The Descent from the Cross

Saint John - Chapter 19

The Descent from the Cross. J-J Tissot

[38] Post haec autem rogavit Pilatum Joseph ab Arimathaea ( eo quod esset discipulus Jesu, occultus autem propter metum Judaeorum), ut tolleret corpus Jesu. Et permisit Pilatus. Venit ergo, et tulit corpus Jesu.
And after these things, Joseph of Arimathea (because he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews) besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

[39] Venit autem et Nicodemus, qui venerat ad Jesum nocte primum, ferens mixturam myrrhae et aloes, quasi libras centum.
And Nicodemus also came, (he who at the first came to Jesus by night,) bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.

[40] Acceperunt ergo corpus Jesu, et ligaverunt illud linteis cum aromatibus, sicut mos est Judaeis sepelire.
They took therefore the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths, with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

From The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by J-J Tissot (1897)

Calvary is hushed in silence now, and instead of the tumult of a short time ago nothing is heard but stifled sobs.  The necessary orders for removing the beloved Body from the Cross as rapidly as possible are whispered from one to the other.  Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathæa noiselessly make all the necessary arrangements for the delicate operation.  This is how it was probably managed.  To begin with a long band of some material was placed across the chest and under the arms of Jesus, which band, passing over the cross beam on either side of the title, and kept in place from behind by those who stood on the ladders, served to uphold the body for a moment or two when the cords were removed.

The nails were then taken out of the hands; the arms were gently drawn down against the livid body, still bearing on it the marks of the blows, the injuries sustained in the various falls, the scourgings and the bonds.  Then, the body being still kept in place against the Cross by the band, the nail was removed from the feet, and the centurion reverently received in swathing cloths the legs of the Savior.  By gradually loosening the band of staff upholding and wrapping round the sacred Form it is now possible to let that Form slowly glide into the arms of Mary, Saint John and the Magdalene, who stand waiting to receive it.  Their hands are swathed in linen brought from the town; it is only with the deepest reference that they venture to touch the sacred remains; there sobs have ceased and a solemn silence reigns on Golgotha.  Now that the face of Jesus is brought close to them they can gaze on it unchecked and see how the blood, which is now turned black, fills all the cavities, contrasting vividly and terribly with the pallor of the skin. The nostrils, the mouth, the eyes are all alike filled with blood, the hair beneath the crown of thorns is soaked with it; the ears are quite hidden by the great clots which have collected about the Temples.  The half-closed eyes are suffused with blood, yet through the partial veil they seem to retain their tender expression.  It is Saint John who mentions the fact of the presence of Nicodemus, and his reason for so doing is betrayed by the expression he uses: "And there came also Nicodemus", he says " which of the first came to Jesus by night".  There is something very striking in the contrast thus suggested.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam