A Rich Man’s Grave
Today’s Text: Scripture Excerpts
HOLY WEEK

The disciples were so moved by the injustice of Christ’s death, they failed to see His willingness to go to the cross as a powerful demonstration of God’s love for us. Just as the prophet Isaiah predicted, Jesus was taken down from the cross and placed in a rich man’s grave close to the crucifixion site near Golgotha.

Jesus also told the disciples that He would be crucified and placed in a grave, but only for three days.

Isaiah 53:9

And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

MATTHEW 12:40

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

JOHN 19:38-42

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.

ROMANS 5:6-8

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus’ death as a substitutionary sacrifice for sin was the ultimate demonstration of God’s love for humanity. The apostle John explains, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life“ (Jn. 3:16).

For more thoughtful reading, click on Holy Week.

Charles E. McCracken is an international Bible teacher, long-time friend of Israel and advocate for the Jewish people. Rev. McCracken authentically communicates biblical truth making his presentations relevant for those seeking to understand the significance of Israel and the church in Bible prophecy. He staunchly supports the nation of Israel and the Jewish people’s right to exist and live in peace.

© Charles E. McCracken 2016, devotional comments only. Repost/Reprint with permission from the author via Contact Form under ABOUT. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (Emphasis added.)

IMAGES:
1) Garden Tomb entry signage. © Charles E. McCracken Archives.
2) Golgotha from the Garden Tomb portico with bus terminal in the foreground. © Charles E. McCracken Archives.
3) Garden Tomb interior stone body bench. © Charles E. McCracken Archives.
4) Garden Tomb stone monument John 19:40-42. © Charles E. McCracken Archives.
5) Rolling stone tomb, Israel. © Charles E. McCracken Archives.

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