Luke 23:50 - Meaning and Application

Here we have the story of Christ’s burial. He had to be brought not only to death, but also to the dust of death (Psalm 22:15), just as the sentence in Genesis said: “To dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19). His body was laid in the grave, and that fits the path God had set for him.

I. Who buried him. His close followers stood at a distance. They had neither the money to meet the cost nor the courage to face the shame of giving him a proper burial. But God provided one man who had both, a man named Joseph (Luke 23:50). Luke describes him as a good and upright man, a person of clean reputation in virtue and devotion. He was also a man of rank, a counselor, a senator, and a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council.

Luke also makes clear that Joseph had not agreed with the council’s plan and action against Jesus (Luke 23:51). Even if the decision passed by a majority, Joseph had openly opposed it, and he did not go along with the crowd to do evil. What we do not agree to in evil counsel or action will not be counted as our own deed. He not only disagreed with Christ’s enemies, he also stood with Christ’s friends in his heart. He was waiting for the kingdom of God, meaning he believed the Old Testament promises about the Messiah and his kingdom, and looked for their fulfillment.

This is the man who, at this moment, showed true respect for the Lord Jesus. Many people care deeply about Christ’s cause without making much outward display of it. Yet when a real need appears, they may serve him more faithfully than those who make the loudest show.

II. What Joseph did for the burial. He went to Pilate, the judge who had condemned Jesus, and asked for Jesus’ body, since it was under Pilate’s authority. He could have gathered a group and taken the body by force, but instead he chose the proper and peaceful way. He acted with respect and order.

Then he took the body down, it seems with his own hands, and wrapped it in linen. Jewish custom was to wind the dead body, much like we wrap little children in swaddling clothes, and the word used here suggests that idea. Joseph had bought fine linen, and he cut it into pieces for this purpose. Lazarus was described as bound hand and foot (John 11:44). For believers, grave clothes are like swaddling clothes. They will one day outgrow them and put them off when they come to full maturity.

III. Where he was buried. Jesus was placed in a tomb hewn out of rock, so the prison of the grave was made strong. In the same way, when the church was brought into darkness, her path was also enclosed with hewn stone (Lamentations 3:2, Lamentations 3:9). But this was a tomb where no man had ever been laid before. Jesus was buried in a way unlike anyone before him, because he would rise again on the third day by his own power. He was going to triumph over the grave as no one had ever done.

IV. When he was buried. It was done on the day of Preparation, just as the Sabbath was drawing near (Luke 23:54). That is why the burial had to be hurried. The Sabbath required their attention for other work, especially getting ready to honor it and welcome it properly. Weeping must not stop sowing. Even while they grieved over Christ’s death, they still had to give themselves to the work of keeping the Sabbath holy.

When the Sabbath draws near, there must be preparation. Our ordinary affairs should be arranged so they do not keep us from Sabbath duty. Our hearts should also be stirred up so they move us forward in it.

V. Who attended the burial. None of the disciples are mentioned, only the women who had come with him from Galilee (Luke 23:55). They had stood by him while he hung on the cross, and now they followed him, surely with many tears. They looked at the tomb where he was laid, and they noticed how his body was placed there. They were moved not by curiosity, but by love for the Lord Jesus, a love strong as death and not quenched by many waters. It was a quiet burial, not a grand public one, yet his rest was glorious.

VI. What was prepared after the burial. The women returned and prepared spices and ointments (Luke 23:56). This showed more love than faith, because if they had remembered and believed what Jesus had often told them, that he would rise again on the third day, they would have saved their expense and effort. Soon his body would receive far greater honor in the glory of his resurrection than any ointment could give it. Yet while they made these preparations, they rested on the Sabbath day and did no such work. They did this according to the custom of their nation, but also according to the command of God, which still stands, even though the day has changed: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”