Mark 15:42-47

Be Still: As I enter prayer now, I pause to be still; to breathe slowly, to re-centre my scattered senses upon the presence of God. 

Read: Mark 15:42-47

Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid. (v.47)

Encounter: In a great sermon of the late lamented Tony Campolo: ‘It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!’* Tomorrow will be Holy Saturday (or Low Saturday, or Joyous Saturday, or Black Saturday, or many others) but Mark still has a lot to tell us about this busy Friday afternoon, as he sets the scene for, and barely conceals his excitement about, what is to come.

The pressure is on – the sabbath begins at sunset, and it’s already three in the afternoon. Before the start of sabbath, executed corpses would be taken down and thrown into a common grave; Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy follower of Jesus, determines to do better by Jesus. As a member of the Sanhedrin, he would have been up all night at the kangaroo court which ended with Jesus being taken to Pilate: now he summons up all his courage to go back to Pilate and ask for the body of Jesus. Pilate needs convincing that Jesus is really dead, so he sends for the centurion to confirm it. (Mark is here assuring anyone tempted to doubt…) 

Once assured, Pilate releases the body. Time must be getting short by now: Joseph acquires a winding sheet, transports the body to the tomb, and lays Jesus there. And all the while the two Marys are looking on. They were there at the crucifixion, they witnessed the death of Jesus, and now they know exactly where his body has been lain. That will matter at dawn on Sunday.

Apply: Joseph saw the right thing to do, and (exhausted as he must have been) he just did it! It took courage, planning, and no doubt some money too – all part of his offering to Jesus the Saviour. Is there a ‘right thing to do’ in front of me today?

Devote: Lord, please help me to do the right thing today. If I’m not sure what that is, please show me now…

*Find on YouTube