Mark 15:42-47

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Dead and (Hurriedly) Buried

Mark 15:42-47 – Jesus’ Body is Placed in the Tomb

⁴² It was already getting late,

and since it was Preparation Day,

that is the day before the Sabbath,

⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea,

an influential member of the Sanhedrin

and one who eagerly awaited the Kingdom,

came along

and, building up courage, he approached Pilate

and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁴⁴ Pilate was amazed that he had already died.

He summoned the centurion

and asked him if he had died beforehand.

⁴⁵ Informed by the centurion,

he gave the corpse to Joseph.

Jesus’ early death seemed to fit well with the fact that he could not carry his own crossbeam to the execution site. The matter-of-fact response of the centurion gave no indication of any conversion on his part to faith in Jesus.

⁴⁶ He bought a linen cloth,

took down the body,

wrapped it in the cloth,

placed it in a tomb that had been cut out of rock

and rolled a stone across the opening of the tomb.

The commentary has already made reference to a linen cloth associated with death when reflecting on the young man who escaped capture in Gethsemane (14:52).

Rock tombs were common outside and around the walls of the city. The normal method of sealing the tomb and protecting the corpse from wild animals was to roll a specially shaped stone across its entrance. (The stone in question would normally have been shaped like a flat round mill-stone.)

Was Joseph’s intervention motivated by respect for Jesus’ body or for the Sabbath (as stated by Mark)? 

Mark’s narrative leaves a lot of questions unanswered, and Joseph himself remains an enigmatic figure. Mark may have intended to pursue his dramatic intent and to stress the relentless human bleakness of the scene (particularly if he had also intended the centurion’s remark made as Jesus died to be sardonic).

• Joseph’s concern may have been purely for the Sabbath, as clearly stated.
• As a member of the Sanhedrin, he was implicated in the death sentence passed by Jesus. At least Mark had left no room for dissenting voices in his earlier description of the trial.
• The use merely of a linen cloth to wrap the dead body of Jesus was hardly respectful of the dead, especially since Joseph was presumably not poor.
• His rolling the stone across the tomb’s entrance seemed definitive and indicated no intention on his part to return to take further care of the corpse.

On the other hand Mark’s narrative about the sealing of the tomb may have been intended simply to emphasise the finality of the Jesus event, and details of Joseph would have been secondary.

• Favouring this more positive view of Joseph would be his apparent absence of concern about the other crucified criminals’ bodies desecrating the Sabbath.

• Mark’s reference to the Sanhedrin’s unanimity in passing the death sentence on Jesus may have been more for dramatic effect than documentary accuracy.

• The use of a linen cloth and the absence of other care for Jesus’ body may have been because Jesus’ death happened sooner than would have been normally expected.

• Surprisingly, Joseph was explicitly named. He may have become a disciple, known to the early community. That Mark explicitly referred to his openness to the Kingdom, and also seemed to commend his boldness in approaching Pilate, seem to paint him in a positive light.

⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joset

were taking notice where the body was placed.

Salome was no longer mentioned, and Mark had abbreviated the identity of the other Mary. That they saw precisely where the tomb containing the body of Jesus was situated was of crucial importance for establishing its eventual emptiness. Since Joseph had not properly embalmed the body, they would do so once the Sabbath was over and they could freely move around the city once again.

Next >> Note on Mark 14:53-15:47