Matthew 27:52

27:52 And tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had died ¹  were raised.

Matthew 27:58

27:58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ²  Then Pilate ordered that it be given to him.

John 11:25-26

11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live ³  even if he dies, 11:26 and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. ⁴  Do you believe this?”

John 11:1

The Death of Lazarus

11:1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. ⁵ 

Colossians 1:20

1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, ⁶  whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Colossians 1:23

1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, ⁷  without shifting ⁸  from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

Philippians 3:10

3:10 My aim is to know him, ⁹  to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, ¹⁰  and to be like him in his death,

Philippians 3:21

3:21 who will transform these humble bodies of ours ¹¹  into the likeness of his glorious body by means of that power by which he is able to subject all things to himself.

¹ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.

² sn Asking for the body of Jesus was indeed a bold move on the part of Joseph of Arimathea, for it clearly and openly identified him with a man who had just been condemned and executed, namely, Jesus. His faith is exemplary, especially for someone who was a member of the council that handed Jesus over for crucifixion (cf. Mark 15:43, Luke 23:51). He did this because he sought to give Jesus an honorable burial.

³ tn That is, will come to life.

⁴ tn Grk “will never die forever.”

⁵ tn Grk “from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.”

⁶ tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (di’ autou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 al latt sa), but equally important witnesses have it (Ì⁴⁶ א A C D¹ Ψ 048^vid 33 Ï). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as original. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In short, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original.

⁷ tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”

⁸ tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.

⁹ tn The articular infinitive τοῦ γνῶναι (tou gnwnai, “to know”) here expresses purpose. The words “My aim is” have been supplied in the translation to emphasize this nuance and to begin a new sentence (shorter sentences are more appropriate for English style).

¹⁰ tn Grk “to know him, the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings.”

¹¹ tn Grk “transform the body of our humility.”