Now that Pilate has given Joseph of Arimathea permission to have the body, Joseph returns to the place of execution to take charge. He has to move quickly, because the sun is low, and once it sets, the Sabbath begins, during which no work can be done.

So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. – Mark 15:46

No-one would have expected Joseph to do what he did! As a high-ranking member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin, Joseph knew that by touching a dead body he would become ritually unclean. This would have been the last thing someone in his position would have done, and especially at Passover! But Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ body down from the cross and was stained with his blood. Can you imagine the scene?

Joseph of Arimathea was a very wealthy man, and he had prepared his own tomb in a nice place outside the city walls. This was very expensive real estate, in a garden setting. It was where Joseph himself had expected to be laid upon his death. But he gave that privilege to Jesus, for him to lay there in his place.

Christ lay in your tomb and now, because of it, the tomb need never be your destiny. As Paul says, “we have been buried with Christ” and because of that we may live today in newness of life. And this “newness of life” that Christ offers you is an eternal life because all those who have been buried with Jesus will be raised to new life today in this life, and for the age to come in the resurrection. Spend some quiet moments reflecting on how that should change your outlook on your life, especially as you approach the challenges that today will bring.

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