50-51 Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. 52-53This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and  laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning (dawning).

55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested  according to the commandment. Chapter 24 vs 1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. Luke 23:50 – 24:3 English Standard Version

What a lovely description Luke gives us of Joseph of Arimathea! A ‘good and righteous man who was looking for the kingdom of God’. Remember, Joseph only had the Old Testament, yet it was enough to teach him that God is holy, and He was going to send someone into the world who would be a King with a never ending kingdom. God had promised this to King David. Christians are called to be good and righteous people too. And while our righteousness does not earn our salvation, it does set us apart from the wicked plans people make. It kept Joseph from being part of the plot to kill Jesus.

Luke writes that Joseph obtained permission from Pilate to give Jesus a decent burial. Mark's gospel tells us that Joseph 'took courage, and went to Pilate'. He took the risk of identifying himself as a disciple of Jesus, which Matthew confirms in his account of the crucifixion. Mark's gospel also tells us that “Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus should have already died and, summoning the centurion, asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph.” (Mark 15:44-45) That adds meaning to Luke's words in vs 46 of this chapter where he said: “Jesus called out with a loud voice and said 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!' And having said this he breathed his last.” It appears that Jesus gave His life for sinners rather than it being taken from Him.

There's a small but touching detail which Matthew brings out. He says Joseph “took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.” (Matthew 27:59-60) Joseph gave his grave for the body of the one who will one raise up his body from the grave.

Now a question. What would you say is the importance of all that Luke told us in today's reading, and of what he goes on to say in vs 55?

I would suggest it's the fact that Jesus really died. He experienced physical death. He didn't just go into a coma. The crowd that had watched may well have left the scene before Joseph took the body down, but both Joseph and the Centurion knew he was dead. The women too were there to the bitter end and saw the corpse and where it was laid. The apostle Paul later wrote of this and said to the Christians at Corinth “I remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved . . . I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-3) It was a real death – and it is the only reason why our sins can be passed over.