Friends bury Jesus - Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus

Friends bury Jesus

When Jesus died, it was nearly the Sabbath.

Joseph (from Arimathea) and Nicodemus

Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Together with Nicodemus, he buried the body of Jesus quickly. They buried the body in a grave, near the place where Jesus died. (Both Joseph and Nicodemus were leaders of the Jews.)

Usually Jews would wash a body and rub oil on it. There was not enough time to do this before the Sabbath began. Joseph and Nicodemus just wrapped Jesus' body, and laid it in a grave. The grave was like a small cave, which men had cut in rock. Joseph and Nicodemus rolled a heavy stone against the front. They would do nothing more during the Sabbath.

The women prepared the oils that they needed. They wanted to complete the Jewish customs. But they had to wait until early on the Sunday morning. These women had seen where the men had buried Jesus.

Guards at the grave

The Jewish rulers also saw the grave where the body was. They ordered soldiers to guard the grave. They did not want anyone to pretend that Jesus had become alive again (Matthew 27:63-66).

At this time, the friends of Jesus had separated. When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, his friends had run away. The soldiers had come from Jerusalem. The disciples would not have gone back there. Probably they went over the Mount of Olives to Bethany. Peter and John stayed in Jerusalem. The women also stayed in Jerusalem.