Jesus is Placed in the Tomb
Station Fourteen of the Cross
Hi friends. It’s Holy Week, and I wanted to share images and reflections I wrote a few years ago for a Stations of the Cross event at church. There are 14 Stations adapted for Substack and socials, so I’ll be sending out more emails than usual this week. Feel free to read what you like and skip what you need to, or read them all next Friday. Regardless of how you go about it, I invite you to reflect on the image, Scripture passage, and meditation/reflection question in each email.
When it was already evening, because it was the day of preparation (that is, the day before the Sabbath), Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin who was himself looking forward to the kingdom of God, came and boldly went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body. Pilate was surprised that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had already died. When he found out from the centurion, he gave the corpse to Joseph. After he bought some linen cloth, Joseph took him down and wrapped him in the linen. Then he laid him in a tomb cut out of the rock and rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching where he was laid. Mark 15:42-47
And just like that, Jesus’ body is laid to rest. Like a gut-wrenching series finale, all goes silent and dark as His dead body is placed in the tomb. The women go home because the Sabbath is beginning. They must not work or return to the tomb until Sunday morning when they expect to find Jesus’ body lifeless and cold. Once before, he had talked to them about being “raised again on the third day.” What did he mean by that, exactly? Perhaps they held onto an infinitesimal shred of hope.
“It’s Friday…but Sunday’s comin’!” has been the refrain of Christians who know the rest of this story. The suspense of Friday night and Saturday collapses when the women arrive at the empty tomb on Sunday morning. Jesus, our suffering hero, is not dead. He is alive! Death itself is defeated!
Reflection: Have you ever had a hope that died completely? A longing that seemed to have no chance of fulfillment? And, were you ever shocked by its resurrection? If there is a circumstance, event, or situation that seems “dead” or hopeless, pray for God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done in it.