Borrowed Tombs

                                               Borrowed Tombs


Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was disciple of Jesus , but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.   John 19:38-42   ( see also Matt. 27:57-61 & Luke 23:50-56)

Joseph arrived back at Golgotha with a centurion. Nicodemus met them there, having already placed the sacks of spices by the tomb. The guards had already taken the three bodies down from their crosses. The two who had been crucified beside Jesus had not been claimed by family or anyone else for that matter. They were being tossed on a cart when Joseph came from Pilate. The centurion accompanying Joseph told the soldiers to release Jesus' body to these men. They replied with a somewhat surprised, "Yes sir!"

The guards took their pry bar and pulled the spikes from Jesus' wrists and ankles. They lifted him and placed him on the litter Nicodemus had brought. One of his arms flopped out as they walked along. He and Joseph moved as quickly as they could to the nearby garden. It was a strange juxtaposition to have the garbage dump, the Skull hill of execution, and a quiet cemetery in close approximation. But Nicodemus and Joseph had seen many strange things in the past few days. To anyone watching, they would have seemed no stranger than the sight of two members of the Sanhedrin carrying a corpse away from Golgotha just before Sh'abbot was to begin.

Nicodemus and Joseph arrived at the tomb and laid Jesus' body down on a level spot just a few yards from the mouth of the cave. Now, for the first time they got a good look at Jesus. Dried blood, some not so dry, dried sweat and grime were everywhere. Joseph began to tear the linen cloths they had into strips. Nicodemus took a few of the strips and poured some water on them. Dropping to his knees, he began to wash the Master's body. He began at the head. The wounds from the crown of thorns had graveled his head. His hair was matted with blood and sweat. His eyes, now closed in death were nonetheless swollen. His face more resembled a bruise than a face.  As gently as possible he washed, scrubbing little as any pressure pulled flesh from around the wounds. He worked his way down Jesus' nearly naked body.

Joseph joined Nicodemus on the other side of Jesus' body now and began to wash. They didn't have much time. They concentrated on the wounds. Around the wrists, ankles, and side they cleaned as best they could. They worked silently, sadly, resolutely. They rolled Jesus over to clean his back. There was hardly a back left to clean. Joseph blotted at his back a little while Nicodemus held Jesus. Nicodemus folded some linen and filled the wound in his side. Tears welled in their eyes making the task a bit more difficult.

"We need to hurry, Nick. The sun is getting low. The Sabbath soon begins."
"Joseph, it hardly matters. We can't observe it.  Look at us. Official members of the Council and we are covered with the blood of a convicted criminal. We are handling very intimately a corpse. We have shown favor to a man condemned as a blasphemer by the Council. We can't observe Sh'abbot. We've broken so many laws they may throw us out. We are unclean, unfit, rejected."

"Just like him...Still, Nick, I'm glad we did this. We needed to do this. He deserved this at least. Let them throw us out. I'm done with their politics. Somehow Torah and all the wisdom and prophets were nailed to the cross with him."

"We'll talk of that later, Joseph. Thank-you for letting me come. Let's finish us as best we can."

"There wasn't enough time to do this right. Let's just sprinkle the spices and wrap him. We can come back Sunday and do a better job."

Nicodemus and Joseph took the wrapped body and placed a burial shroud around it.  As gently as possible, as reverently as they could, they laid Jesus on the ledge in the tomb. Joseph patted Jesus' hands folded over his stomach under the shroud. "Rest well, Rabbi.  I only hope these nail-pierced hands that cannot now move will in their bondage break the chains of fear and oppression. I hope these wounded feet that traveled so far that can now go nowhere, have made it possible to walk in freedom and justice to the throne of God. As the spear of Rome has pierced your heart, I hope you have launched an arrow of righteousness to pierce the blackened heart of sin. I am so sorry Jesus...so sorry...take your rest, take your rest, it is the Sabbath."

The last shafts of daylight illumined the shroud as they rolled the stone in it's track. It fell in place with a thud.

So Jesus rested in death in a borrowed tomb and no one realized at that moment, but he made it possible for all tombs to be that way-- merely borrowed.


Cos