The Passion 19

Jesus Buriel

After Jesus death, “Joseph of Arimathea, who was a wealthy man, and honored as a member of the Jewish high council asked Pontius Pilate for permission to have the body of the Lord. Unbeknownst to them, Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus ^{(John 19:38)}. The disciples who had publicly followed Jesus fled, but Joseph boldly took a stand that could have cost him dearly. He cared enough about Jesus to ask for His body so he could give it a proper burial.”

The tomb belonged to Joseph himself and was likely a man-made cave cut out of one of the many limestone hills in the area around Jerusalem. Such a tomb was large enough to walk into. After burial, a large stone would have been rolled across the entrance ^{(John 20:1)} .

Could Jesus have rolled away the stone that covered his tomb?   The entrance of a Jewish tomb was quite small, so the stone needed to cover the opening would only be 4-6’ in diameter, and approximately 1’ thick.  How much would such a stone weigh?  Depending on the type of stone used, it could weigh between 1-2 tons (2000-4000 pounds). This is quite heavy, but two men could move it into place (Mt 27:60; Jn 19:38-42).  The more difficult task was removing the stone to open up the grave.

Generally speaking, the rolling stone was set inside a groove in front of the entrance, and secured from falling over by a stone wall that stood in front of tomb opening (the rolling stone was sandwiched between the tomb entrance and stone wall).  Often, the groove was not level, but slightly sloped.  To close the tomb, the stone would be rolled down the groove at a decline and come to rest in front of the entrance.  To open the tomb, the stone would have to be rolled up the groove at an incline. Given the structure of such tombs, it would not have been possible for Jesus to simply push the stone over from the inside of the tomb.  He would have to roll the 2000+ pound stone back up the groove without having anything to grip or any help.  Such a feat would not be possible for one healthy man, yet alone a man who had just been beaten to a bloody pulp by the Romans. Is it any wonder that an angel was the one who rolled away the stone. That gives us a strong indication of the strength of an angel.

                  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name and for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Source: The Life Application Study Bible

See http://eutychusnerd.blogspot.com/2009/04/rolling-stone.html.