"He granted the corpse to Joseph," Mark 15:45.
Whose carcass? (Yes, crude as it sounds, carcass, make no mistake about this.) So, whose? Jesus'. Lifeless on a cross. The Roman governor said it could be taken down. When? Only after the Roman officer in charge of Jesus' execution confirmed to the governor he was dead. How did he know he was dead? He saw the last breath. He saw the bleeding out from spear thrust into Jesus' side through lung and heart. Friend Joseph took the corpse off the cross and buried it. So. If somebody claims to have risen from the dead, how can you know for sure? Like this: First - You determine that they had died beforehand. Really died. And were buried for a few days.
We visit a brother or sister today mourning Jesus' death, our need for his death and burial. And together we whisper broken thanksgivings to God whose will Jesus obeyed to atone for our sin.
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