The Burial of Jesus

Evening arrives on Preparation Day. Joseph of Arimathea, a council member waiting for God’s kingdom, boldly asks Pilate for Jesus’ body, confirms his death through the centurion, receives the body, wraps it in linen, lays it in a rock-cut tomb, rolls a stone against the entrance, and the women see the burial place.

N⁴²ow it was already evening. Since it was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), ⁴³Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent Council member who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the centurion to ask if this was so. ⁴⁵When Pilate had confirmed it with the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. ⁴⁷Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where His body was placed.