John 19:38 - Meaning and Application

We have here an account of the burial of the blessed body of our Lord Jesus. The funerals of great people are often watched with curiosity, and the burial of a dear friend is attended with deep concern. So come and see this unusual burial, one unlike any other. It is a burial that conquered the grave and made it less fearsome for all believers. Let us turn aside and look at this great sight.

First, the body is asked for and given, John 19:38. This happened through Joseph of Ramah, or Arimathea. He is not mentioned anywhere else in the New Testament except in the accounts of Christ's burial, where he played the main part. Notice first Joseph's character. He was a disciple of Christ in secret, a better friend to Christ than he was willing to be known as. It was an honor that he was Christ's disciple, and there are some like him who are important men and have to live among wicked people. But it was his weakness that he kept this hidden when he should have confessed Christ before others, even if it cost him his position.

Disciples should openly acknowledge Christ. Yet Christ may still have many sincere followers who are secret believers. That is better than not believing at all, especially if, like Joseph, they become bolder over time. Some who were timid in smaller trials have shown great courage in bigger ones, and Joseph was like that here. He hid his love for Christ because he feared the Jews. He was afraid they might put him out of the synagogue, or at least out of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, which was the most they could do. He went boldly to Pilate, the Roman governor, yet he still feared the Jews. The weak anger of people who can only sneer, insult, and complain can sometimes seem more frightening to wise and good people than we might expect.

Notice next Joseph's role in this matter. Since he had access to Pilate because of his position, he asked permission to take the body and care for it. Christ's mother and close relatives had neither the courage nor the influence to do this. His disciples were gone. If no one had stepped forward, the Jews or soldiers would have buried him with the criminals. So God raised up this gentleman to step in, so that Scripture would be fulfilled and the honor due to Christ's coming resurrection would be preserved. When God has work to do, he can find the right people for it and give them courage to do it.

We should also see here Christ's humiliation. His dead body was left at the mercy of a pagan judge and had to be begged for before it could be buried. Joseph did not take the body until he had asked and received permission from the governor. In matters where civil authority is involved, we must show respect to that authority and submit peacefully.

Second, the burial preparations were made, John 19:39. This was done by Nicodemus, another man of rank and public standing. He brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, which some think were bitter materials used to preserve the body, and others think were fragrant spices used to perfume it. Nicodemus's character was much like Joseph's. He was a secret friend to Christ, though not one who followed him constantly. He had first come to Jesus by night, but now he owned him publicly, as he had before when he spoke up in council, John 7:50, 51. Grace at first may look like a bruised reed, but later it can become like a strong cedar, and a trembling lamb can become bold as a lion (Romans 14:4).

It is surprising that Joseph and Nicodemus, both men of influence, did not appear sooner and urge Pilate not to condemn Christ, especially when Pilate seemed unwilling to do it. Asking for his life would have been a greater service than asking for his body. But Christ would not allow his friends to stop his death when his hour had come. While his enemies were carrying out Scripture, his followers must not block it.

We also see Nicodemus's kindness, which was real even though it took a different form. Joseph served Christ with his influence, and Nicodemus served him with his wealth. They likely agreed that one would secure permission while the other prepared the spices, since time was short. But why make such effort over Christ's dead body? Some think this shows weakness in their faith. A strong belief that Christ would rise on the third day would have saved them this care and expense, and it would have been more pleasing than all the spices. Dead bodies that are truly meant to stay in the grave do need burial clothing. But what need was there to dress the body of one who had only paused there like a traveler stopping for the night or two?

Still, we can clearly see the strength of their love. By this they showed how much they valued Christ's person and teaching, and that the shame of the cross had not lessened that value. Those who had worked hard to dishonor his crown and bury his honor in the dust could now see that they had planned in vain. God had honored Christ in his sufferings, and even men, including great men, were honoring him too. They showed not only the kindness of giving his body a proper burial, but also the honor usually given to great men. They could do this and still believe and hope for his resurrection. Indeed, they may have done it in that very faith and expectation. Since God meant to honor this body, they would honor it too. In any case, we must do our duty according to the day and the chance before us, and leave God to keep his promises in his own way and at his own time.

Third, the body was prepared for burial, John 19:40. They took it into a nearby house and, after washing away the blood and dust, wrapped it in linen cloths in a decent way. The spices were likely melted into an ointment, as the Jews were used to doing when they buried or prepared a body, as Dr. Hammond explains. In this, care was taken with Christ's body. It was wrapped in linen cloths. Christ even took burial clothes, among the garments that belong to us, to make the grave less terrible for us and to let us call them our wedding clothes.

They wrapped the body with spices, so that even his grave clothes smelled of myrrh and aloes, the spices mentioned here, like the garments from the ivory palaces in Psalm 45:8. And the tomb cut out of rock was, for Christ, an ivory palace. Dead bodies and graves are ugly and offensive. That is why sin is compared to a body of death and to an open grave. But Christ's sacrifice, offered to God as a sweet-smelling offering, has taken away our uncleanness. No ointment or perfume can cheer the heart like the tomb of our Redeemer, when faith can detect the sweet fragrance of it.

In this example, we should also care properly for the bodies of Christians. That does not mean we should enshrine their relics or worship them, not even the relics of the most famous saints and martyrs. Nothing like that was done with the body of Christ himself. Instead, we should reverently lay the dust in the dust, remembering that the bodies of believers still belong to Christ and are meant for glory and immortality at the last day.

The resurrection of believers will happen because of Christ’s resurrection. So when we bury the dead, we should look to Christ’s burial, since, though dead, he still speaks to us (Isaiah 26:19). We do not need to copy every detail of Christ’s burial, as if we must all be wrapped in linen, buried in a garden, or embalmed like he was. But since he was buried in the Jewish way, we learn that in these matters we should follow the customs of the place where we live, except where those customs are superstitious.

Christ was buried in a garden owned by Joseph of Arimathea, a follower of Jesus, and it was very near the place where he was crucified. There was already a tomb there, a vault prepared for use but never occupied. Christ was buried outside the city, because that was the Jewish custom, not because it must always be done that way. In those days, touching a grave caused ceremonial uncleanness, but Christ’s resurrection changed the meaning of the grave for believers and removed that pollution. We do not need to keep our distance from graves in a superstitious way, and there is even a good reason to place the dead near the living, since both are moving toward death.

Christ was buried in a garden. Joseph had his tomb there, and that arrangement could remind him of death while he was still alive. When he enjoyed his garden and gathered its produce, he could remember that he must die and so prepare himself. A garden is a fitting place for reflection, and a tomb there gives a serious lesson in the middle of our pleasures. It could also remind his heirs and successors after he was gone. It is good to know where our fathers are buried, and perhaps death would seem less frightening if we were more familiar with the graves of those before us.

It was also fitting that Christ’s body was laid in a sepulchre in a garden. In Eden, death and the grave first gained power. Now, in a garden, they are overcome, stripped of power, and defeated. Christ began his suffering in a garden, and from a garden he would rise to begin his exaltation. He fell to the ground like a grain of wheat (John 12:24), so he was laid in a garden among seeds. His dew is like the dew of herbs (Isaiah 26:19), and he is the source of gardens (Song of Solomon 4:15).

Christ was buried in a new tomb. This was arranged, first, to honor him, since he was not an ordinary man and should not be mixed with common dust. He who was born from a virgin womb should rise from a virgin tomb. Second, it helped confirm the truth of his resurrection, so no one could say it was not really him who rose, or that he rose only because of someone else’s power, as when the man was raised by touching Elisha’s bones. He who makes all things new has also made the grave new for us.

The burial itself was solemnized. They laid Jesus there, meaning the dead body of Jesus (John 19:42). Some think that calling him Jesus here points to the unbreakable union between his divine and human nature. Even in death, that body was Jesus, a Savior, because his death is our life. Jesus is still the same (Hebrews 13:8). They laid him there because it was the day of preparation.

Here we should notice the respect the Jews showed for the Sabbath and the day of preparation. Before the Passover Sabbath, they had a special day to get ready. The chief priests, who claimed to be the church, had badly kept that day, but Christ’s disciples, who were accused of being dangerous to the church, kept it well. That often happens. They would not delay the funeral until the Sabbath, because the Sabbath is meant for holy rest and joy, and a funeral does not fit well with that. They also would not let the burial run too late into the day of preparation. What must be done the evening before the Sabbath should be arranged so it does not take up Sabbath time or leave us unfit for Sabbath duties.

They also wisely used a nearby tomb. The sepulchre was close at hand. If they had had more time, they might have taken him to Bethany and buried him among his friends there. He had every right to be buried in the chief tombs of David’s sons, more than any king of Judah. But it was ordered otherwise, because he was to stay there only a little while, like a guest in an inn, and so he took the first tomb available. It was also a new tomb. Those who prepared it little thought who would first use it, but God’s wisdom reaches far beyond ours, and he uses us and all we have however he chooses.

We are also taught not to be overly concerned about the exact place of burial. Where the tree falls, there it lies. Christ was buried in the nearest tomb, and that is enough. The patriarchs once longed to be carried to Canaan for burial because they trusted God’s promise about that land, but that promise has now been surpassed by a better one, so that concern is no longer necessary. So the body of Jesus was laid in the cold, silent grave without pomp or ceremony. There lies our surety under arrest for our debts, so that if he is released, our freedom is secure. There lies the Sun of righteousness, set for a little while, only to rise again in greater glory and never set again. There lies one who seems captive to death, but is really the conqueror over death, because here death itself is slain and the grave is defeated. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory.