Burial of Jesus
The Entombment redirects here. For other uses, see
The Entombment (disambiguation).
The burial of Jesus refers to the burial of the body
Wall mosaic of entombment of Jesus near Stone of anointing at
Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
that, on the evening of the Crucixion, Joseph of Ari-
mathea asked Pilate for the body, and, after Pilate granted
his request, he wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid it in a
tomb.
There are signicant dierences between the four ac-
counts, recording the evolution of the tradition from the
earliest gospel (that of Mark) to the last (the Gospel of
John).[4] Modern scholarship tends to see the gospel ac-
counts as contradictory, and nds the Mark portrayal
more probable.[5][6]
The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio. 1.1 Gospel of Mark
of Jesus after crucixion, described in the New Testa- In the earliest of the gospels, the Gospel of Mark, writ-
ment. According to the canonical gospel accounts, he was ten around 70CE,[7][8] Joseph of Arimathea is a member
placed in a tomb by a man named Joseph of Arimathea. of the Jewish Council the Sanhedrin which had con-
demned Jesus who wishes to ensure that the corpse is
buried in accordance with Jewish law, according to which
1 Biblical accounts dead bodies could not be left exposed overnight. He puts
the body in a shroud and lays it in a tomb carved into
the rock.[5] The Jewish historian Josephus, writing later
The earliest reference is in a letter of Paul. Writing to in the century, described how the Jews regarded this law
the Corinthians around the year 54 CE,[1] he refers to the as so important that even the bodies of crucied criminals
account he had received of the death and resurrection of would be taken down and buried before sunset.[9] In this
Jesus (and that he was buried, and that he was raised on account, Joseph does only the bare minimum needed for
the third day according to the Scriptures).[2] observance of the law, wrapping the body in a cloth, with
The next generation of writings are the four canonical no mention of washing or anointing it. This may explain
gospels, written between 66 and 95CE, all of which con- why Mark has a story prior to the Crucixion, in which
clude with an extended narrative of Jesus arrest, trial, a woman pours perfume over Jesus (Mark 14:3-9): Jesus
crucixion, burial, and resurrection.[3]:p.91 All four state is thereby prepared for burial even before his death.[10]
1
2 3 THEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE
1.2 Gospel of Matthew that the burial of Jesus in the tomb is one of the earliest
and best-attested facts about Jesus.[19] Rudolf Bultmann
The Gospel of Matthew was written around the year 85 described the basic story as 'a historical account which
or 90, using the Gospel of Mark as a source.[11] In this ac- creates no impression of being a legend'.[20]
count Joseph of Arimathea is not a member of the San- John Dominic Crossan, however, suggests that Jesus
hedrin, but a wealthy disciple of Jesus.[12][13] Many in- body was eaten by dogs as it hung on the cross so that
terpreters have read this as a subtle orientation by the au- there was nothing left to bury.[21] Martin Hengel argued
thor towards wealthy supporters.[13] This version suggests that Jesus was buried in disgrace as an executed crimi-
a more honourable burial: Joseph wraps the body in a nal who died a shameful death, a view widely accepted in
clean shroud and places it in his own tomb, and word used scholarly literature.[20]
is soma (body) rather than ptoma (corpse).[14] The author
adds that the Roman authorities made the tomb secure
by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. This
detail may have been added to answer claims by contem- 3 Theological signicance
porary opponents that the followers of Jesus had stolen
his body.[15] Paul the Apostle includes the burial in his statement of the
gospel in verses 3 and 4 of 1 Corinthians 15: For I deliv-
ered unto you rst of all that which I also received, how
1.3 Gospel of Luke that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third
The Gospel of Mark is also a source for the account given day according to the scriptures (KJV). This appears to
in the Gospel of Luke, written around the year 90.[16] As be an early pre-Pauline credal statement.[22]
in the Mark version, Joseph is a member of the Sanhedrin The burial of Christ is specically mentioned in the
rather than a follower, but here he is described as not hav- Apostles Creed, where it says that Jesus was "crucied,
ing agreed with the verdict on Jesus.[17] dead, and buried. The Heidelberg Catechism asks Why
was he buried?" and gives the answer His burial testied
that He had really died.[23]
1.4 Gospel of John
The last of the gospels, John, diers from Mark on this
point, depicting Joseph as a disciple who gives Jesus an
honourable burial. John says that Joseph was assisted in
the burial process by Nicodemus, who brought a mixture
of myrrh and aloes and included these spices in the burial
cloth according to Jewish customs.
2 Historicity
A 13th century version of the Entombment of Christ in stained-
glass
The Entombment of Christ by Pedro Roldn
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that, It is
N. T. Wright notes that the burial of Christ is part of the the mystery of Holy Saturday, when Christ, lying in the
earliest gospel traditions.[18] John A.T. Robinson states tomb, reveals Gods great sabbath rest after the fulllment
3
of mans salvation, which brings peace to the whole uni- 6 See also
verse and that Christs stay in the tomb constitutes the
real link between his passible state before Easter and his Tomb of Jesus, multiple sites purported to be
glorious and risen state today.[24] Christs burial place
Descent from the Cross
4 Depiction in art Empty tomb
Epitaphios (liturgy)
The Entombment of Christ has been a popular subject in
art, being developed in Western Europe in the 10th cen- Life of Jesus in the New Testament
tury. It appears in cycles of the Life of Christ, where it
follows the Deposition of Christ or the Lamentation of Harrowing of Hell
Christ. Since the Renaissance, it has sometimes been
combined or conated with one of these.[25]
Notable individual works with articles include:
7 References
[1] Watson E. Mills, Acts and Pauline Writings, Mercer Uni-
The Entombment (Michelangelo) versity Press 1997, page 175.
The Deposition (Raphael) [2] 1COR 15:3-4
[3] Powell, Mark A. Introducing the New Testament. Baker
The Entombment (Bouts) Academic, 2009. ISBN 978-0-8010-2868-7
The Entombment (Titian, 1525) [4] Matthew 27:5761, Mark 15:4247, Luke 23:5056,
John 19:3842
The Entombment (Titian, 1559)
[5] Douglas R. A. Hare, Mark (Westminster John Knox Press,
The Entombment of Christ (Caravaggio) 1996) page 220.
[6] Maurice Casey, Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent His-
Lamentation of Christ (Rogier van der Weyden) torians Account of His Life and Teaching (Continuum,
2010) page 449.
[7] Witherington (2001), p. 31: 'from 66 to 70, and probably
5 Use in hymnody closer to the latter'
[8] Hooker (1991), p. 8: 'the Gospel is usually dated between
The African-American spiritual Were you there? has the AD 65 and 75.'
line Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?"[26]
while the Christmas carol We Three Kings includes the [9] James F. McGrath, Burial of Jesus. II. Christianity. B.
verse: Modern Europe and America in The Encyclopedia of the
Bible and Its Reception. Vol.4, ed. by Dale C. Allison Jr.,
Volker Leppin, Choon-Leong Seow, Hermann Spiecker-
Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume mann, Barry Dov Walsh, and Eric Ziolkowski, (Berlin:
Breathes a life of gathering gloom; de Gruyter, 2012), p.923
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone cold tomb. [10] McGrath, 2012, p.937
[11] Harrington (1991), p. 8.
John Wilbur Chapman's hymn One Day interprets the [12] Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Matthew (Liturgical
burial of Christ by saying Buried, He carried my sins far Press, 1991) page 406.
away.[27]
[13] Donald Senior, The Passion of Jesus in the Gospel of
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the following troparion Matthew (Liturgical Press, 1990) page 151.
is sung on Holy Saturday:
[14] Donald Senior, The Passion of Jesus in the Gospel of
Matthew (Liturgical Press, 1990) page 151-2.
The noble Joseph,
when he had taken down Thy most pure body [15] Harrington (1991), p. 407.
from the tree,
[16] Davies (2004), p. xii.
wrapped it in ne linen and anointed it with
spices, [17] N. T. Wright, Luke For Everyone (Westminster John Knox
and placed it in a new tomb. Press) page 286.
4 7 REFERENCES
[18] Wright, N. T. (2009). The Challenge of Easter. p. 22.
[19] Robinson, John A.T. (1973). The human face of God.
Philadelphia: Westminster Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-
664-20970-4.
[20] Magness, Jodi (2011). Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jew-
ish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus. Eerdmans. p. 146.
[21] Crossan, John Dominic (2009). Jesus: A Revolutionary
Biography. p. 143.
[22] Hans Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians, translated James W.
Leitch (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1969), 251.
[23] Heidelberg Catechism, Q & A 41.
[24] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 624-625 Archived De-
cember 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine..
[25] G Schiller, Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. II,1972
(English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London,
p.164 , ISBN 0-85331-324-5
[26] Cyberhymnal: Were You There? Archived October 7,
2011, at the Wayback Machine.
[27] Cyberhymnal: One Day Archived September 24, 2011, at
the Wayback Machine.
5
8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
8.1 Text
Burial of Jesus Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial_of_Jesus?oldid=750342575 Contributors: SimonP, JASpencer, Tom harri-
son, Hutcheson, Bender235, Anthony Appleyard, Bgwhite, Fifat, PiCo, Rbreen, Ceoil, Sailko, Makyen, Cydebot, Thomprod, Afaprof01,
Amadalvarez, Anne97432, Keith D, Johnbod, MishaPan, John Carter, VanishedUserABC, StAnselm, Pengyanan, Randy Kryn, Parkwells,
Editor2020, Boleyn, Rreagan007, Addbot, Jarble, Ret.Prof, Yobot, AnomieBOT, ArthurBot, Xqbot, Jayarathina, RibotBOT, Mattis, Md
iet, Nederlandse Leeuw, In ictu oculi, EmausBot, WikitanvirBot, Prairiegirl KJD, Outriggr, Jbribeiro1, ClueBot NG, Saml214, JohnThorne,
JZCL, AntanO, 420smokeaweed, Dexbot, Mogism, BigCat82, Magyar.misztikus, InternetArchiveBot, GreenC bot and Anonymous: 10
8.2 Images
File:Altar_mayor_002.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Altar_mayor_002.jpg License: CC BY 3.0
Contributors: Own work Original artist: Anual
File:Bible.malmesbury.arp.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Bible.malmesbury.arp.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Anonymous (photo by Adrian Pingstone)
File:Caravaggio_-_La_Deposizione_di_Cristo.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Caravaggio_-_La_
Deposizione_di_Cristo.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work, Lat86 Original artist: Caravaggio
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: PD Contributors: ? Origi-
nal artist: ?
File:GaudenzioFerrari_StorieCristo_Varallo2.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/
GaudenzioFerrari_StorieCristo_Varallo2.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: This le has been extracted from another le:
GaudenzioFerrari StorieCristo Varallo.jpg
Original artist: Gaudenzio Ferrari
File:Gotland-Dalhem_Kyrka_Glasmalerei_12.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Gotland-Dalhem_
Kyrka_Glasmalerei_12.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Wolfgang Sauber Original artist: C. Vilhelm Peterson
File:Inri.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Inri.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: painting from
Matthias Grunewald Original artist: Advance at nl.wikipedia
File:Mosaic_-_Entombment_of_Jesus.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Mosaic_-_Entombment_
of_Jesus.JPG License: CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: AntanO
File:P_christianity.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/P_christianity.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Con-
tributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Symbol_book_class2.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Symbol_book_class2.svg License: CC
BY-SA 2.5 Contributors: Mad by Lokal_Prol by combining: Original artist: Lokal_Prol
8.3 Content license
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
