The Gospel of John 19:41-42 When God Says...I Say, AMEN!

When God Says …

“Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.” (John 19:41-42 KJV).

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus decided to put their private faith in the open with an extraordinary gesture. Maybe exhausted and disillusioned by the injustice of their fellow Pharisees, Priests and council members, or grieving over the loss of the One upon whom they’ve rested their messianic hopes, they decided to give the Lord, in His death, what the Jews refused to give Him in His life - to honor Him as King and Messiah.

Joseph’s request may have caught Pilate by surprise. The Lord Jesus was dead sooner than he expected, (as the Lord Jesus gave His life. No one takes His life. Neither Pilate nor the priests nor the religious authorities). Perhaps Pontius Pilate was relieved that this problem was finally taken cared of. But he was probably even more stunned that a member of the Council was standing before him, willing to risk his position and reputation to give the Lord a proper burial. Their normal way of handling, a criminal's body would have to be dumped into an empty grave or pauper’s field, buried ignominiously under mounds of dirt and rocks. Their action fulfills the prophecy that He would be buried not in an empty field but in a rich man’s tomb, fulfilling the words of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 53:9).

They buried the Lord Jesus Christ in a borrowed new sepulcher in a garden and prominent place near Golgotha where nobody could mistake the miracle, so much so that His enemies had to bribe the Roman soldiers assigned to guard the body of the Lord Jesus (Matthew 28:11–15). Joseph and Nicodemus are used as witnesses to bear the good news of the Lord’s redemptive love, sacrifice and death to the world, so those who believe and embrace the good news are made alive to God in Christ Jesus. This, Apostle Paul affirms as it is written: “For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:10-11 ESV).

And I say, AMEN!

Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries

When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.

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