Wealth and influence can be a positive thing, when it is used to serve others. But so often these two commodities are used for selfish ends. Oh how I do admire someone who gets it right, who serves others with their wealth and influence. They are connectors, connecting people with needs with people with extra resources. One of the greatest testimonies a person could have as a wealthy person is that they died poor, having purposely enriched many others. They didn’t act as the reservoir of wealth, but as a conduit of wealth. They owned the wealth. The wealth didn’t own them.
Joseph was both a wealthy individual and someone with influence at the highest levels. We know he had wealth for a couple of reasons. First, he served on the Jewish ruling council. This is the same group from which Nicodemus came. Members of this group had to have a vast knowledge of the Scriptures. They were often prominent business people with family connections that went back generations. You had to ‘be someone’ in order to serve on the council. Membership was closed.
But Joseph also had enough money to have a tomb cut out of the rock for burial use. This was a common practice in those days. A family with money would have a tomb carved in the rock to house the family remains. His was fairly new wealth, since the tomb had never been used prior to Jesus’ body. Tombs were often used for generations. Separate shelves could be carved in the sides of the cave like structure for different individuals. Often after the body had decomposed, the bones would be gathered and placed in a special burial jar and placed in the floor or in a spot cut in the walls. This gathering of bones freed the space to be used by the next generation of occupants.
But Joseph also had influence, at least enough influence to be able to approach Pilate on short notice and get permission to receive the body of Jesus from them. Jesus’ body was the property of Rome at that point. They had to release the body for burial. If Joseph had not stepped up and asked for the body, Jesus’ remains would have been disposed of in an unmarked grave, along with other criminals whose bodies remained unclaimed.
And then the tomb is sealed, the normal practice. You didn’t want animals coming to eat the body prior to its decomposition. The tomb would often be left sealed for a year to allow decomposition to take place.
And since this was a hasty burial, the women follow and see exactly where Jesus is laid so that they can finish the body preparation after the Sabbath. A proper Jewish burial required that the body be washed and prepared. They didn’t have time to do this on that afternoon. They would pay their respects on Sunday morning.
In Glasgow, Scotland is the most wonder Necropolis, graveyard. It is filled with thousands of impressive grave markers, everything from simple plaques to large, roomed monuments. On the highest point of the hill is a memorial to John Knox, the man who founded the Presbyterian Church in Scotland. He is not buried there, but probably under a parking lot. But His marker stands at the highest point of this hill.
The Arnold Journey 