The Courage of the King's Friends Text: Luke 23:50-56
Introduction: When Darkness Reigns
We come now to the bleakest moment in the history of the world. The Light of the World has been extinguished. The Lord of Life has been executed by the very men He came to save. The disciples, the ones who boasted they would die with Him, have scattered like frightened sheep. The religious authorities are gloating, the Romans are washing their hands, and the devil is likely throwing a party, thinking he has finally won. By all human reckoning, the entire enterprise is over. The hope of Israel lies bleeding and dead on a Roman cross.
It is in this precise moment, when the darkness seems absolute and triumphant, that God delights to move His unexpected chess pieces into place. When all the loud and public declarations of loyalty have fallen silent, God raises up quiet, hidden servants to perform acts of astonishing courage. The burial of Jesus is not a mere postscript to the crucifixion. It is a vital and necessary link in the chain of redemption. It is the hinge between the accomplished fact of His death and the glorious reality of His resurrection. Without a real burial, there can be no credible empty tomb.
This passage is about more than just the logistics of a funeral. It is a profound statement about the nature of true discipleship, the sovereignty of God over human councils, and the deep, abiding rest that is found only after the work is finished. It is a story of how God uses the weak, the fearful, and the secret to accomplish His glorious purposes. In the midst of the greatest injustice the world has ever known, we see displayed the tender care, the profound righteousness, and the defiant loyalty of the King's true friends.
The Text
And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a Council member, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their counsel and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God; this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. It was Preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. Now the women, who had come with Him from Galilee, followed and beheld the tomb and how His body was laid. Then after they returned, they prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
(Luke 23:50-56 LSB)
The Secret Disciple's Public Stand (v. 50-52)
We are first introduced to an unlikely hero:
"And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a Council member, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their counsel and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God; this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus." (Luke 23:50-52)
Notice the word "behold." Luke wants us to stop and pay attention. This is unexpected. Joseph is a member of the Sanhedrin, the very council that condemned Jesus to death. He is a man of wealth, status, and power. John's gospel tells us he was a disciple of Jesus, "but secretly, for fear of the Jews" (John 19:38). Up to this point, his faith has been a quiet, private affair. He was in the ultimate hostile work environment. He sat on a council with men like Caiaphas. And Luke makes it plain: he had not consented to their counsel and action. He was a dissenter, a righteous man in a den of wolves.
But something has changed. The cross has a way of clarifying things. The moment of Christ's greatest humiliation becomes the moment of Joseph's greatest courage. While the publicly professed disciples are in hiding, this secret disciple goes public in the most audacious way imaginable. He goes to Pilate. This was not a simple request. To associate with an executed criminal, especially one executed for treason against Rome, was to invite suspicion, scorn, and potentially the same fate. He was risking his reputation, his position on the Council, his wealth, and his life. He was publicly identifying with the shame of the cross.
This is a profound lesson for us. There are times for quiet faithfulness, but there are also times when silence is complicity. There comes a point where secret discipleship is no longer a viable option. The cross forces a decision. Joseph, who was "waiting for the kingdom of God," realized that the kingdom had come in the person of this crucified King, and that waiting was over. It was time to act. He leverages his position and influence not for personal gain, but for the honor of his dead Lord. He uses his worldly capital to serve the eternal kingdom.
A Borrowed Tomb for the King of Kings (v. 53)
Joseph's request is granted, and he immediately sets to work.
"And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain." (Luke 23:53 LSB)
This is an act of tender, personal devotion. Imagine the scene. This wealthy councilman, likely with the help of Nicodemus (another secret-disciple-gone-public), is performing the gruesome task of removing a mangled, bloody corpse from a cross. This is not a detached, ceremonial act. It is hands-on, costly, and defiling according to Jewish law. But love does not count the cost.
He wraps the body in a clean linen cloth, a sign of respect and honor. And then he provides his own tomb. Matthew tells us it was Joseph's "own new tomb" (Matt. 27:60). This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:9, that the Suffering Servant would make "his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death." God had this tomb prepared from the foundation of the world for this very purpose. The Lord of all creation, who had no home of His own in life, is given a borrowed tomb in His death.
The detail that "no one had ever lain" in it is crucial. This is not a trivial point. It eliminates any possibility of confusion. When this tomb is found empty on Sunday morning, no one could claim that the women went to the wrong tomb, or that some other body had been moved, or that Jesus had been resurrected by touching the bones of some old prophet. God, in His meticulous providence, is setting the stage for the resurrection. He is removing all excuses for unbelief. The tomb was new, it was sealed, it was guarded, and it was certifiably empty. The integrity of the burial is essential for the integrity of the resurrection.
Sabbath Rest and Holy Preparation (v. 54-56)
The timing of these events is divinely orchestrated.
"It was Preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. Now the women, who had come with Him from Galilee, followed and beheld the tomb and how His body was laid. Then after they returned, they prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment." (Luke 23:54-56 LSB)
Everything is done in haste because the Sabbath is approaching. The "Preparation day" was Friday, the day for getting everything ready before the sun went down and the Sabbath began. Jesus, our great High Priest, finished His work of atonement on that cross. He said, "It is finished." And just as God the Father finished His work of creation in six days and then rested on the seventh, so God the Son, having finished the work of new creation, entered His Sabbath rest in the tomb.
While Joseph and Nicodemus are at work, the women are watching. These are the faithful women from Galilee, the last at the cross and the first at the tomb. Their loyalty is fierce and unwavering. They are not just spectators; they are witnesses. They mark the exact location. They see "how His body was laid." Their eyewitness testimony will be crucial. They go home to prepare spices and perfumes, intending to return after the Sabbath to properly anoint the body. Their love is practical. They want to give Jesus a proper burial, an act of final devotion.
And then comes the final, profound statement: "And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment." Think about this. Their Lord is dead. Their hearts are shattered. Their world has ended. Every human instinct would be to grieve, to panic, to work, to do something. But they don't. They rest. Why? Because it was the Sabbath, and the law of God commanded it. This is an extraordinary act of faith. In the midst of the greatest emotional turmoil imaginable, their obedience to God's Word remains their anchor. They believed that honoring God's command to rest was more important than their own frantic need to act.
Their rest was a prophetic act. They were resting because the work was truly finished. They did not know it yet, but their Lord was in His Sabbath rest, and on the first day of the new week, He would begin His new work, the work of resurrection life. This is the pattern for us. In the New Covenant, our life does not begin with our work for God, but with our rest in the finished work of Christ. We work from our rest, not for our rest. The Lord's Day, the first day of the week, is our foundation. We begin the week by celebrating the resurrection, entering into His rest, and from that place of gospel rest, we go out to labor for His kingdom.
The Grave Is Not the End
This entire scene is saturated with the sovereign providence of God. He is in complete control, even when it appears that evil has won the day. He prepared a secret disciple, a rich man, to provide an honorable burial. He prepared a new tomb to serve as the stage for the resurrection. He orchestrated the timing so that Christ's body would rest in the earth over the Sabbath, perfectly fulfilling the type of the original creation week.
The burial of Jesus is the ultimate proof of His death. Liberals and skeptics have tried to argue that Jesus just swooned on the cross and was revived by the cool air of the tomb. This passage, along with the others, demolishes such nonsense. He was dead. A Roman spear made sure of it. A member of the Sanhedrin certified it by taking custody of the body. Devoted followers wrapped it. It was a real death and a real burial.
And because it was a real burial, it provides the unshakeable foundation for a real resurrection. The same women who saw where He was laid would be the first to see that He was no longer there. The same tomb that was sealed in sorrow would be broken open in triumph. This passage teaches us that even in the darkest moments, God is at work, preparing for the dawn. It teaches us that true courage often emerges when all false supports have been kicked away. And it teaches us that our ultimate hope is not in our frantic work, but in His finished work. He entered the grave for us, He took the curse for us, and He rested for us, so that we might be raised with Him into a newness of life that has no end.