7/29/2019 The Grave - Devotional

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The Grave - Devotion

Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the

Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus body. When Pilate gave

permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who hadcome to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from

myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus body with the spices in

long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new

tomb, never used before. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passoverand since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. John 19:38-42

In Jesus teaching, He compared the coming passion of his death, burial, and resurrection to

Jonahs three-day stay in the belly of the great fish. In our culture when we say three days

we tend to multiply twenty-four hours by three, and come up with the idea that Jesus was in thegrave for seventy-two hours. This has led some to scratch their heads and be confused by

trying to fit Jesus dying and being buried on Friday afternoon, and then rising from the dead on

Sunday. Dont miss this: In Jewish culture, they count any portion of a day on which any typeof activity happens, as a single day. So, Jesus was buried on Friday afternoon and arose on

Sunday morning, and He spent around thirty-six hours in the tomb, not seventy-two. He was in

the tomb for portions of Friday and Sunday and all of Saturday. According to the Jewish under-

standing of what is referred to as a day, He was in the tomb for three days.

The time that Christ was in the tomb, buried with our guilt, helps us accept the grave that

awaits usif Christ doesnt come back for us first! It gives us hope in the midst of our pain

when we lose a loved one. Many of us will lose someone to the grave that is so young, in whatseems to rob them of a long life on this earth. Sometimes children, sometimes teen-agers,

sometimes, young adults or even middle aged, in what we would call a life cut short. We some-

what get used to it. We feel the pain of loss, seek comfort from God, miss them, love them, but

soon go about the daily routine of our life again. All of us, unless the second coming of Christhappens first, are headed to the tomb.

The good news for those who know Jesus as Lord and Savior is that as we stand in faith at

His grave, we have peace. He went there, taking care of our sin problem. He took our sin upon

Him, He took our death upon Him, so that we can have life. Therefore, we dont fear death anymore as we know it is the next step to the resurrection and eternity with Christ.

Take some time to meditate on the great salvation that was purchased through the cross, theburial, and the resurrection. Take hold of the confidence and peace given to us through Jesus.

He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the thirdday, just as the Scriptures said.

1 Corinthians 15:4

Praise God for the Resurrection!