Jesus is laid in a sepulchre

St Luke Chapter XXIII : Verses 50-56

Contents

• Luke xxiii. Verses 50-56.  Douay-Rheims (Challoner) text & Latin text (Vulgate)
• Douay-Rheims 1582 text
• Annotations based on the Catena Aurea of St Thomas

Luke xxiii. Verses 50-56.

Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus.
J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

50 And behold there was a man named Joseph, who was a counsellor, a good and just man,

Et ecce vir nomine Joseph, qui erat decurio, vir bonus et justus :

51 (The same had not consented to their counsel and doings;) of Arimathea, a city of Judea; who also himself looked for the kingdom of God.

hic non consenserat consilio, et actibus eorum, ab Arimathæa civitate Judææ, qui exspectabat et ipse regnum Dei :

52 This man went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.

hic accessit ad Pilatum et petiit corpus Jesu :

53 And taking him down, he wrapped him in fine linen, and laid him in a sepulchre that was hewed in stone, wherein never yet any man had been laid.

et depositum involvit sindone, et posuit eum in monumento exciso, in quo nondum quisquam positus fuerat.

54 And it was the day of the Parasceve, and the sabbath drew on.

Et dies erat parasceves, et sabbatum illucescebat.

55 And the women that were come with him from Galilee, following after, saw the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.

Subsecutæ autem mulieres, quae cum eo venerant de Galilæa, viderunt monumentum, et quemadmodum positum erat corpus ejus.

56 And returning, they prepared spices and ointments; and on the sabbath day they rested, according to the commandment.

Et revertentes paraverunt aromata, et unguenta : et sabbato quidem siluerunt secundum mandatum.

Douay-Rheims : 1582 text

50. And behold a man named Ioſeph, which was a Senatour, a good man and a iuſt.

51. He had not conſented to their counſel and doings, of Arimathæa a citie of Iewrie, who also himſelf expected the Kingdom of God.

52. This man came to Pilate, and aſked the body of IESVS.

53. And taking it downe, wrapped it in ſindon, and laid him in a monument hewed of ſtone, wherein neuer yet any man had been laid.

54. And it was the day of Paraſceue, and the Sabboth drew neere.

55. And the women that were come with him from Galilee, following after ſaw the monument, and how his body was laid.

56. And returning they prepared ſpices and ointments: and on the Sabboth they reſted according to the commandement.

 

Annotations

    50. And behold there was a man named Joseph, who was a counsellor, a good and just man. GREEK EXPOSITOR. (Photius.) Joseph had been at one time a secret disciple of Christ, but at length bursting through the bonds of fear, and become very zealous, he took down the body of our Lord, basely hanging on the cross; thus gaining a precious jewel by the meekness of His words.

    BEDE. A counsellor, or decurio, is so called because he is of the order of the curia or council, and administers the office of the curia. He is also wont to be called curialis, from his management of civil duties. Joseph then is said to have been of high rank in the world, but of still higher estimation before God; 

    51. (The same had not consented to their counsel and doings;) of Arimathea, a city of Judea; who also himself looked for the kingdom of God.  A good man, and a just, of Arimathæa. Arimathæa is the same as Ramatha, the city of Helcanah and Samuel.

    52. This man went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. AUGUSTINE. (de Con. Ev. lib. iii. c. 22.) Now John says, that Joseph was a disciple of Jesus. But it naturally causes surprise how he who for fear was a secret disciple should have dared to beg our Lord’s body, which none of those who openly followed Him dared to do; for it is said, This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. We must understand then, that he did this from confidence in his rank, by which he might be privileged to enter familiarly into Pilate’s presence. But in performing that last funeral rite, he seems to have feared less for the Jews, although it was his custom in hearing our Lord to avoid their hostility.

    53. And taking him down, he wrapped him in fine linen, and laid him in a sepulchre that was hewed in stone, wherein never yet any man had been laid. BEDE. So then being fitted by the righteousness of his works for the burial of our Lord’s body, he was worthy by the dignity of his secular power to obtain it. By the simple burial of our Lord, the pride of the rich is condemned, who not even in their graves can be without their wealth.

    ATHANASIUS. (in Vit. Ant. 90.) They also act absurdly who embalm the bodies of their dead, and do not bury them, even supposing them to be holy. For what can be more holy or greater than our Lord’s body? And yet this was placed in a tomb until it rose again the third day.

    hewed in stone, wherein never yet any man had been laid. BEDE. That is, hewn out of a rock, lest if it had been built of many stones, and the foundations of the tomb being dug up after the resurrection, the body should be said to have been stolen away. It is laid also in a new tomb, wherein never man before was laid, lest when the rest of the bodies remained after the resurrection, it might be suspected that some other had risen again. 

    54. And it was the day of the Parasceve, and the sabbath drew on. Because man was created on the sixth day, rightly being crucified on the sixth day our Lord fulfilled the secret of man’s restitution. It follows, And it was the day of the παρασκευὴ, which means the preparation, the name by which they called the sixth day, because on that day they prepared the things which were necessary for the Sabbath. But because on the seventh day the Creator rested from His work, the Lord on the Sabbath rested in the grave. Hence it follows, and the sabbath drew on. 

    55. And the women that were come with him from Galilee, following after, saw the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.

Now we said above, that all His acquaintance stood afar off, and the women which followed Him. These then of His acquaintance, after His body was taken down, returned to their homes, but the women who more tenderly loved Him, following His funeral, desired to see the place where He was laid. For it follows, And the women followed after and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid, that in truth they might make the offerings of their devotion at the proper time.

    56. And returning, they prepared spices and ointments; and on the sabbath day they rested, according to the commandment. THEOPHYLACT. For they had not yet sufficient faith, but prepared as if for a mere man spices and ointments, after the manner of the Jews, who performed such duties to their dead. Hence it follows, And they returned, and prepared spices. For our Lord being buried, they were occupied as long as it was lawful to work, (that is, until sun-set,) in preparing ointments. But it was commanded to keep silence on the Sabbath, that is, rest from evening to evening. 

    AMBROSE. Now mystically, the just man buries the body of Christ. For the burial of Christ is such as to have no guile or wickedness in it. But rightly did Matthew call the man rich, for by carrying Him that was rich he knew not the poverty of faith. The just man covers the body of Christ with linen. Do thou also clothe the body of Christ with His own glory, that thou mayest be thyself just. And if thou believest it to be dead, still cover it with the fulness of His own divinity. But the Church also is clothed with the grace of innocence.

    BEDE. He also wraps Jesus in clean linen, who has received Him with a pure mind.

    AMBROSE. Nor without meaning has one Evangelist spoken of a new tomb, another of the tomb of Joseph. For the grave is prepared by those who are under the law of death; the Conqueror of death has no grave of His own. For what fellowship hath God with the grave. He alone is enclosed in this tomb, because the death of Christ, although it was common according to the nature of the body, yet was it peculiar in respect of power. But Christ is rightly buried in the tomb of the just, that He may rest in the habitation of justice. For this monument the just man hews out with piercing word in the hearts of Gentile hardness, that the power of Christ might extend over the nations. And very rightly is there a stone rolled against the tomb; for whoever has in himself truly buried Christ, must diligently guard, lest he lose Him, or lest there be an entrance for unbelief.

    BEDE. Now that the Lord is crucified on the sixth day and rests on the seventh, signifies that in the sixth age of the world we must of necessity suffer for Christ, and as it were be crucified to the world. (Gal. vi. 14.) But in the seventh age, that is, after death, our bodies indeed rest in the tombs, but our souls with the Lord. But even at the present time also holy women, (that is, humble souls,) fervent in love, diligently wait upon the Passion of Christ, and if perchance they may be able to imitate Him, with anxious carefulness ponder each step in order, by which this Passion is fulfilled. And having read, heard, and called to mind all these, they next apply themselves to make ready the works of virtue, by which Christ may be pleased, in order that having finished the preparation of this present life, in a blessed rest they may at the time of the resurrection meet Christ with the frankincense of spiritual actions.

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.