October 18, 2022
Good afternoon,
( back to the Gospel of John )
”
He [ Joseph of Arimathea ] 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. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 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. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.” John 19:39-42
This is the third mention of Nicodemus in the Gospel. I grew up thinking that Nicodemus was not a believer, but I am thinking he was now. It would be dangerous for Nicodemus to be this out in the open according to the Empire, who had just crucified Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body. He was also a secret Jewish believer in Jesus. John makes no judgment of these two men.
In John here, Jesus is given a proper burial because Nicodemus brings the spices( 75 pounds of it ) and wraps up the body with linen. It is important to the tradition of the church that Jesus is buried in the right way. It is the right and proper thing to do. And a new tomb was also important for the death of the Saviour of the world.
And now we wait. We know the end of the story, but Nicodemus and Joseph did not . They may have heard the words that Jesus told his disciples of dying and rising again. But, they might have had faith, but they were not sure. No one had ever done it before. Elijah never died, and they thought he was in heaven. How would you have waited ? Would you have been alone or with your family ? We do not hear about what happened to these two men, who wanted to do the proper burial for their friend, Jesus of Nazareth.
Wait for the Resurrection !
Fred
Chaos in the winds
Scattering my troubled thoughts
to land on soft clouds
Monika Pieper Landoni 2022