John 19-31 Burial - For The Glory of Jesus

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Burial

After Jesus died, He was pierced with a spear that was thrown into His side. Jesus was already dead when one soldier thrust his spear into Jesus. The burial of Jesus came shortly afterwards.

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John 19:31-42

31. Preparation Day [NKJV]. “This refers to Friday, the day before or ‘the preparation’ day for the Sabbath.” (MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Bible Commentary. [Nashville, Thomas Nelson Inc., 2005], 1421)

“The normal Roman practice was to leave crucified men and women on the cross until they died (and this could take days) and then leave their rotting bodies hanging there to be devoured by vultures.” (MacArthur, 1421)

32. “In order to hasten death for certain reasons, soldiers would smash the legs of the victim with an iron mallet. Not only did this action induce shock and additional loss of blood, but it prevented the victim from pushing with his legs to keep breathing and, thus, the victim died from asphyxiation.” (MacArthur, 1422)

Side Pierced

33. Jesus was already dead.

34. “Perhaps to make sure Jesus was dead, one of the soldiers slashed his side with a spear, causing a flow of blood and water that removed any doubt since, had he still been alive, only blood would have flowed out.” [Max Anders and Kenneth O. Gangel (2012). HNTC Vol. 04: John. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]

“John saw a special significance to the blood and water that came from the wound in the side. For one thing, it proved that Jesus had a real body (see 1 John 1:1-4) and experienced a real death.” (Wiersbe, 385)

35. And he (John, the eyewitness) who has seen it has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also [who read this] may believe. [AMP]

John was there, he saw what happened so we may believe.

36. When Jesus side was pierced by one of the Roman soldiers it “fulfilled the very Word of God! The bones of the Passover lamb were not to be broken (Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12; and note Psalm 34:20), so our Lord’s bones were protected by the Lord. His side was to be pierced (Zechariah 12:10; Revelation 1:7), so that was done by one of the soldiers.” (Wiersbe, 385)

37. The other scripture referred to here is Zechariah 12:10.

Burial

38-39. “When the soldiers were through with their gruesome work, our Lord’s friends took over, and from that point on, as far as the record is concerned, no unbelievers touched the body of Jesus. God had prepared two high-ranking men to prepare His body for burial and to place it in a proper tomb.” (Wiersbe, 385)

Joseph of Arimathaea is a rich man, and Nicodemus is the ruler of the Jews who had come to Jesus by night. They were both secret disciples, but now they come out in the open for the first time…They had stayed in the background but, now that the Lord’s disciples have all scattered like sheep and gone under cover, these two men came out in the open.” (McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible: Volume IV: [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983], 494)

40. “They would prepare the body by rubbing it with myrrh and aloes, then wrapping it with linen strips. That would seal it and keep out the air. They would begin with a finger, then wrap all the fingers that way, then the hand, the arm, and the whole body of the Lord Jesus like a mummy…On the Resurrection morning, when John saw the linen lying there and the body not in it, he understood that the Resurrection had taken place, and he believed.” (McGee, 494)

For Joseph and Nicodemus, “haste was important, and the men worked quickly…It was important to get the body safely away from the Romans and the Jewish leaders. Of course, Mary of Bethany had already anointed His body for burial (Mark 14:8; John 12:1-8). Some of the other women watched the two men minister to Jesus, and they witnessed His burial (Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47). They planned to return after the Sabbath and complete the burial procedures (Luke 23:55-24:1).” (Wiersbe, 386)

41-42. “Only John relates that the tomb was near the place where Jesus was crucified. Since the Sabbath, when all work had to cease, was nearly upon them (6:00 P.M., sunset), the nearness of the tomb was helpful.” (MacArthur, 1423)

Isaiah 53:9

References

In this article Scripture quotations taken from KJV.

Max Anders and Kenneth O. Gangel (2012). HNTC Vol. 04: John. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com
McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible: Volume IV: Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983
MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Bible Commentary. Nashville, Thomas Nelson Inc., 2005
Wiersbe, Warren W, The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume 1 Matthew-Galatians. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2004

Crucifixion Empty Tomb

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