“Joseph of Arimathaea, an honorable counselor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus” (Mark 15:43).

The account of the burial of Jesus by two members of the Sanhedrin, Joseph and Nicodemus, is one of the most mysteriously fascinating records in the Bible. Joseph was “a rich man of Arimathaea” (not Jerusalem), so how did he happen to have available “his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock” (Matthew 27:57,60) to receive the body of Jesus? Why would he labor so to prepare his own tomb within sight and sound of Calvary, where the ugly crucifixion of criminals was such a frequent occurrence? He had even planted a garden there! And how could the elderly Nicodemus immediately carry “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight” (John 19:39) to meet Joseph who had also bought fine linen with which to bury Him? Joseph had gone to Pilate so soon after his death that “Pilate marvelled if he were already dead” (Mark 15:44).

It seems the only plausible answer to such questions is to assume that these two secret disciples of the Lord had planned far ahead of time to perform this special ministry. Somehow, they knew He must be crucified, so they prepared the tomb and the burial materials in advance. When He was arrested and condemned, they waited in the tomb until He died, then immediately went into action. Once He died, unbelieving eyes never saw Him again, nor did unbelieving hands ever touch Him. The two friends gave Him an honorable burial, and then are never mentioned again.

Somehow they must have known they were ordained by God to fulfill the 700-year-old prophecy of Isaiah 53:9. “And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death.” They did what they could for their Savior. HMM