Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, let it become clear to our faith that You have made the grave a peaceful resting place. Amen.
Text: Matthew 27:57–66
Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb. On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.
Devotion
None of Jesus’ disciples had the courage or strength to bury Him. Who should do it then? Should His body be thrown in the valley of Hinnom to be torn apart by dogs? The very question grieves and saddens us. Rest assured: it is written in the Prophets that He shall be handed over to a rich man in His death, and an ungodly guard shall be set at His grave (Isaiah 53). The Father in heaven had a rich man of the high council dig a stone grave for himself in his garden near Golgotha, and now He puts it into this man’s heart to ask for Jesus’ body and to bury it there. But the high priests will fulfill the prophecy of the guard and thus in more ways than one – against their will – confirm our faith in the Lord’s resurrection. For not only does the setting of the guard confirm the truth of the Scriptures, but the whole event of the watch with the soldiers’ fleeing and lying shows us most clearly that the Lord is risen and the tomb is empty.
“Set the guard and seal the stone! – Earth shall quake and your seal be broken and your stone shall be rolled away. The situation has changed and the power is no longer yours. All you could do was deliver Him to the governor to be crucified. Now, since Jesus’ soul rests in paradise and has conquered death, now, since all the saints in heaven already prepare for Easter joy, now your power is ended, even over Jesus’ body. Just seal it and you shall see Him no more! Just go, and live well if you can! Soon you shall hear more, and the victory chariot of the Crucified shall roll past you. You have rejected the precious Stone, but He has become the chief Cornerstone (Psa 118:22). He will crush you, or you will be offended at Him if you do not soon wake up and repent.
“Gentle Jesus, conquering Hero, Your body lies in the grave from Friday to Sunday! Who knows why You rested so long, why you did not rise up earlier? Who knows what took place in paradise? Blessed mystery, which Your Spirit will explain to us there. It is certain that You did not shy away from the condition in which the blessed dead now are, and which we in a short time shall enter. For You were out of the body, just as other souls are, and Your body rested as an abandoned temple of God, alone and lifeless in the grave! If You became like us, then we too shall become like You, and no fear shall keep us from going the way You went, for You sanctified it and took away from it all danger and terror!” (Löhe)
For the unbelievers death and the grave are frightening. They are forced to tell themselves that the dark, cold hole is the final end of their journey, comfort and reward for their work and struggle, the incredibly sad answer of hopelessness in all the aspiration and seeking of their longing. O they are forced to go further, and to tell themselves that beyond the grave there is something still darker awaiting them, because they serve sin.
But rejoice, believers, your grave is Jesus’ grave, and His is yours! For wasn’t it for our sin He died? Our death He died, our grave He lay in, and what is then our burial other than our body’s rest in Jesus’ grave?
Closing Prayer
God, grant us grace to believe! The grave still seems so dark to me. I am tired and want to rest, but I would rather have another bed. Yet, where could I find a better one than that in which You rested, who are the Resurrection and the Life? Praise to You, Lord Jesus, for Your burial, praise for everything! Amen.
Hymn
Ye believers, O how wondrous
Is our Jesus’ precious death!
O how mighty and how vig’rous
When for us He gave His breath.
Full redemption is the gain
Through our Jesus’ blood and pain!
‘Tis indeed a heav’nly treasure
Which surpasses ev’ry measure.
Now my grave’s a place for sleeping
That I gladly may embrace;
Thus no more shall I be weeping
When they lay Thee in Thy place.
For indeed Thou shalt awake
Since death’s portal Thou didst break
And destroyed the grave’s dark hour
By divine almighty power.
Hansen: Ak, hvorledes? Skal jeg skue? L 338:7-8 tr. DeGarmeaux;
tune: Freu dich sehr (ELH 256); alternate hymn: So rest, my Rest ELH 338