LANGUAGE:
The Burial of Jesus
(Mark 15:42-47: Matt 27:57–61; Luke 23:50–56; John 19:38–47)
I invite you to open your Bibles to the 15th chap of Mark’s gospel. Our focus this morning is on Jesus’ burial. In 1 Corinthians 1:3-4 Paul summarizes the majesty and glory of Jesus’ life. In that summarization he summarizes the gospel of the Kingdom of God — that Christ died, that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day. Our gospel is built on three mighty pillars—death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our faith rests on those three pillars.
That’s the point of Romans 6:3–4 (ESV) 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
“Right at the center of our faith is that Christ died and was buried for our sins.[i] The point for us is, that Christ’s burial is very much part of the Gospel message, and the bases for Jesus’ resurrection.
As we come to our study this morning, I ask that you follow along as we read Mark’s account of Jesus’ burial.
42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid
This is the Word of God for us today. Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, I ask this morning that You give us a deeper and fuller understanding of the Gospel. Give us a fresh perspective of the magnitude of the Gospel and what the cross should mean to us as sinners saved by grace through faith in Jesus. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Jesus burial captures the validity of Jesus death, and highlights the power of the resurrection. Romans 1:4, regarding Jesus 4who by the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by His resurrection from the dead. Jesus’ death and burial stands as signatures of His real identity, and of our gospel message.
Historically Jesus’ death has been an issue since His crucifixion. One popular theory circulating about Jesus’ death and burial is what is called the ‘swoon theory’. The swoon theory is one of Satan’s oldest lies concerning the resurrection. The theory proposes that Jesus did not rise from the dead, because He never really died. Instead, Jesus went into a deep coma from the severe pain and trauma of the crucifixion. Then, in the cool atmosphere of the tomb, He revived, somehow escaped the strips of cloths that were wrapped tightly upon Him, and then appeared to His disciples.”[ii]
The point for us is, that only a dead and buried Jesus can be resurrected. If Jesus really did not die and be truly buried, the resurrection couldn’t have happened. And if the resurrection didn’t happen then, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians, “our preaching is in vain, our faith is in vain, we are still in our sins, and are of all people most to be pitied or miserable.”[iii]
From Mark’s account, as well as the other gospels, everyone who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus clearly grasped that Jesus was dead.
The fact of the matter is, there was not one glimmer of hope that life remained in our Lord’s body.[viii] Luke 23:48 tells us that All who had come around as spectators to watch the show, when they saw what actually happened, were overcome with grief and headed home.[ix]
Now the governing body of the Jews had a problem. V42(ESV) when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath. Jesus died at 3pm Friday. For the Jews the Sabbath started at 6pm, and according to Deuteronomy 21, the bodies of crucified victims could not be displayed on the Sabbath.[x] So to make sure Jesus and the two criminals were dead, the Sanhedrin council again request audience with Pilate. We pick up the story in John’s Gospel, chap 19, vs31ff (GW) 31 Since it was Friday and the next day was an especially important day of rest—a holy day, the Jews didn’t want the bodies to stay on the crosses. So they asked Pilate to have the men’s legs broken and their bodies removed. 32 The soldiers broke the legs of the first man and then of the other man who had been crucified with Jesus. 33 When the soldiers came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs. 34 However, one of the soldiers stabbed Jesus’ side with his spear, and blood and water immediately came out.[xi] Jesus was clearly dead.
Along comes Joseph of Arimathea.
So Joseph of Arimathea was pretty much walking a tight rope. The drama was high. But he took courage and goes to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, apparently knowing Jesus was dead, and wanting to bury Him with dignity and honor. V46, he’s the one who took Jesus down off of the cross.[xiv]
He comes to Pilate, perhaps just missing his council friends who asked Pilate to make sure the three crucified victims were dead.
Burying Jesus was going to be rushed, with the day of preparation coming to an end. He had to get to it before the Roman guards disposed of the bodies. If it hadn’t been for Pilate placating the Jews, crucified victims were often left on the cross until decay, followed by vultures and wild animals finishing the horrored practice.[xv] And it’s possible that while the Romans were taking down the bodies of the two criminals, Joseph was taking Jesus’ body off the cross. Once off the cross he would wash the blood off Jesus’ body, then wrap it with linen and spices, and then carry and place His body in Joseph’s tomb.
Jesus’ burial is an amazing divine arrangement. God oversaw every detail in the burial process.
Isaiah 53:9 (NET) ‘It was’ intended ‘for Jesus to be’ buried with criminals, but he ends up in a rich man’s tomb, because he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully.
The rich man becomes Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of Sanhedrin council.[xvi] The Sanhedrin, the Jewish governing body was composed of seventy-one members, and consisted of the wealthiest and most powerful men of Jerusalem. According to Matthew 27:60, at some point he had a tomb recently cut into a rock in preparation for his own death. In fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9, this rich man, Joseph of Arimathea, takes Jesus body, wrapped it in linens, and puts it in his own newly fashion tomb purposely cut out for himself. That’s how Kings were buried. God prepared, via Joseph of Arimathea, a freshly carved out tomb fit for His King, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53:9.
According to John 19:41 (NASB95) Joseph’s tomb was located near the crucifixion sight. V41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
Remember, it was in the first garden planted by God Himself that Adam relented his position in God’s Kingdom. Matthew Henry writes, “In the garden of Eden came death, the grave, and Satan first received his power, and now in a garden they are conquered, disarmed, and triumphed over.[xvii] In a garden Christ was laid in the grave, and from a garden He would rise, and begin His exaltation.”[xviii]
In His death, Jesus undid the terrible events of the Garden of Eden. In His burial, He was planted to become the first fruits of the resurrection. If we are followers of Jesus, we are in Christ, and His burial represents our burial. Romans 6:4, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death.” That’s important for us to grasp because of what is said next. “In order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life”. The great central truth of the gospel is that God sent his Son into the world to die and rise again, to overcome the problem of death.[xix]
When the stone was rolled over Jesus’ grave, He took our sins in there with Him. He buried them away in His death, which means as followers of Christ we don’t bear the punishment for sin anymore.
Joseph of Arimathea ‘s tomb becomes a fitting place for a King to be buried—in a garden a freshly cut tomb. No decay and decomposition had ever been part of it. A fitting resting place for the body of a King.[xx]
Jesus’ body was not embalmed like the practices of the Egyptians where bodies were mummified. John’s Gospel tells us that He was buried according to the Jewish custom, which means the body was washed, and then wrapped in fine linen.[xxi] In John 19, v39-42 Nicodemus joins Joseph with seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes. I read that normal Jewish burials called for five pounds of spices. So seventy-five pounds was an extraordinary amount —picture fifteen five-pound bags of sugar--the quantity used to bury royalty.
I don’t think we can begin to comprehend the weight of sadness, the swirl of thoughts, or the repercussions that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus would pay when their love for Christ was found out. The whole event must have been an absolutely gut wrenching.
V46-47(GW) 46 Joseph and Nicodemus wrapped Jesus’ body in strips of cloth mixed with spices. Then they laid the body in a tomb, which had been cut out of rock, and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary (the mother of Joses) watched where Jesus was laid. Mark just mentions four people. Not much of a crowd for a King’s burial. [xxii]
No time for songs, prayers, sermons. They hurriedly washed the body, wrap it tight, placed the body in the tomb, and then together rolled the stone against the entrance. Hopes and dreams were totally dashed. Luke tells us that after the tomb was closed up, the ladies went home to prepare their own spices and perfumes.[xxiii] Because it would be too late to return, they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. Interestingly, Matthew tells us that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary lingered following the sealing of the tomb. [xxiv]
But the Sanhedrin were not done yet. Matthew tell us that on the Sabbath, the chief priests and Pharisees came again to Pilate. 63 They said, “Sir, we just remembered that that liar announced while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will be raised.’ 64 We’ve got to get that tomb sealed until the third day. There’s a good chance his disciples will come and steal the corpse and then go around saying, ‘He’s risen from the dead.’ Then we’ll be worse off than before, the final deceit surpassing the first.” 65 Pilate told them, “You will have a guard. Go ahead and secure it the best you can.” 66 So they went out and secured the tomb, sealing the stone and posting guards. This reaction may have come partially because they learned what Joseph of Arimathea had done. They were probably spitting nails at that point.
The point is, they remembered clearly what Jesus had said in John 2:19 (NASB95) “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”[xxv] They understood clearly that He was talking about His body, so they seal the tomb, and posted a Roman guard.[xxvi]
Let’s stop here. There are so many applications we could pull from Mark’s account of Jesus’ burial, but I would like to just highlight three truths that I believe are meant to shape our lives.
Did you notice the key players on Jesus’ disciple team mentored for 3 ½ yrs had vanished? As we know, they were hiding in fear of their very lives. [xxvii] While they were hiding, God makes a major substitution by bringing Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus on to the playing field. And I have to ask; what kind of substitution is that?
Admittedly they were good guys, but there’s no real history as to their allegiances to Jesus. Until now they were known as secret disciples, but now suddenly they are thrusted into the limelight. I’m intrigued by this for a couple of reasons:
These two men put it all on the line for the Kingdom of God—career, reputation, time, money, and property. That’s what it means to be in the Kingdom of God.[xxviii] I wonder: how committed am I? How committed are you?
In 1 Corinthians 15, vs3-4 Paul writes to the Corinthian believers roughly 20 yeas later, 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried . . . Don’t miss these powerful words: He was buried To say that Jesus was buried underlines the fact that Jesus in fact really died. He didn’t just appear to die. He really died. Mark Roberts points out that to say that Jesus died and was raised without mentioning his burial could lead to a misunderstanding of the story. One might think that Jesus was immediately brought back to life from the cross or that he was immediately jettisoned to heaven. “That He was buried” eliminates those options and explains the place from which Jesus was raised.[xxix]
So to underscore, that Jesus was buried with eye witness accounts ensures for us that the resurrection of Jesus was exactly that: a resurrection from the dead. If it so happened that we were there, Joseph, Nicodemus, and the two Marys’ would testify that there was no life in the body they buried. He didn’t "swoon," loose consciousness, or faint. He had truly died. Therefore, if in three days He were alive, the burial proved that He had risen from death to new life.[xxx]
As I lingered over the phrase ‘He was buried’, I remembered something that Jesus said in John’s gospel, chap 12, v24-25 (ESV) … the Greeks asked Philip if they could see Jesus. Jesus responded with these words: 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
One of the key realities of the Kingdom of God according to Jesus is that life springs from death. Our path way to God is through death. What Jesus was and is driving home for us is this, my dying for your salvation is also my design for your imitation. The Cross involved the disciples in the same way it would involve Jesus and Jesus was informing them that He was the model for them to follow.[xxxi] In other words, if we want to see Jesus, we must follow Him in His death and be buried. That’s the great center of the gospel. Death and Burial so that we might walk in the newness of life.[xxxii]
This is hard! It is hard to die. It’s hard to hate my life in this world. It’s hard to follow Jesus on the road that leads to the cross. But if the seed dies, it bears much fruit. In other words, as a follower of Jesus, death is never in vain. And that is highly significant, because in death comes much fruit. Are you willing to follow Him?
Jesus told us in v26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
Is God wanting you to step out of your routine to step up to His calling? Maybe stepping out of your routine has something to do with . . .
Jesus invites us to join Him. Its tough, but has eternal rewards. May the truth of this text be a turning point in your life, to His glory and to your eternal good.
Let’s pray close in prayer. Father God, we have come to the end of worship, and we want to thank You for enabling us to be here from the beginning to the end. Thank You for touching our lives in ways we cannot explain. Thank You for taking us to Your realms of glory. Now guide us as we go back to our everyday work lives. Show us the right way to follow throughout this week, and when we come back, may we give testimony to the ways you have helped us touch the lives around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen
[i] Cf., John Piper, Deal with Death (1 Corinthians 15:3), https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/deal-with-death
[ii] Josh McDowell, Burial Details of the Resurrection of Christ, https://www.josh.org/jesus-resurrection-burial-details/ Pastor Greg Laurie, “Some time ago I read a local advice column that featured a reader’s question about the resurrection. The reader asked, ‘Dear Uticus, Our preacher said that Jesus swooned on the cross and then His disciples nursed Him to health. What do you think? Signed, Bewildered.’ Uticus responded, ‘Dear Bewildered, Beat your preacher with a cat-o’-nine-tails thirty-nine times. Nail him to a cross. Hang him in the sun for six hours. Run a spear through his side, embalm him, and put him in an airless tomb for thirty-six hours and see what happens. Sincerely, Uticus.'” Laurie concludes that some people choose to believe the theory NOT because it’s plausible, or logical, “but because it’s something to hang their doubt on.” Bottom line, Jesus’ body was a physical mess. Every inch of His dead body testified to the excruciating pain of His undeserved mistreatment.
[iii] 1 Corinthians 15:14–19 (NASB95) 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
[iv] John 19:33 (NASB95) 33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
[v] Zechariah 12:10 (NASB95) 10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn., John 3:14–16 (NASB95) 14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. R.V.G. Tasker, The Gospel According to St. John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1960), pp. 212-213. “The soldier was a Roman: he would be well trained, proficient, and would know his duty. He would know which part of the body to pierce in order that he might obtain a speedily fatal result or ensure that the victim was undeniably dead. He would thrust through the left side of the chest a little below the centre. Here he would penetrate the heart and the great blood vessels at their origin, and also the lung on the side. The soldier, standing below our crucified Lord as He hung on the cross, would thrust upwards under the left ribs. The broad, clean cutting, two-edged spearhead would enter the left side of the upper abdomen, would open the greatly distended stomach, would pierce the diaphragm, would cut, wide open, the heart and great blood vessels, arteries and veins now fully distended with blood, a considerable proportion of all the blood in the body, and would lacerate the lung. The wound would be large enough to permit the open hand to be thrust into it. Blood from the greatly engorged veins, pulmonary vessel and dilated right side of the heart, together with water from the acutely dilated stomach, would flow forth in abundance.” John MacArthur, Burial of Jesus (Mark 15:42-47) Under certain stressful circumstances, the heart can actually burst, causing blood to spill into the pericardium, mixed with lymphatic fluid. Apparently, that’s what happened. Jesus literally willed His own heart to burst. Psalm 69:20 says, “Reproach has broken my heart,” ruptured my heart.
[vi] John 19:38–41 (NASB95) 38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. 39 Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
[vii] Then there were the women who planned to return at a later time to put more spices on Jesus’ body. Luke 24:1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
[viii] Luke 23:55–56 (NASB95) 55 Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
[ix] Luke 23:48 (NASB95) And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts. Cf., Luke 18:13 (NASB95) 13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ John Nolland, Luke 18:35–24:53, vol. 35C, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1993), 1159. The gathering of crowds for the spectacle of an execution transcends time and culture, but in a Jewish context, Fitzmyer (1520) notes 3 Macc 5:24. The beating of breasts is best taken as a sign of mourning, which, while something less precise than a specific registration of guilt and contrition, must at least take on overtones of regret in the present context.
[x] Deuteronomy 21:22–23 (NASB95) 22 “If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.
[xi] John 19:36–37 (NASB95) 36 For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED.”
[xii] John 9:19–23 (NASB95)19 and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” 20 His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. 23 For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
[xiii] R. Kent Hughes, Mark: Jesus, Servant and Savior, vol. 2, Preaching the Word (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1989), 214.Cf., John 18:28 (NASB95) Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. See Numbers 19:13 (NASB95) 13 ‘Anyone who touches a corpse, the body of a man who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him. V20 (NASB95) 20 ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself from uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean.
[xiv] I wonder, the nails would have been driven deep into the wood . . . did Joseph pull Jesus’ feet through the nail, and His wrists through nails? … And I wonder, did he lift the crown of thorns off of His head?
[xv] So it's unlikely that criminals were ever brought down from the cross at the request of family members etc. In fact, bringing their bodies down from the cross for burial would defeat the whole purpose of crucifixion. Instead, they left criminals on the cross so the birds and dogs could devour their bodies. When nothing was left, their bones were taken down from the cross and not placed in nice burials, but tossed into places like Golgotha (place of skulls).The sole purpose of crucifixion was to humiliate, torture, and kill criminals in clear view of the public. The Romans left criminals on the cross to discourage people from committing similar crimes. So the bodies of crucified criminals were considered Roman property.
[xvi] Mark 15:43 (NASB95) 43 Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
[xvii] 1 Corinthians 15:55-5755 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
[xviii] The Darkness in the Grave, https://www.thingsofthesort.com/blog/2023/1/3/the-darkness-in-the-grave
[xix] John Piper, Deal with Death (1 Corinthians 15:3), https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/deal-with-death
[xx] Tombs were used and reused over and over. When a body had decomposed down to the bones, the bones would be collected and removed, and then a new body would be laid in the tomb. This tomb was freshly cut.
[xxi] John 11:43–44 (NASB95) 43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” 44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
[xxii] Mark 15:40–41 (NASB95) 40 There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome. 41 When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and minister to Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem. Matthew 27:55–56 (NASB95) 55 Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him. 56 Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. Luke tells us that there were other women who had ministered to Him out of Galilee.
[xxiii] Luke 23:56 (NASB95) 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
[xxiv] Matthew 27:61 (NASB95) 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.
[xxv] Cf., Mark 14:58 (NASB95) 58 “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’ ” John 2:19 (NASB95) 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
[xxvi] Matthew 27:66 (NASB95) 66 And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.
[xxvii] John 20:19 (NASB95) 19 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, . . .
[xxviii] Jeff Stott, The Burial of Jesus (Mark 15:42-47), https://truthappliedjs.com/the-burial-of-jesus-mark-1542-47/
[xxix] Mark Roberts, Why the Burial of Jesus Matters, https://depree.org/why-the-burial-of-jesus-matters/
[xxx] Caleb Cangelosi, The significance of the Burial of Jesus, https://www.pearorchard.org/notes-from-the-orchard-church-blog/2018/8/14/the-siginificance-of-the-burial-of-jesus
[xxxi] Merrill C. Tenney, “John,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: John and Acts, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 9 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 129. John Piper, If A Grain of wheat dies it bears much fruit (John 12:12-26) https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/if-a-grain-of-wheat-dies-it-bears-much-fruit