The Broken Precedent
John 19: 31-42
"At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid."
(JOHN 19:41)
What those near Christ's execution didn't realize was that this death was hardly the end of the story. It certainly looked that way by human terms. Everyone knew that when a human heart stopped beating, he was gone. He'd no longer talk, think or love. His soul might live somewhere; his memory would stay with those he left behind. But dead meant life was over.
This young man from Galilee was certainly dead. They'd seen Him murdered. A few friends stood close enough to watch the body dropped from the tree and carried to a grave. The next days' grief and fear must have paralyzed them. A few of them - women to be specific - pulled themselves together enough to go to the lifeless body to prepare it for proper burial.
Yet, that morning they got a hint that the story hadn't ended at all. If anything, it was now - in an unexplainable way - just beginning. Not just as a page to another chapter either, but to an entirely new reality. For these first witnesses and for us today, that meant hope had come to life!
INSIGHT
WHAT AREAS OR RELATIONSHIPS IN YOUR LIFE MIGHT NEED A NEW HOPE? ASK THE RISEN JESUS TO HELP.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Joshua 1-2
Psalm 97
Acts 21
John 19:31-42
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"[a] 37 and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."[b]
The Burial of Jesus
38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.[c] 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Footnotes:
a. John 19:36 Exodus 12:46; Num. 9:12; Psalm 34:20
b. John 19:37 Zech. 12:10
c. John 19:39 Greek a hundred litrai (about 34 kilograms)
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