19:38 All four evangelists mentioned Joseph of Arimathea but only with Jesus' burial. The Synoptics tell us that he was a godfearing rich member of the Sanhedrin who was a follower of Jesus and who had not voted to condemn Jesus. Only John identified him as a secret disciple who feared the Jews, namely the unbelieving Jewish leaders. Jesus had warned His disciples about trying to hide their allegiance to Him (12:42-43). Finally Joseph "broke his cover"by courageously requesting Jesus' body from Pilate.
Normally the Romans placed the bodies of crucified offenders, whose bodies they did not leave to rot on their crosses, in a cemetery for criminals outside the city.609Family members could not claim the bodies of people who had undergone crucifixion as punishment for sedition.610Thus Jesus' corpse would have ended up in the grave of a common criminal but for Joseph's intervention. Pilate probably granted his request for Jesus' body because he realized that Joseph wanted to give Jesus' an honorable burial. That would have humiliated the Jews further.
Joseph's courageous act doubtless alienated him from many of his fellow Sanhedrin members. We do not know what the ultimate consequences of his action were for himself. Evidently it was Jesus' death that made him face up to his responsibility to take his stand for Jesus.
19:39 Only John mentioned that Nicodemus also played a part in burying Jesus (cf. 3:1-15). He was also probably a member of the Sanhedrin (cf. 3:1). He, too, was now taking a more visible position as a disciple of Jesus (cf. 7:50-52). Nicodemus brought about 65 pounds (100 litrai, cf. 12:3) of spices with which to prepare Jesus' body for burial. This was a large quantity and reflected Nicodemus' great respect for Jesus. Evidently these two wealthy rulers decided to honor Jesus together. They divided their responsibilities, with Joseph securing Pilate's permission and Nicodemus preparing the spices.
Myrrh was a fragrant resin that the Jews turned into powder and mixed with aloes, which was powdered sandalwood.611The purpose of covering a corpse with this aromatic powder was to dry it out and to lessen the foul odor that putrefaction caused.
19:40 The burial custom of the Jews was to place the corpse on a long sheet with the feet at one end. They would then fold the cloth over the head and back down to the feet, which they would tie together. They would also tie the arms to the body with strips of cloth.612Normally a separate cloth covered the face.613John's interest was not in the manner of the burial as much as the honor that Joseph and Nicodemus bestowed on Jesus by burying Him in linen cloth (Gr. othonia). Their work had to be hasty because sunset was approaching quickly and all work had to cease when the Sabbath (Saturday) began.
The NIV translation of othoniaas "strips of cloth"has seemingly contradicted the view that Joseph and Nicodemus buried Jesus in a single piece of cloth, which the Synoptics suggest (Matt. 27:59; Mark 15:46; Luke 23:53). However this Greek word does not necessarily mean narrow strips of cloth. It can describe one or more large pieces of cloth.614The burial customs of the Jews are still obscure enough that it is unwise to insist dogmatically that Jesus had only one shroud covering Him.615
19:41 John is the only evangelist who recorded that there was a garden and an unused new tomb near the place of Jesus' crucifixion. The tomb was probably an artificial cave in the limestone, many examples of which are observable in Palestine. Matthew noted that the garden and its tomb belonged to Joseph (Matt. 27:60). John's mention of the garden prepares for his reference later to a gardener (20:15). His reference to the tomb being new and unused prepares for the Resurrection in which no other corpse was in the tomb (20:8, 12).
"The fall of the first Adam took place in a garden; and it was in a garden that the second Adam redeemed mankind from the consequences of Adam's transgression."616
The site was probably not the "garden tomb"near Gordon's Calvary since Jesus' tomb would have been closer to the crucifixion site that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher now covers. Jesus' tomb could have been quite similar in appearance to this "garden tomb,"however.
19:42 John implied that the burial of Jesus was hasty. Mark and Luke presented the same picture by writing that three of the women came to anoint Jesus' corpse, on Sunday morning, with additional spices that they had prepared (Mark 16:1; Luke 23:56). Joseph and Nicodemus' work had necessarily been swift because the day of preparation before the Sabbath (i.e., Friday) was about to end with sundown.
John did not mention the fact that some of the women visited Jesus' tomb late Friday afternoon (cf. Matt. 27:61-66; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:55-56). He also omitted that Joseph rolled a stone over the mouth of the tomb (Matt. 27:60; Mark 15:46). What follows in chapter 20 assumes these facts. John did not mention either that Pilate sealed the tomb and posted soldiers to guard it (Matt. 27:62-66).
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