Jesus Is Buried (Mk. 15:42-47; Lk. 23:50-56; Jn. 19:38-42)

⁵⁷That evening a rich man named Joseph came to Jerusalem. Joseph was a follower of Jesus from the town of Arimathea. ⁵⁸Joseph went to Pilate and asked to have Jesus' body. Pilate gave orders for the soldiers to give Jesus' body to Joseph. ⁵⁹Then Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a new linen cloth. ⁶⁰Joseph put Jesus' body in a new tomb (grave) that Joseph had dug in a wall of rock. Then he closed the tomb by rolling a very large stone to cover the entrance. After he did these things, Joseph went away. ⁶¹Mary Magdalene and the other woman named Mary were sitting near the tomb.

The Tomb of Jesus Is Guarded

⁶²That day was the day called Preparation day.* The next day, the leading priests and the Pharisees* went to Pilate. ⁶³They said, "Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, 'After three days I will rise from death.' ⁶⁴So give the order for the tomb to be guarded well until after three days. His followers might come and try to steal the body. Then they could tell the people that he has risen from death. That lie will be even worse than what they said about him before." ⁶⁵Pilate said, "Take some soldiers and go guard the tomb the best way you know." ⁶⁶So they all went to the tomb and made it safe from thieves. They did this by sealing the stone in the entrance and putting soldiers there to guard it.

Preparation day Friday, the day before the Sabbath day. Pharisees The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group that claimed to follow carefully all Jewish laws and customs.