Burial of Jesus
- LIST OF SCHOLARLY AND FICTIONAL WORKS: see Category:Burial of Jesus (subject)
The Burial of Jesus refers to a series of events in the Passion of Jesus, following his Crucifixion. Such events are narrated in the Gospels of Mark (15:42-47), Matthew (27:57-66), Luke (23:50-56), and John (19:38-42); see also the Gospel of Peter (21-34).
Crucifixion of Jesus -> Burial of Jesus -> Resurrection of Jesus
Overview
All gospels agree that it was Joseph of Arimathea who took the initiative of giving Jesus a proper burial, asking permission to Pilate. The body of Jesus was wrapped in linen clothes and put in a new tomb in a nearby garden.
According to the Synoptics the women from Galilee (Luke), specifically Mary Magdalene and Mary of Joses (Mark and Matthew), were present. The Gospel of John does not mention the presence of women; it says that Joseph of Arimathea was assisted by Nicodemus. Contrary to what Christian tradition and iconography would later affirm, no ancient source records the presence of Mary of Nazareth and John.
The tomb provided by Joseph was a family tomb, a common typology in Second Temple Judaism. In family tombs corpses were laid down to decompose; the remains were than collected in ossuaries and located in the niches of the tomb chamber. The Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John emphasize that Jesus was deposed in "a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid" (Luke).
According to the Gospel of Matthew (and Peter) the tomb of Jesus was guarded by Roman soldiers--a detail that does not have much credibility from the historical point of view.
The Burial of Jesus in ancient sources
The Burial of Jesus in Scholarship
The Burial of Jesus in Fiction
In Christian iconography, the deposition and entombment of Jesus are collective scenes involving several characters--not only Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, Mary Magdalene and occasionally, other women, but also Mary of Nazareth and John.