Matthew 27:57-60

Jesus’ Burial

27:57 Now ¹  when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. ²  27:58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ³  Then Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 27:59 Joseph ⁴  took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁵  27:60 and placed it ⁶  in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock. ⁷  Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance ⁸  of the tomb and went away.

Mark 15:45-46

15:45 When Pilate ⁹  was informed by the centurion, ¹⁰  he gave the body to Joseph. 15:46 After Joseph ¹¹  bought a linen cloth ¹²  and took down the body, he wrapped it in the linen and placed it in a tomb cut out of the rock. ¹³  Then ¹⁴  he rolled a stone across the entrance ¹⁵  of the tomb.

Luke 23:53

23:53 Then ¹⁶  he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, ¹⁷  and placed it ¹⁸  in a tomb cut out of the rock, ¹⁹  where no one had yet been buried. ²⁰ 

John 19:38-42

Jesus’ Burial

19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders ²¹ ), ²²  asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate ²³  gave him permission, so he went and took the body away. ²⁴  19:39 Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus ²⁵  at night, ²⁶  accompanied Joseph, ²⁷  carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes ²⁸  weighing about seventy-five pounds. ²⁹  19:40 Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, ³⁰  in strips of linen cloth ³¹  according to Jewish burial customs. ³²  19:41 Now at the place where Jesus ³³  was crucified ³⁴  there was a garden, ³⁵  and in the garden ³⁶  was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried. ³⁷  19:42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of preparation ³⁸  and the tomb was nearby, ³⁹  they placed Jesus’ body there.

John 19:1

Pilate Tries to Release Jesus

19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged severely. ⁴⁰ 

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ⁴¹  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

[27:57]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[27:57]  ² sn Though some dispute that Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus, his actions regarding Jesus’ burial suggest otherwise.

[27:58]  ³ 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.

[27:59]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:59]  ⁵ tn The term σινδών (sindwn) can refer to a linen cloth used either for clothing or for burial.

[27:60]  ⁶ tc ‡ αὐτό (auto, “it”) is found after ἔθηκεν (eqhken, “placed”) in the majority of witnesses, including many important ones, though it seems to be motivated by a need for clarification and cannot therefore easily explain the rise of the shorter reading (which is read by א L Θ Ë¹³ 33 892 pc). Regardless of which reading is original (though with a slight preference for the shorter reading), English style requires the pronoun. NA²⁷ includes αὐτό here, no doubt due to the overwhelming external attestation.

[27:60]  ⁷ tn That is, cut or carved into an outcropping of natural rock, resulting in a cave-like structure (see L&N 19.25).

[27:60]  ⁸ tn Or “to the door,” “against the door.”

[15:45]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Pilate) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:45]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on the word centurion in 15:39.

[15:46]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Joseph of Arimathea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:46]  ¹² tn The term σινδών (sindwn) can refer to a linen cloth used either for clothing or for burial.

[15:46]  ¹³ tn That is, cut or carved into an outcropping of natural rock, resulting in a cave-like structure (see L&N 19.25).

[15:46]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:46]  ¹⁵ tn Or “to the door,” “against the door.”

[23:53]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:53]  ¹⁷ tn The term σινδών (sindwn) can refer to a linen cloth used either for clothing or for burial.

[23:53]  ¹⁸ tn In the Greek text this pronoun (αὐτόν, auton) is masculine, while the previous one (αὐτό, auto) is neuter, referring to the body.

[23:53]  ¹⁹ tn That is, cut or carved into an outcropping of natural rock, resulting in a cave-like structure (see L&N 19.26).

[23:53]  ²⁰ tc Codex Bezae (D), with some support from 070, one Itala ms, and the Sahidic version, adds the words, “And after he [Jesus] was laid [in the tomb], he [Joseph of Arimathea] put a stone over the tomb which scarcely twenty men could roll.” Although this addition is certainly not part of the original text of Luke, it does show how interested the early scribes were in the details of the burial and may even reflect a very primitive tradition. Matt 27:60 and Mark 15:46 record the positioning of a large stone at the door of the tomb.

[19:38]  ²¹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially the Pharisees (see John 12:42). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

[19:38]  ²² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[19:38]  ²³ tn Grk “And Pilate.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[19:38]  ²⁴ tn Grk “took away his body.”

[19:39]  ²⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:39]  ²⁶ sn See John 3:1-21.

[19:39]  ²⁷ tn Grk “came”; the words “accompanied Joseph” are not in the Greek text but are supplied for clarity.

[19:39]  ²⁸ sn Aloes refers to an aromatic resin from a plant similar to a lily, used for embalming a corpse.

[19:39]  ²⁹ sn The Roman pound (λίτρα, litra) weighed twelve ounces or 325 grams. Thus 100 Roman pounds would be about 32.5 kilograms or 75 pounds.

[19:40]  ³⁰ tn On this term see BDAG 140-41 s.v. ἄρωμα. The Jews did not practice embalming, so these materials were used to cover the stench of decay and slow decomposition.

[19:40]  ³¹ tn The Fourth Gospel uses ὀθονίοις (oqonioi") to describe the wrappings, and this has caused a good deal of debate, since it appears to contradict the synoptic accounts which mention a σινδών (sindwn), a large single piece of linen cloth. If one understands ὀθονίοις to refer to smaller strips of cloth, like bandages, there would be a difference, but diminutive forms have often lost their diminutive force in Koine Greek (BDF §111.3), so there may not be any difference.

[19:40]  ³² tn Grk “cloth as is the custom of the Jews to prepare for burial.”

[19:41]  ³³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:41]  ³⁴ sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.

[19:41]  ³⁵ tn Or “an orchard.”

[19:41]  ³⁶ tn Or “orchard.”

[19:41]  ³⁷ tn Grk “been placed.”

[19:42]  ³⁸ sn The day of preparation was the day before the Sabbath when everything had to be prepared for it, as no work could be done on the Sabbath.

[19:42]  ³⁹ sn The tomb was nearby. The Passover and the Sabbath would begin at 6 p.m., so those who had come to prepare and bury the body could not afford to waste time.

[19:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “had him flogged,” or (traditional), “scourged him.” The verb should be read as causative. Pilate ordered Jesus to be flogged. A Roman governor would not carry out such a sentence in person. BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1. states, “If J refers to the ‘verberatio’ given those condemned to death (TMommsen, Röm. Strafrecht 1899, 938f; Jos., Bell. 2, 308; 5, 449), it is odd that Pilate subsequently claims no cause for action (vs. 6); but if the latter statement refers only to the penalty of crucifixion, μ. vs. 1 may be equivalent to παιδεύω (q.v. 2bγ) in Lk 23:16, 22 (for μ. of a non-capital offense PFlor I, 61, 61 [85ad]=Mitt-Wilck. II/2, 80 II, 61).”

[1:4]  ⁴¹ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).