CH Spurgeon on John 19 verses 38–42

Spurgeon on John chapter 19, verses 38–42

Verse 38. And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

Let us go to this grave, but not to weep there, nay, not to shed so much as a single tear. The stone is rolled away, our Lord’s precious body is not there, for Christ has risen from the dead.

We are expressly told, in Holy Scripture, that our Lord was buried. It was evidently not sufficient for us merely to be told that He died, we must also know that He was buried. Why was this? Was it not, first, that we might have a certificate of His death?

Christ’s being given up for burial, was Pilate’s certificate that He had not merely pretended to die, but that it was a real death, and that His body had no life remaining in it. This is an essential point, for if Jesus did not die, He has made no atonement for sin. If He died not, then He rose not, and if He rose not, then your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins.

Further, was not our Lord buried to make His battle with death and His triumph over it more complete? He has conquered death, but He has also burst open the castle of death, that is the grave. He has vanquished all death’s allies, as well as death itself, by going down into the grave, and rending its bars asunder.

Beside all this, did not our Lord die, and condescend to be buried, to sweeten the grave for His people? We must not dare to dread the sepulcher, where Christ has been, we may safely and honorably go. To die, is now our gain, to sleep in Jesus, is to be blest indeed.

Verse 38. And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave.

Jesus is dead, and in the hands of wicked men, the executioners have Him in their charge, those same executioners, who just now broke the legs of the two thieves, have hold of Christ, but that precious body must be preserved, not a bone of Him must be broken.

Many a man who has been a prince has been buried with the burial of an ass, but this great Savior, whom men despised, must have a royal funeral, how is He to have it?

There is one Joseph, who has an estate at Arimathea, a wealthy man, a member of the Sanhedrim, “an honorable counselor.” He appears upon the scene, and he is the right man to do what is required, for he is a secret disciple. He has great respect for that dead body, for he had great regard for Jesus while He was alive.

But my heart misgives me, for Joseph has been secretly a disciple, and therefore I conclude that he must be very timid.

But note, brethren, what Mark tells us about him, “Joseph of Arimathea went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.” God can make a coward bold as a lion in the day when He needs him.

We should never have thought of him, but God had him in reserve for the hour of need, and brought him to the front at the right moment.

Depend upon it, if, at any other time, there should be some great and terrible task to be accomplished, God will find the man to do it. There shall never be a crisis, however crucial, but the man shall be found whom God wants, or the woman who is to occupy the place which the Lord has for her to fill.

Verses 39–40. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

There is another man, also a counselor, “a ruler of the Jews,” “a master of Israel,” yet another secret disciple who had come to Jesus by night, he appears just at this very moment. Now we have two mourners for our Master’s funeral.

How honorable to Christ was it that the first two and the chief mourners on that sorrowful occasion should be two members of the Sanhedrim, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two men of note, two reputable individuals who were held in honor even among the Jews who crucified Christ!

While they thus did Him honor, they received from Him much more honor. They had lost incalculably. Yet their Master, in the splendor of His grace, gives them this privilege even while He Himself lies dead, to them is accorded the high honor of handling His blessed flesh, and laying Him in the tomb.

You lose—oh! you lose incalculable boons by not avowing your discipleship. Yet I pray that there may come a time, and that it may come at once, when even you will come out, and do what you can for your Lord, saying to yourself, “Now is the hour when even I, timid as I am, must avow Him.”

Verses 41–42. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

It would be very convenient, and also very important, if we could get a sepulcher near at hand. But here, just at the bottom of this rocky scarp which is called Golgotha, there is a garden, and in that garden there is a tomb. Mark the providence of God in this matter, for that tomb belongs to Joseph, and there the Savior’s body is lovingly laid.

It would be also a great advantage if it could be a new tomb, wherein never was anybody buried. Ah! well, Joseph’s is a new tomb, there are no bones there, for nobody has ever been buried there before.

It would seem, too, to be the proper thing for our Lord to have a tomb in a rock. You cannot fitly put Him in sand who is Himself the Rock of Ages.

See how God provides for His Son, and learn how He will provide for you. If He provides for His Son when dead, He will provide for you while living, therefore be you comforted whatever your condition may be.

Verse 42. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

You see, it is very late in the afternoon, and besides, it is the “preparation” for a very important Sabbath. But it so happened that they obtained the body just in time to wrap it round about with the spices and with the linen.

To me, it is a very pretty thought that, when there was so little time, the place of burial was so near. Providence knew all about the difficulty, and provided for it.

Beloved, whenever you cannot do anything for your Lord as you would like to do it, do the best you can, and you may depend upon it that you have done just what ought to be done.

Jesus was not going to be in the sepulcher long. God’s Holy One could not see corruption. He did not need to be embalmed, for He was to be up again so soon, and therefore a hurried burial was quite sufficient.

If you cannot bury Christ as you would like to because there is not time, when you have done the best that you could, and sorrowed over it, you have done the very thing that your Lord wants you to do.

Rest you content with that, and just say to yourself, “He takes the will for the deed, and all my blundering and mistakes He overlooks because I did it all out of love for His dear name.”