And They Burried Him (John 19:31-42) - Part 2 of 2

John tells us that Joseph was a “secret disciple for fear of the Jews.” The Greek word translated “secretly” is a perfect passive participle and could be understood as having been secreted. The same verb form is translated “have been kept secret” in Matt. 13:35. In other words, Joseph was God's "secret agent" in the Sanhedrin! From the human perspective, Joseph remained “under cover” because he was afraid of the Jews (John 7:13; 9:22; 12:42), but from the divine perspective, he was being protected so that he could be available to bury the body of Jesus.

We have already met Nicodemus in our study of John 1–12. Note that whenever he is named, he is identified as the man who came to Jesus by night (John 3:1ff; 7:50-53). But he who began in confusion at night (John 3) finished in open confession in the daylight! Nicodemus came out of the darkness into the light and was not ashamed to publicly identify with Jesus Christ and Joseph. Of course, the two men defiled themselves by touching His dead body and could not take part in Passover. But what difference did it make? They had found the Lamb of God!

Joseph and Nicodemus had evidently made careful arrangements for their activities at Calvary. They certainly could not get a last-minute tomb, nor could they buy sixty-five pounds of expensive spices so quickly during Passover, when many merchants would not be open for business. Joseph went at once to Pilate and asked permission to take the body away as soon as Jesus died. Nicodemus remained at the cross to see that the body of his Lord was not disturbed. The spices and the wrappings may have been there in the new tomb with the two men, waiting for the time when the Savior would lay down His life.

Speed was essential, and the men worked fast. They could not give Jesus' body the full ministry of washing and anointing that was traditional, but they did the best they could. It was important to get the body away from the Romans and the Jewish leaders safely. Mary of Bethany had, of course, already anointed His body for burial (Mark 14:8; John 12:1–8). Some of the other women saw the two men ministering to Jesus and saw His burial (Matt. 27:61; Mark 15:47). They would return after the Sabbath and finish the burial procedures (Luke 23:55—24:1).

All this brings up the question, “How did Joseph and Nicodemus know to prepare for His burial?” I'm just guessing here, but it sounds reasonable to me.

When Nicodemus came to Jesus, he was amazed at His miracles and His teachings, but he did not understand what it meant to be born again. Certainly after that interview Nicodemus searched the Scriptures and prayed to God about these important spiritual matters.

At the crucial council meeting recorded in John 7:45–53, Nicodemus boldly stood up and defended the Savior! His colleagues scoffed at him that out of Galilee could come a prophet! “Search and see!” they said. And that is what Nicodemus did. It is likely that Joseph quietly accompanied him and revealed the fact that he was also more and more convinced that Jesus of Nazareth was truly Israel’s Messiah, the Son of God.

And as Nicodemus and Joseph read the Old Testament, they would find the messianic prophecies and see that many of them were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Of course they would know him as the “Lamb of God” and would assume that he would die at Passover. Jesus had already told Nicodemus He would be "lifted up" (John 3:14), which meant crucifixion. The two men knew approximately the exact time when God's Lamb would die on the cross, for the Passover lambs were killed at around 3 p.m.

They would surely read Isaiah 53 and see verse 9— “And he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death.” Jesus would be buried in a rich man’s tomb! Joseph arranged to have the tomb hewn out, and the men gathered the cloths and spices necessary for burial. They might have been hiding in the tomb all during the six hours' agony of our Lord on the cross.

When they heard, “It is finished! Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit!” They knew He was dead, and they went to work. They boldly identified themselves with Jesus Christ when He seemed a failure and His cause a hopeless defeat. As far as we know, John stayed with them at the cross of all the disciples. The Sabbath was coming on. The work of the “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17) was finished. Jesus would now rest.