Daily Devotional For Sunday, March 22, 2026
Good day Southside and our devotional for today comes from Matthew 27:57-61:
“When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. (58) This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. (59) And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, (60) and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. (61) And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave” (NASB).
We are told that a very wealthy man by the name of Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Jesus to bury it in his own tomb. This would give Jesus culturally a better burial than condemned criminals normally got. Jews believed that if a person was left on a tree or in this case, a cross, their body would defile the land. They based this on Deuteronomy 21:22-23. Arimathea was about 22 miles northwest of Jerusalem. In the Old Testament this town was called Ramathaim, the birthplace of the prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 1:1).
We know from John 19:38 that Joseph was a secret follower and disciple of Jesus because he had not yet made his commitment to Jesus public. Why? Peer pressure – he was a member of the Jewish Supreme Court – the Sanhedrin (Mark 15:43). After receiving Jesus’ dead body, Joseph then prepared Jesus’ body for burial honoring Jesus and their culture traditions. So, Joseph used his own future tomb to bury Jesus – which shows a great act of love and care. We know from John 19:39-43 that another Jewish religious leader helped Joseph with this – Nicodemus. This fulfilled Old Testament prophecy in Isaiah 53:9.
Most likely Joseph had what was called a “Garden Tomb.” This was not a tomb carved out of the rock, but a cave used for future burials. It would have had a trench to roll the huge 1-2 tone stone to cover the entrance. This would require several strong men to move this stone to open the grave as well as to close it. We learn that the two Marys follow Joseph and Nicodemus to the tomb. This is how they know where to go on Easter Sunday morning.
What else do we know about Joseph? As I said above, he was part of the Jewish Supreme Court, but he had opposed the Sanhedrin’s judgment of Jesus (Luke 23:51). Matthew for the first time puts wealth in a positive light. The Bible gives examples of people who were wealthy – Abraham, Job, David, and Solomon. The last time Matthew mentioned a rich person it was the rich young ruler who walked away from following Jesus. Matthew gives us this story to position Joseph for historical reasons. Only a rich or wealthy man with political clout could get access to a Roman governor. Only a rich man would be able to afford a clean or new burial cloth (vs . 59), a new tomb (vs. 60) as well as the huge stone in front of it (vs. 60).
The poor were buried in a mass pauper’s cemetery. Since no other bodies were in it, this was new. Not only that, due to how the Bible describes Joseph’s tomb, this was not just any tomb. Joseph had the best tomb money could buy. Contrary to myths, the women knew where this tomb was and did not go to the wrong tomb. It is clear that Joseph loved Jesus and wanted to do what was best for Jesus’ dead body. Yet, his love for Jesus publicly was absent until now. The Gospels present him up to this point as a coward to show His love and commitment to Jesus publicly. With Jesus’ death, this must have pushed Joseph from coward to being courageous from bashful to being bold. By going by himself to Pilate as one of the members of the Sanhedrin, this was bold. What would the other members think of him? How would they treat him from this point forward? Would they kick him out of the Sanhedrin?
Pilate could have said no to his request and simply allowed Jesus’ body to rot on the cross being picked apart by the vultures. He could have ordered that Jesus’ body be buried in a mass community grave with other executed criminals. So, why did Pilate grant Joseph’s request? I think for several reasons. First, he has said repeatedly that Jesus was innocent and not deserving of the death penalty. Second, his wife had warned him not to do anything to Jesus because of a disturbing dream she had the night before the trial. Third, he knew the Jewish leaders were jealous and envious of Jesus. I think he was eaten up with guilt even though he had tried to “wash his hands of the whole thing.”
It is clear that Joseph of Arimathea loved Jesus because of the extent of his willingness to take care of Jesus’ dead body. Yet, by touching Jesus’ dead body he made himself ceremonially unclean (Num. 19:11-13 for seven days. He would have known this and still he was willing to do this. At this point it seems that all emphasis is on what Joseph of Arimathea is doing and not on what Jesus is doing. Yes, Jesus was physically dead but He was still active even in death – read 1 Peter 3:18-20. Jesus’ whole life was one of humiliation and serving others.
He was born to an unwed mother, which the religious leaders used repeatedly against Him (John 8:41). He was born and placed in an animal feeding trough as His crib. He grew up poor and as human, He endured all the physical, emotional and psychological pain as we do. He bore the scorn, the name-calling, the scourging, the crucifixion and His death when He did not have to do that as God in human flesh. His body went through burial customs and traditions of His day. Not only was Jesus’ death significant, but so was His burial as New Testament scholar H.N. Ridderbos writes:
“Although the account of Jesus’ burial is extremely terse and sober, we must never forget that here, as through the whole gospel, the Evangelist is telling the story of the Christ. The absence of biographical details focuses all attention on the main point, namely, that the path of humiliation walked by God’s Anointed descended all the way to the grave, the place where death reigns supreme and mercilessly imposes its curse (see Gen. 3:19). Christ was dragged down to the place of deepest human humiliation and defilement and imprisoned behind a heavy stone. Even His closest friends thought He was gone for good, a figure from the past who now would be forgotten. Thus Jesus endured not only pain and suffering and the curse of death but even the terror of the grave, so that He could save His people from this forever” (Source: Herman N. Ridderbos, Matthew, A Bible Student’s Commentary, pp. 540-541).
Tomorrow we are going to look more at the role of the women in this story. But for now, we must remind ourselves that Jesus’ burial is just as important to the Christian story as His death on the cross. Joseph of Arimathea and the women are part of the Gospel story now. Women? Yes. In that day women were considered property of their husbands or fathers. They are the first to witness the Resurrection and to share it – not the 11 masculine disciples who fled in fear to hide and protect themselves.
Reflection Assignment: Considering Joseph of Arimathea, in what ways are you putting yourself out there publicly for everyone to know you are a disciple of Jesus Christ? When you think of Jesus’s death and burial, which one do you tend to focus more on and why? Does your family have any customs or traditions they do when a loved one dies that helps you deal the loss? After reading 1 Peter 3:18-20 what does this tell you about Jesus?
Scripture To Meditate On: Romans 8:35, 37-39, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . (37) But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. (38) For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, (39) nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I do not want to be a “private” disciple. I want to be public with my faith in You. I want everyone to know of You and my relationship to You. I may not be someone important, but You are important to me. I am going to let others know that. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly