The Burial of Jesus^(A)

⁵⁷ When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea arrived; his name was Joseph, and he also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went into the presence of Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate gave orders for the body to be given to Joseph. ⁵⁹ So Joseph took it, wrapped it in a new linen sheet, ⁶⁰ and placed it in his own tomb, which he had just recently dug out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there, facing the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶² The next day, which was a Sabbath, the chief priests and the Pharisees met with Pilate ^63 (B)and said, “Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, ‘I will be raised to life three days later.’ ⁶⁴ Give orders, then, for his tomb to be carefully guarded until the third day, so that his disciples will not be able to go and steal the body, and then tell the people that he was raised from death. This last lie would be even worse than the first one.”

⁶⁵ “Take a guard,” Pilate told them; “go and make the tomb as secure as you can.”

⁶⁶ So they left and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and leaving the guard on watch.