09 — Buried in the Tomb

When: Friday, 3:00 PM
Location: Garden Tomb

Read: Matthew 27:57-66; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-55; John 19:31-42


The burial of Jesus reminds us of some significant truths. First, it is significant because the resurrection of Jesus was just that: a resurrection from the dead. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus prepared Jesus' body for burial, and buried Him in a new tomb, in which no other body had yet been laid (John 19:38-42). These men could testify that there was no life in the body they buried. He had not "swooned," lost consciousness, or fainted. He had truly died.

Jesus also taught that His death, burial and resurrection was foreshadowed by the experience of Jonah in the belly of the great fish: "Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:40). Had Jesus not been buried, He would have been proved wrong, or worse, a liar. But He was indeed in the heart of the earth; and while those days were dark, hope was about to rise.