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Station 14: The body of Jesus is laid in the grave

Last resting place …?

“Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.” (John 19:39-42)

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wrapped Jesus, who had been freed from the cross, in a cloth and carried him to a nearby burial site. According to other sources, such as the Gospel of Mark, there were also a number of women among them. Nevertheless, it now seems to have been a rather family affair, in contrast to the crowd at the execution.

With the laying down and embalming in the new tomb (a symbol of the purity of Christ) Jesus now escapes the curious glances. Noise and turmoil remain, silence and concentration return. Finally, the heavy stone is rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb. This stone, it seems in the truest sense of the word, is supposed to have been the keystone among the affairs of Jesus of Nazareth. Was the chapter closed with him and all hope buried? Continue Reading