare the body (John 19:39). Then they wound the body of Jesus in linen clothes with spices (John 19:38) and laid Him in a brand new sepulcher in the garden by where Jesus had been crucified (Luke 23:53, John 19:41). Luke and John tell us that no man had ever been laid in that tomb which is appropriate because the body of Jesus never saw corruption. The women also came and beheld the sepulcher and how the body was laid (Luke 23:55). They rolled a stone in front of the tomb just before nightfall. Then they returned home to prepare spices and ointments and rested on the Sabbath.
On the next day the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate calling Jesus Christ a deceiver who said that He would rise again after three days (Matt. 22:62-63). They requested that Pilate seal the tomb and post guards for three days to insure that the Disciples couldn’t come and take the body and claim that Jesus had risen from the dead. This shows us that the Pharisees lied when they claimed to not understand what Jesus actually meant by, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19). They did not bring this up at the trial because they did not want to propagate this information amongst the people of Jerusalem knowing full well what Jesus meant when He said it.