43 Then came Joseph of Arimathea, a distinguished councilor, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, and took courage, and went in to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate marveled that he had died so soon; and he called the centurion to him, and asked him, “Has he been dead for some time?” 45 When the centurion found out, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So he bought linen, took him down, wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone to the door of the tomb. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched where he was laid.
16:1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 And they said to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?” 4 And when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. For he was very great. 5 And when they entered the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed. 6 But he said to them, “Do not be amazed! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him. 7 But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he said to you.’” 8 So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
the explanation:
This is how the Evangelist Mark narrates the burial and resurrection of Jesus. The burial and resurrection in this passage are closely linked, not only in terms of style, since the temporal connection “when the Sabbath was past” between the burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea and the arrival of the myrrh-bearers at the tomb is not emphasized, but also in terms of theology, since the Church believes that Jesus’ death was not in fact a loss of life but a victory over death.
That is, Jesus did not remain in the grave. So there was no time between his death and his resurrection. This is, in fact, one of the meanings of the “three days” in the Old Testament, where it indicates, as in the book of the prophet Hosea, the imminence of something happening or its speed. This is the meaning of his saying: “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, and he will heal us; he has smitten us, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us, and on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live in his sight” (Hosea 6:1-2).
This belief is expressed by Mark the Evangelist, who links the burial and the resurrection in one text, as if it were a single narrative. This is supported by the liturgy of our Church, where the time between the burial service of Jesus and the Easter service is eliminated in the Holy Saturday Mass. In ancient practice, the Holy Saturday Mass was celebrated on Saturday evening, and the time between the burial service and the resurrection service had no value. This is because the burial of Jesus signifies for believers his victory over death, and consequently his resurrection.
Mark tells us that there was a man from Arimathea, near Lydda, named Joseph, a devout Jew who knew the scriptures, practiced worship, and awaited the kingdom of God. He was also a disciple of Jesus, as the Evangelist Matthew says (27:57). He was a member of the Jewish High Council, but despite his prestigious position, he needed great courage to confront Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body, and perhaps to confront his fellow Jews who had plotted against Jesus.
Joseph took the initiative to carry out the provisions of the law because the body of a person who was executed was considered a curse and was not left hanging overnight (Deuteronomy 21:22-23), especially if it was a Sabbath night. Pilate was surprised that Jesus died so quickly because a crucified person usually remained 12 hours or more to die, as Josephus, the historian of that era, narrates, and Jesus did not remain more than 6 hours. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in linen and buried it according to Jewish custom. As for the tomb that was hewn in the rock, it was new and no one had been buried in it, and the Evangelist Matthew adds that Joseph had prepared it for himself.
The mention of the tomb carved in the rock is an introduction to what follows about the rolling of the rock from the door of the tomb. What strikes us in the account of the resurrection is that the evangelist does not describe it, but rather is content to speak of the empty tomb. The evangelist is not concerned with how the resurrection happened, but rather that it happened and that Jesus’ death was nothing but a victory over death.
When the Sabbath, on which the Jews rest according to the Law of Moses, had passed, and especially since that Sabbath was a great day because the Passover feast fell on that day, the women - who had come with him from Galilee (Luke 23:55) - began to work and bought spices to anoint the body of Jesus. Joseph wrapped the body and placed it in the tomb.
At dawn on Sunday they went to the tomb, ignorant of the measures the Jews had put in place around the tomb, namely, the guard (Matthew 27:62-66). They were wondering who would roll the stone away from the door of the tomb. When they arrived, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, and it was a large one. They entered the tomb and saw a young man dressed in a white robe, and they were terrified. The white robes indicated that this person was from heaven, hence the awe he aroused, which he himself later calmed by revealing to them the good news that Jesus of Nazareth, who had been crucified, had risen. The most correct translation from the Greek is “was raised,” and this passive voice expresses the work of divine power, as is the case in all the verses used by the apostles in their preaching of the Lord’s resurrection (Acts 2:23-24 and 3:15). This word “was raised” forms the basis of the gospel in the New Testament. It is the subject of all the Easter prayers that we repeat in the Church, in which we greet one another with “Christ is risen.”
The angel confirms the historical event by pointing to the linen cloths placed as proof that Christ was dead in the tomb and had risen from the dead: “Behold the place where they laid him” (Mark 16:6). The event of the resurrection is further confirmed by the appearance of Jesus Christ to his disciples several times after the resurrection, as we read in the oldest text on the resurrection of the Apostle Paul: “For I delivered to you first of all what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, of whom the majority remain until now, but some have fallen asleep, and last of all he appeared to me as to one untimely born” (1 Corinthians 3:8).
The angel gave the women a mission, which was to inform the apostles of the Lord’s resurrection, and he emphasized informing Peter to confirm that his denial of his Lord had been forgiven.
“They came out of the tomb and fled.” Despite the assurance, encouragement and confidence that the angel’s words spread, fear still controlled the hearts of the women. So they hurried out of the tomb, and fled, overcome with fear and astonishment, and concealed the news of the resurrection.
The Gospel text ends with mentioning the resurrection of Christ without describing the event of the resurrection itself, because no one can see the resurrection as an event because it is not subject to the law of this age. The believer sees and meets Christ risen from the dead in the sacraments of the Church as happened to the disciples of Emmaus (Luke 24:30-31).
This Gospel chapter is the same Gospel of Matins at Easter. Its repetition on the second Sunday comes from the fact that the Church wants us to pay attention during the Easter period (40 days) to everything surrounding the Resurrection.
About my parish bulletin
Sunday, May 14, 2000
