We may consider this in relation to all the persons concerned - Jesus himself, Joseph of Arimathaea, Pontius Pilate, and the Marys.

I. JESUS SUBMITTING TO BURIAL. Jesus himself had departed. It was only the deserted house that was now left. Still this was the body of Jesus, and the burial of it had a significance in regard to the spirit that had once inhabited it.

1. The burial proves the death of Christ. If he had risen immediately it would have been said that he had never died at all - that he had only fainted. But that in his state of exhaustion he could have been torn down from the cross and sealed up in a tomb without receiving any nourishment; that he could then have come forth and walked about with no traces of suffering upon him, - all this is simply impossible.

2. The burial completes the humiliation of Christ. It is an humiliation for the body to be handled by others as lifeless clay, and then to be laid in the tomb, put out of sight as a dreadful thing, soon to become repulsive and loathsome. Christ's body never saw corruption; but it was humbled to the grave.

II. JOSEPH BEGGING THE BODY OF JESUS.

1. This reveals his true discipleship. Joseph was a rich man in a high position. It was highly dangerous for such a man to avow himself a Christian. But the privilege of burying the body of his beloved Master encouraged him to run the risk. We are best known as Christ's by what we will do for him, especially when our service involves sacrifice.

2. This also reveals the tardiness of his confession. It was a late avowal. Why had not Joseph owned his faith during the lifetime of Christ? He was too like those who build the tombs of the prophets. His courage was real, but it was half spoilt by the fact that it was not manifested when it would have been most valuable. How many opportunities of Christian service are missed by delay in coming out openly on the Lord's side! It is well to treat the bodies of our departed friends with respect; but this is a small service compared with the help and love we could show them during their lifetime. The Josephs who can only bury a dead Christ are not of the stuff out of which apostles are made.

III. PILATE SURRENDERING THE BODY OF JESUS. The miserable man should have protected the life of the Prisoner whom he knew to be innocent. His surrender of Jesus to death at the clamour of the Jews was more than an act of weakness, it was treason against justice. Now it is too late to save the life of the Prophet of Nazareth. The awful crime has been committed, and it can never be undone, Through all the ages it will brand the name of Pilate with an indelible mark of ignominy. Yet the governor will make a little concession. A friend of Jesus - especially as he is rich and influential - may have the lifeless corpse. Thus we see men who are false to their real duty and the sacred trust that is laid upon them showing a reasonable kindness in small things. But this cannot atone for their great, black wickedness.

IV. THE MARYS AT THE TOMB. Sorrowful and loving, they sit and watch by the tomb. It is all they can do for their Lord, and they cannot bear to leave him. Their faithful love is rewarded. To them is given the first news of the Resurrection. Cleaving to Christ will be rewarded by many a surprise of joy. From the very tomb new hope will come to those who hold faithfully to him. - W.F.A.

I. The burial of Jesus by Joseph and his friend is an interesting illustration of faith. He accepted the evidence that Jesus was Christ. The popular fury had not affected his faith. Calm and dignified in his faith, he respectfully makes his request to Pilate. When we believe with all the heart we shall not be hindered by great difficulties from professing Christ.

II. In the conduct of Joseph we have an illustration of MORAL COURAGE AND DECISION OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. It exposed any man to loss of reputation to favour one who was subject to crucifixion.

III. The conduct of Joseph is an illustration of THE POWER WHICH ARDENT LOVE FOR CHRIST HAS ON THE LIFE AND CONDUCT. Here was the secret of his courage, the hiding of its power. He loved Christ.

IV. The grace of God CAN PREVAIL OVER HINDRANCES TO FAITH AND CHRISTIAN ZEAL IN THE CHARACTERS AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF MEN. It is remarkable that the two men who performed this courageous act were men once timid and cautious. God can place us in circumstances where our faith can suddenly acquire the force of years. We naturally like men at once to declare for Christ, like the morning star which glows in the sun-rising. Some are like St. John, constant from first to last.

V. The REWARD which Joseph had for his conduct. There in his tomb life and immortality were brought to light. The builder of the Pyramids is not to be compared for fame to the owner of that tomb. Every one of us has his own peculiar opportunity of showing his attachment to Christ.

(T. Adams, D. D.)

There has been no time to get a bier, or it is felt that the distance is so short that it is not needed. That body, however, has the best bier of all — the hands of true affection to lift it and carry it across to the new tomb which waits to receive it. The feet let us assign to Joseph, the body to Nicodemus, and that regal head with those closed eyes, over whom the shadows of the resurrection are already flitting, let us lay it on the breast of the beloved disciple John, who, possibly, was present standing with the Galilean women. The last service which Jesus ever needed at the hands of men it has been their privilege to render. For this service shall we not honour them, and forget that they were once secret disciples? Yea, verily; what they thus did for the Lord's burial shall be told for a memorial of them, wherever this gospel of the kingdom is preached.

(Dr. Hanna.)

I. The corpse — It is "the body of Jesus."

II. The undertaker — "A rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph."

III. The preparations he made for the burial — He first "begged" the body, etc.

IV. The time of the funeral — Evening.

V. The mourners — No hired ones.

(American Horn. Review.)

I. THIS SEPULCHRE.

1. Its situation — in a garden. Preaching of a new life arising from decay and death. In all human gardens of domestic and social joy, there is death.

2. It was a new tomb. The true consecration of the great world — sepulchre.

3. It was a rich man's tomb. Jesus has been in many rich men's homes and hearts since. Yet the aim of "many rich" seems to be, to bury Jesus — fashion, form, etc.

4. Hewn out of a rock. The strength of the tomb collateral proof of genuineness of resurrection.

II. THE MOURNERS.

1. Their characters suggestive.

2. Their number very small — a mere handful. More rejoicers than mourners. Very few of the disciples, but He is present at the death of every disciple.

3. Their grief intense. The Magdalene had lost her Saviour; the Virgin her Son; the rest a dear Friend.

III. THE INTERMENT.

1. Hurried.

2. Costly. More was spent upon Jesus at His burial than at any time before.

3. Vigilance of His enemies; they cannot leave even His sepulchre alone. The seal and the guard. Their unintended testimony to the reality of the resurrection.Learn:

1. Christ entered the grave to rob it of its gloom.

2. Rejoice in a living Saviour — not hide Him out of sight.

(J. C. Gray.)

Barabbas, Eli, Elias, Elijah, Israelites, James, Jeremiah, Jeremias, Jeremy, Jesus, Joseph, Joses, Judas, Mary, Pilate, Simon, Zabdi, ZebedeeArimathea, Cyrene, Field of Blood, Galilee, Golgotha, Jerusalem, Place of the SkullApproached, Arimathaea, Arimathea, Arimathe'a, Disciple, Discipled, Evening, Inhabitant, Joseph, Named, Rich, Sunset, Towards, Wealth, Wealthy1. Jesus is delivered bound to Pilate.
3. Judas hangs himself.
19. Pilate, admonished of his wife,
20. and being urged by the multitude, washes his hands, and releases Barabbas.
27. Jesus is mocked and crowned with thorns;
33. crucified;
39. reviled;
50. dies, and is buried;
62. his tomb is sealed and watched.

Matthew 27:57

     5414   money, stewardship
     5476   property
     8701   affluence

Matthew 27:57-58

     4933   evening

Matthew 27:57-60

     4366   stones
     5503   rich, the
     8811   riches, attitudes to

The Blind Watchers at the Cross
'And sitting down they watched Him there.' --MATT. xxvii. 36. Our thoughts are, rightly, so absorbed by the central Figure in this great chapter that we pass by almost unnoticed the groups round the cross. And yet there are large lessons to be learned from each of them. These rude soldiers, four in number, as we infer from John's Gospel, had no doubt joined with their comrades in the coarse mockery which preceded the sad procession to Calvary; and then they had to do the rough work of the executioners, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Veil Rent
'Behold, the veil of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.'--MATT. xxvii. 51. As I suppose we are all aware, the Jewish Temple was divided into three parts: the Outer Court, open to all; the Holy Place, to which the ministering priests had daily access to burn incense and trim the lamps; and the Holy of Holies, where only the High Priest was permitted to go, and that but once a year, on the great Day of Atonement. For the other three hundred and sixty-four days the shrine lay silent, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Sentence which Condemned the Judges
And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked Him, saying, Art Thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. 12. And when He was accused of the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. 13. Then said Pilate unto Him, Hearest Thou not how many things they witness against Thee? 14. And He answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. 15. Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Crucifixion
'And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, 34. They gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when He had tasted thereof, He would not drink. 35. And they crucified Him, and parted His garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted My garments among them, and upon My vesture did they cast lots. 36. And sitting down they watched Him there; 37. And set up over His head His accusation written, THIS …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'See Thou to That!'
'I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See thou to that. 24. I am innocent of the blood of this just Person: see ye to it.'--MATT. xxvii. 4, 24. So, what the priests said to Judas, Pilate said to the priests. They contemptuously bade their wretched instrument bear the burden of his own treachery. They had condescended to use his services, but he presumed too far if he thought that that gave him a claim upon their sympathies. The tools of more …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Taunts Turning to Testimonies
'... The chief priests mocking Him ... said, 42. He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him.' --MATT. xxvii. 41-43. It is an old saying that the corruption of the best is the worst. What is more merciful and pitiful than true religion? What is more merciless and malicious than hatred which calls itself 'religious'? These priests, like many a …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Fourth Word
"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani."--ST. MATT. XXVII. 46; ST. MARK XV. 34. There are three peculiar and distinguishing features of this fourth word which our Saviour uttered from His Cross. 1. It is the only one of the Seven which finds a place in the earliest record of our Lord's life, contained in the matter common to St. Matthew and St. Mark. 2. It is the only one which has been preserved to us in the original Aramaic, in the very syllables which were formed by the lips of Christ. 3. It is the …
J. H. Beibitz—Gloria Crucis

Let Him Deliver Him Now
It is very painful to the heart to picture our blessed Master in his death-agonies, surrounded by a ribald multitude, who watched him and mocked him, made sport of his prayer and insulted his faith. Nothing was sacred to them: they invaded the Holy of holies of his confidence in God, and taunted him concerning that faith in Jehovah which they were compelled to admit. See, dear friends, what an evil thing is sin, since the Sin-bearer suffers so bitterly to make atonement for it! See, also, the shame …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 34: 1888

The Rent Veil
THE DEATH of our Lord Jesus Christ was fitly surrounded by miracles; yet it is itself so much greater a wonder than all besides, that it as far exceeds them as the sun outshines the planets which surround it. It seems natural enough that the earth should quake, that tombs should be opened, and that the veil of the temple should be rent, when He who only hath immortality gives up the ghost. The more you think of the death of the Son of God, the more will you be amazed at it. As much as a miracle excels …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 34: 1888

Lama Sabachthani?
Our Lord was then in the darkest part of his way. He had trodden the winepress now for hours, and the work was almost finished. He had reached the culminating point of his anguish. This is his dolorous lament from the lowest pit of misery--"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" I do not think that the records of time or even of eternity, contain a sentence more full of anguish. Here the wormwood and the gall, and all the other bitternesses, are outdone. Here you may look as into a vast abyss; …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 36: 1890

Our Lord's Solemn Enquiry
"Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"--Matthew 27:46. IF any one of us, lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ had been anywhere near the cross when he uttered those words, I am sure our hearts would have burst with anguish, and one thing is certain--we should have heard the tones of that dying cry as long as ever we lived. There is no doubt that at certain times they would come to us again, ringing shrill and clear through the thick darkness. We should …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

The Eloi.
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"--ST MATTHEW xxvii. 46. I do not know that I should dare to approach this, of all utterances into which human breath has ever been moulded, most awful in import, did I not feel that, containing both germ and blossom of the final devotion, it contains therefore the deepest practical lesson the human heart has to learn. The Lord, the Revealer, hides nothing that can be revealed, and will not warn away the foot that treads in naked humility even upon the …
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons

Third Stage of Jewish Trial. Jesus Formally Condemned by the Sanhedrin and Led to Pilate.
(Jerusalem. Friday After Dawn.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 1, 2; ^B Mark XV. 1; ^C Luke XXII. 66-23:1; ^D John XVIII. 28. ^a 1 Now when morning was come, ^c 66 And as soon as it was day, ^b straightway ^c the assembly of the elders of the people was gathered together, both chief priests and scribes; and they led him away into their council, ^a all the chief priests and { ^b with} the elders ^a of the people ^b and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and ^a took counsel against Jesus to put …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

First Stage of the Roman Trial. Jesus Before Pilate for the First Time.
(Jerusalem. Early Friday Morning.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 11-14; ^B Mark XV. 2-5; ^C Luke XXIII. 2-5; ^D John XVIII. 28-38. ^d and they themselves entered not into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. [See p. 641.] 29 Pilate therefore went out unto them, and saith, What accusation bring ye against this man? 30 They answered and said unto him, If this man were not an evildoer, we should not have delivered him up unto thee. [The Jewish rulers first attempt to induce …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Third Stage of the Roman Trial. Pilate Reluctantly Sentences Him to Crucifixion.
(Friday. Toward Sunrise.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 15-30; ^B Mark XV. 6-19; ^C Luke XXIII. 13-25; ^D John XVIII. 39-XIX 16. ^a 15 Now at the feast [the passover and unleavened bread] the governor was wont { ^b used to} release unto them ^a the multitude one prisoner, whom they would. { ^b whom they asked of him.} [No one knows when or by whom this custom was introduced, but similar customs were not unknown elsewhere, both the Greeks and Romans being wont to bestow special honor upon certain occasions by releasing …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Remorse and Suicide of Judas.
(in the Temple and Outside the Wall of Jerusalem. Friday Morning.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 3-10; ^E Acts I. 18, 19. ^a 3 Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned [Judas, having no reason to fear the enemies of Jesus, probably stood in their midst and witnessed the entire trial], repented himself, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood. [There are two Greek words which are translated "repented," …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Crucifixion.
Subdivision A. On the Way to the Cross. (Within and Without Jerusalem. Friday Morning.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 31-34; ^B Mark XV. 20-23; ^C Luke XXIII. 26-33; ^D John XIX. 17. ^a 31 And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the ^b purple, ^a robe, and put on him his garments [This ended the mockery, which seems to have been begun in a state of levity, but which ended in gross indecency and violence. When we think of him who endured it all, we can not contemplate the scene without a shudder. Who …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Morning of Good Friday.
The pale grey light had passed into that of early morning, when the Sanhedrists once more assembled in the Palace of Caiaphas. [5969] A comparison with the terms in which they who had formed the gathering of the previous night are described will convey the impression, that the number of those present was now increased, and that they who now came belonged to the wisest and most influential of the Council. It is not unreasonable to suppose, that some who would not take part in deliberations which were …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Crucified, Dead, and Buried. '
It matters little as regards their guilt, whether, pressing the language of St. John, [6034] we are to understand that Pilate delivered Jesus to the Jews to be crucified, or, as we rather infer, to his own soldiers. This was the common practice, and it accords both with the Governor's former taunt to the Jews, [6035] and with the after-notice of the Synoptists. They, to whom He was delivered,' led Him away to be crucified:' and they who so led Him forth compelled' the Cyrenian Simon to bear the Cross. …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Jesus in the Tomb.
It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, according to our manner of reckoning,[1] when Jesus expired. A Jewish law[2] forbade a corpse suspended on the cross to be left beyond the evening of the day of the execution. It is not probable that in the executions performed by the Romans this rule was observed; but as the next day was the Sabbath, and a Sabbath of peculiar solemnity, the Jews expressed to the Roman authorities[3] their desire that this holy day should not be profaned by such a spectacle.[4] …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The vicariousness of Prayer
The Vicariousness of Prayer I The work of the ministry labours under one heavy disadvantage when we regard it as a profession and compare it with other professions. In these, experience brings facility, a sense of mastery in the subject, self-satisfaction, self-confidence; but in our subject the more we pursue it, the more we enter into it, so much the more are we cast down with the overwhelming sense, not only of our insufficiency, but of our unworthiness. Of course, in the technique of our work …
P. T. Forsyth—The Soul of Prayer

The Fifth Word from the Cross
The fourth word from the cross we looked upon both as the climax of the struggle which had gone on in the mind of the divine Sufferer during the three hours of silence and darkness which preceded its utterance and as the liberation of His mind from that struggle. This view seems to be confirmed by the terms in which St. John introduces the Fifth Word--"After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished,[2] that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst." The phrase, "that the …
James Stalker—The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ

The Love of the Holy Spirit in Us.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not."--Matt. xxvii. 37. The Scripture teaches not only that the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and with Him Love, but also that He sheds abroad that Love in our hearts. This shedding abroad does not refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit's Person, for a person can not be shed abroad. He comes, takes possession, and dwells in us; but that which is shed abroad …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Lastly; they who Will Not, by the Arguments and Proofs Before Mentioned,
be convinced of the truth and certainty of the Christian religion, and be persuaded to make it the rule and guide of all their actions, would not be convinced, (so far as to influence their practice and reform their lives,) by any other evidence whatsoever; no, not though one should rise on purpose from the dead to endeavour to convince them. That the evidence which God has afforded us of the truth of our religion is abundantly sufficient. From what has been said, upon the foregoing heads, it is …
Samuel Clarke—A Discourse Concerning the Being and Attributes of God

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