“Joseph Asks For Jesus’ Body”

December 15, 2018

“Joseph Asks For Jesus’ Body”

Blessings folk!

Jesus had died.
John had witnessed it.
Women who followed Jesus had witnessed it.

Watch what happens next in Mark’s account.
Very important…

Mar 15:42-43

When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day,
that is, the day before the Sabbath,

Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council,
who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God;
and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.

Joseph was a prominent member of the Council.
What council?
Jewish leadership.
He was a leader of the leaders.
He was awaiting the Kingdom of God.
By this time he knew that Jesus was Messiah.

Even this highly esteemed, great man of leadership, feared.

He had to gather courage to go before Pilate to ask for the Body of Jesus.

Why?

Because he would be revealed.

Pilate would assume that Joseph was a disciple of Jesus…a developing truth.
But…
The Jewish leadership would also assume the same.

Joseph was laying all his position, power and prestige before the Lord.

Note when this occurred.
This is extremely significant.
We have covered this before, but review is good.
Evening had come…the closing of a day and the beginning of a new one.
Remember, the Hebrew day begins at sunset.
It was the day of preparation.
Preparation for what?

John gives us some insight…

John 19:14

Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour.
And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!”

It was Nisan 14 - Leviticus 23:5

It was the day they prepared the Passover meal.
At sunset they sat down to partake of the meal.
At sunset a new day began - Nisan 15.
Nisan 15 was a Holy Day, a Sabbath, the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread.

Lev 23:6-7

‘Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.

‘On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.

This is the Sabbath mentioned in the Mark account.
Not the weekly sabbath (Friday sundown until Saturday sundown).

This is the reason that we know that Jesus died on Nisan 14 - a Wednesday that year.
He was buried before sunset Nisan 15 - a High Sabbath day…the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread.

John 19:31
Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation,
so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath
(for that Sabbath was a high day),
asked Pilate that their legs might be broken,
and that they might be taken away.

 John 19:42
Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation,
since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.


Jesus was in the belly of the earth three nights and day.
Night/Day - Thursday
Night/Day - Friday
Night/Day - Saturday

Fulfilling the Word of the Lord Himself…

Mat 12:40

for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

At sunset Sunday begin.
At some point thereafter Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
The ladies found the empty tomb before sunrise.

Give close heed to the Word.
It reveals that which the Lord wants us to know.

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