How the Lord Christ was taken down from the cross and laid in a new tomb, and the tomb was kept by the soldiers.
Matth. 27, 57-66.
In the evening there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded that it should be given to him. And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in clean linen. And laid it in his own new sepulchre, which he had hewn out of a rock, and rolled a great stone before the door.
of the tomb and went away. And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, and sat down by the sepulchre. The next day, after the day of preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees all came to Pilate and said: Lord, we thought that this deceiver spoke while he was still alive: I will rise again after three days. Therefore command that the sepulcher be kept until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead; and let the last deception be worse than the first. Pilate said to them: There ye have the keepers; go and keep as ye know. And they went and covered the sepulchre with keepers, and sealed the stone.
This is the end of the history of the passion of our Lord Christ, how he was taken down from the cross, laid in a new tomb, and the tomb was kept by the soldiers. But it rhymes exceedingly well with the conclusion. For there it is seen what the death of our dear Lord Christ has wrought, both in his friends and in his enemies. The enemies become restless and fearful, and visibly fall deeper into sin. But those who love the Lord Christ and faithfully believe in him, even though they are weak and fearful people, become confident and bold through the death of Christ, and now dare to do what they could not have dreamed of before. But as the death of our dear Lord Christ wrought these things at that time, so it is to this day, as we shall hear hereafter.
(2) The trouble was very heavy and great, that the Lord Jesus should die so shamefully on the cross; therefore his enemies blasphemed him to the utmost. His disciples, however, who had stayed with him until then, were not allowed to be seen, because they could not think of anything else than that it was now over with him. His mother, the dear Virgin Mary, stood there like a sorrowful woman, and with her other women. Even though she had firmly adhered to the angel's sermon and the holy people's prophecy about the infant Jesus, her heartache was so great and her sorrow so painful that she would not let herself hear anything special. So that for the sake of the multitude that had stayed with the Lord Christ and had been around him until then, there is complete silence; no one is allowed to stir or be heard. The enemies of Christ keep the field, they are confident and of good cheer, the cry is all theirs alone, otherwise everyone must be silent.
3) But why such weakness and stupidity?
For the sake of the goodness of the devout heart, it has been said above that no one should be presumptuous or have too much confidence in himself. For if these pious hearts are in such a state here that they almost forget all comfort and are drowned in sorrow and lamentation, how much more can such stupidity be found among us when we have to dare and suffer something for the sake of the gospel. Therefore, we must keep in the fear of God and ask the Holy Spirit to cheer our hearts, fill them with comfort, and make us bold enough to dare and suffer for the sake of the glory of God and His Word.
4 When the trouble was at its greatest, and those who had been the finest Christians and had always kept themselves unashamedly around the Lord Christ were cringing and cowering, and did not know what to do or where to stay because of fear, sorrow and displeasure, first Joseph of Arimathea (which is otherwise called Jos. 15, and in the book of Judges, chapter 9, v. 41, Aruma) was found. He dared to go to Pilate and asked that the dead body be granted to him, that he might take it down from the cross and bury it on earth. Nicodemus, who had been so fearful before, although he loved to hear the Lord and loved him, came to him only at night. He brings myrrh and aloes for a hundred pounds, which is our coin for three and a half florins, so that the Lord may not have a bad but an honest burial. For it was the custom of the Jews, as reported by John, because they had the hope of resurrection and eternal life from the Word of God, to bury the deceased bodies honestly in the ground, and to bury them with myrrh and aloes.
They were prepared so that they would not only remain long and slowly decay, but also smell nice and pleasant.
Now Lucas and Marcus report especially of Joseph that he was a disciple of the Lord Christ, that is, that he had diligently listened to his preaching and had put up with it, and that he had waited for the kingdom of God. We must have good regard for this piece of evidence, for it will be found what moved him to do such a thing, that he dared and went before Pilate. For it was not a bad bargain.
The chief priests and the whole council of Jerusalem had complained to the Lord Jesus as a rebel, a deceiver and a blasphemer, and Pilate had passed judgment on such a complaint. That Joseph should now come forward, who had previously spoken out against all actions taken against the Lord Jesus, and had not wanted to be present, and now asks for the body of Christ, so that he may bury it honestly in the ground: such a thing could not have been dared well; for he had thereby burdened the whole council, even Pilate himself, who had condemned the Lord, and had sufficiently given to understand that he believed it to have been a pious, righteous man, who had been wronged in the sight of God and the world.
(7) But what moves him to do such a thing, that he dares to be so arid? Nothing else, but that he waits for the kingdom of God. That is, he still has the hope, although Christ hangs miserably on the cross and dies, that God's kingdom will not remain outside, but will come, and that God will accomplish through this dead Christ everything that is promised in the prophets about the Messiah and his kingdom. For if the centurion, who stood at the judgment and saw the Lord pass away, learns so much from these and other things that he freely confesses, "Truly, this man was the Son of God," Marc. 15:39, then this same Joseph and the pious Nicodemus will undoubtedly have grasped such thoughts as well, and not only from the sermons of the prophets, but from the words of the Lord Christ, which they have heard several times and have now first of all brought to their hearts through the remembrance of the Holy Spirit, they will actually have learned the
The Lord had hope that it would not be over with him, but that God would establish his kingdom now, when everyone thinks of it the least. As the Lord preached a good sermon to Nicodemus about such hope, John 3, when he held up to him the likeness of the serpent in the wilderness and said that he too would have to be lifted up on the wood.
At that time, the Holy Spirit kindled such thoughts in the weak and stupid hearts and heated them to such an extent that Joseph went before Pilate and asked for the body of the Lord Christ, whom he had condemned as a rebel and blasphemer. Nicodemus, however, brings myrrh and aloes, so that the Lord may have a delicious, honest burial, and so that they may testify to all the world that their hope is not all over, that God's kingdom will still be found, that the world will defy it as it wills, and that Christ will present himself as weak and miserable as he wills.
9. Now this is the fruit of the death of our Lord Christ, that the weakest, most stupid hearts come forward without all shyness and fear, confess Christ, bury his body, which hangs there in all dishonor, in the most honest way; as a testimony that against the Jews, the high priests, Pilate and all the enemies of Christ, they consider him to be the Son of God and praise him, hope in his kingdom, and take comfort in him even now that he is dead, and everyone believes that he is completely gone. For this is what Marcus and Lucas say, that Joseph waited for the kingdom of God, that is, he hoped that God would establish a new kingdom on earth through this man, forgive sin, give the Holy Spirit and make him eternally blessed. For this is actually called God's kingdom, which is promised in the prophets that the Christian or Messiah will establish it.
(10) Just as Isaiah prophesied of Christ, "He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoldering wick," so Joseph and Nicodemo are seen here. Until now, they have been weak, stupid Christians; fear has hurt them so much that they were not allowed to make themselves known publicly. Nicodemus only came to Jesus at night, which is why John calls him a secret disciple. But Christ
The Holy Spirit is too good for them and does not want to push them away from such fear. But now that the danger is greatest, and those who were otherwise strong and courageous Christians were not allowed to let themselves be seen anywhere, the Holy Spirit works through the death of Christ, so that the smoldering and almost extinguished little light flares up and shines like the beautiful sun. For what Joseph has secretly believed and held about Christ, he now lets everyone see, and does not shy away from the Jews or the Pilates. He cares more about Christ, who died in all dishonor, than about the whole world. Let this not be a small work nor bad fruit of the suffering of Christ.
11. But this is an example for all of us, that we should follow this Joseph and Nicodemo, and when Christ hangs on the cross, that is, when the gospel is persecuted and the poor Christians are martyred over it, we should come forward and, regardless of the tyrants, praise the Son of God and his word, and honor it with public confession; until the dead Christ is seen with his glorious resurrection, and then the fainthearted, stupid, fearful Christians will also be comforted, and come to confession again.
For this change will always remain in the church. Some and the strongest will be weak and will not be able to hold on to their anger. Again, the weakest will stand out and make themselves heard with joyful confession, so that there will never be a lack of people who recognize and confess Christ. The strong will not or cannot do it because of the astonishment; they must learn and experience how nothing a man is, whom God sets apart from us with His Spirit: so the very weakest, who do not have the reputation, must do it. For God, as a rich householder, wants to have all kinds of servants in his house, not only the strong and the strong, but also the small and the weak. So that the strong may not despise anyone, they must learn their weakness from themselves; and that no one may judge another, the Spirit of God comes upon the weak, comforting, consoling and strengthening them in such a manner that
Everyone must see and praise the divine power in them. This is what our dear Lord Christ's suffering does for and in his church, so that his Christianity may not perish, but remain, grow, and expand.
(13) But how is it on the other side, when one is hostile to the Lord Christ, and cannot rest until they bring him to the cross? There the contradiction is found. For just as the sun has its effect on matter (it softens and melts wax, but makes dung hard and dry), so it is here also. Through the suffering of our Lord Christ, the pious hearts become confident and bold, and now dare what they could not dare before Christ lived. But the godless Jews, who therefore hastened with the Lord Christ to death, hoping that when he was down there would be no more need, when they have accomplished their will, and Christ is now dead on the cross, and laid in a new sepulchre, they are at first troubled, and all run before Pilate, saying, "Lord, we have heard that this deceiver spake while he yet lived: Therefore command that the sepulcher be kept until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him away, and say to the people that he is risen from the dead, and that the last deception be worse than the first.
(14) Mark these words diligently, and thou shalt see what manner of heart they have. They have well noted and rightly understood the preaching of the Lord Christ, but what fruit does it bear them? Joseph and Nicodemus, who undoubtedly kept the same sermon and comforted themselves with it, are cheerful and happy about it and hope for all the best. But these peelers become restless and begin to fear the dead man, since it is natural when someone knows his enemy is dead that he no longer worries about him. This cannot and will not be the case with the godless Jews, as you see, they are afraid of the dead Christ now that he lies in the grave.
15) In Pilato's case they pretend that his disciples want to steal him, saying,
But in their hearts the word of the Lord Christ is a sharp and piercing thorn, so that they fear, "Dear, how if it were true? How if he were the Messiah, and rose again from the dead? How would it be for us? They become restless and restless because of this. But they do not amend such thoughts, they do not think: Oh, what have we done! Let us still crawl to the cross, and not despise such an excellent warning and miraculous work, which have now been seen with his death. No, such thoughts will not enter into them; but as they have sat with hatred and enmity toward the Lord Christ, so they remain, and become visibly angrier and angrier, seeking ways and means as they can, that they may dampen the Lord and hinder his glory.
1,6 This is also an example and warning to us here: when we see such things in the enemies of the word, that we are not frightened by them. For so it shall be: Whoever knowingly goes against the word, the longer, the deeper he will fall into sin, and the more he seeks rest, the more restless and anxious he will become. As we have heard above about the blood of our Lord Christ. It was easy for the Jews to bring Christ to the cross and let him be strangled; with well-considered, light, little courage they said: "His blood be upon us and our children. But afterwards it was found how small a thing it had been that Jerusalem and the whole land had to be turned back because of it. So it is here also. All their thoughts were: If only this Jesus were dead, there would be no more need. God hanged them and let Christ die on the cross. But at that time, the trade increased, and they had less peace than before. The word of the Lord Christ, which they did not believe, was in their hearts like a burning fire and a gnawing worm. They could not believe it, yet they could not despise it. So it shall be with the enemies of the word. The more they seek rest through their tyranny, the deeper they will fall not only into trouble but also into sin. After that, there will be more trouble.
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they shall only make their cause worse, and promote the holy gospel against their will; as happened to the Jews here. They desired the Pilate Guardi, or soldiers, to the tomb for three days, and sealed the tomb to prevent the disciples of the Lord Christ from committing a mischievous act and stealing his body. Very wisely it was thought of, but how did it work out? Just as they were concerned, so it happened to them. When Christ rose from the dead early on Easter day, and the angel came from heaven to the tomb, and there was an earthquake, and the stone was rolled away from the door by the angel, the guardians were frightened and lay there as if they were dead. But as soon as they came to themselves, they got up and ran out, one from there, the other from there, and came to Jerusalem, bringing the message to the chief priests about what had happened to them.
What do you think they will have thought? How will their hearts have trembled and shaken? They could not think it was a joke, because their own witnesses, the Pilate Guardi, appointed by themselves to the grave, were standing there; from them they not only heard what had happened, but they could also see it; for such a great fright cannot be recovered so soon, one hears it in the speech, one stands it in the face, the whole body is full of it, and it staggers away. Therefore it is easy to assume that such a message would have made the chief priests and elders afraid.
019 But there is no recovery yet; they go deeper into sin and evil conscience. For as soon as they hold council on the Sabbath, they give enough money to the soldiers to help them lie, saying, "You have fallen asleep, but his disciples have come and stolen the body. Behold, this is the consolation which poor men make for themselves, and thus make do. They know in their hearts that Christ, whom they innocently gave up to death, has risen from the dead. What care they have had for him, everyone may consider for himself; for the heart must have been troubled by this.
will be. And yet they spend a lot of money to help them lie and to persuade people otherwise. These can be wicked hearts, possessed more than with a devil, which so wantonly oppose the truth, and adorn and comfort themselves with knowing lies. Learn this, that you may be accustomed to it among the enemies of the word; for as I have said above, he who opposes the truth cannot help himself but with lies.
20 Meanwhile our dear Lord Christ comforts his Christianity, and lets himself be seen that he is no longer dead, but alive; and the lies of the enemies of the word must help that the word may advance and have the more reputation. For if the Jews themselves had not preserved the tomb, such a lie would have had a subtle appearance, the body of the Lord Christ would have been stolen. But since the guards are around the tomb and the tomb is sealed with all diligence, the lie that the body of the Lord Christ was stolen can no longer take place. The transaction itself is sufficient proof that there was a higher and greater force than Pilate and his soldiers; otherwise they would not have fled.
21 Thus it shall be for and for, with lies the enemies of the gospel must help themselves; but such lies shall not only do no harm to the word, but shall even promote it, so that everyone may learn to know and flee the lies, and hold to the word of God and the right truth. As, praise God, has happened in our time, and the papists have only promoted the gospel with their lies, cries and writings. For they reveal their lies too coarsely, and drive people to the truth with them. This is also the fruit of the suffering of our Lord Christ, that the longer the enemies of the word go on, the more they have to promote the truth against their will.
22) But that the evangelists particularly report how the tomb where the Lord was laid was in a garden, and a new tomb, where no one had laid it before, and Joseph had himself made it.
This was done not only so that the testimony of Christ's resurrection would be all the more certain, but also because there was a special body here, the like of which had never been seen on earth before, so that it had to have a special and new place to be buried.
Our dear Lord Christ had flesh and blood like us, but it was holy flesh and blood, in which the Son of the eternal Father was clothed. Since such flesh and blood should have had its rest, a new grave was due to it. And yet this tomb was not his own, but Joseph's. For as Christ was not made man for himself, but died for our sakes: so also for our sakes he is in the grave, and his grave is our grave; that we, being raised up by him at the last day, should live with him for ever.
24 The example of Joseph, who had his tomb made while he was still alive, should also be noted. From this it can be assumed that he did not forget his last hour, as people commonly do. For everyone sends himself into the temporal life in such a way, as if we should remain here forever. On the other hand, the godly regard their whole life here on earth as a pilgrimage, since they have no lasting things and must always stretch out their heads toward the right and eternal fatherland. He who travels overland, even if he gets a good inn, does not desire to stay there; he knows that he is not at home there. Christians do the same: they consider life here to be an inn for the night; if they are treated kindly, they accept it with thanks; but if it is a cold, evil, unfaithful inn, as commonly happens, they console themselves that it is only for one night, and that things will get better one day. So did the pious Joseph. He was rich and a well-to-do citizen of Jerusalem, but his thoughts were always there: Here you have no lasting, you must also go down. Therefore, in his garden, where he had his greatest desire, he prepared a tomb for himself, where he would await the joyful resurrection through the Lord Christ with all the saints.
(25) Rich people should think of such things and put such monuments in their pleasure houses, which would remind them of the future and take them away from the temporal. But there we learn that everyone shuns such things and thinks only of pleasure and joy.
(26) Thus your love has the history of the passion of our Lord Christ, in which we are to learn first of all how great and terrible a burden sin is, since the Son of God Himself bore it so heavily and had to pay for it with His own death; so that we may keep ourselves in the fear of God and beware of such a burden.
27 Secondly, we should learn to comfort ourselves against sin with the sacrifice of the Lord Christ, so that, even though sin or death may afflict us, we may still have the comfort of knowing that Christ has paid for our sin, and that for his sake God will be pleased with us and remember our sin no more. Sol
These are the two most important lessons that should be held up to us in such history and practiced by us forever.
28) After that, this history can be used for patience and suffering, since the Son of God presents us with His own example here; item, for love toward one's neighbor, as the Lord Himself often admonishes, saying: "As I have loved you, so love one another. But who will or can tell all for what we may well need the suffering of our Lord Christ?
Therefore, we should thank God for such teachings from the bottom of our hearts, and ask Him to kindle them in our hearts through His Holy Spirit, and to make us stronger in faith, love and patience day by day, until we are eternally saved after this miserable life. May our gracious Father in heaven, through his Holy Spirit, grant this to us all for the sake of his dear Son and our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.