The Shepherd Chapter 20

Chapter 20

          The three crosses on Golgotha were more than I could bear. As I turned away from the gruesome scene, I heard a familiar voice.

          “Samuel! Is that you?” someone said. My eyes were filled with tears and I could not make out who it was that had spoken to me. As I wiped the tears from my eyes, I saw the familiar face of Joseph of Arimathea. He was a powerful leader in the Sanhedrin, but a gentle soul, and a secret follower of Jesus Christ.

          “I need your help,” he said, barely above a whisper. “I just came from Pilate where I got permission to bury the Master. I have Nicodemus with me, but we need another pair of hands.” Joseph didn’t wait for me to answer. He was accustomed to telling people what to do.

          He went straight to the centurion with the burial document from Pontus Pilate. Joseph announced, “On the authority of the Roman Governor, I have permission to take the body of Jesus of Nazareth. Can you please assist me in the task?” Joseph moved as if he did not need permission. He was merely informing the centurion of what his responsibilities were to be.

          But the centurion put a hand out. “Just a minute,” he said. He jerked the document from Joseph’s hand and looked at it. He called to a soldier, “Have you examined the condemned?”

          The soldier replied, “Two are still struggling, but the one they call Jesus, he’s dead.”

          The centurion raised an eyebrow and questioned the soldier, “I saw he was dead, but are you sure? Did you use your spear to verify that he was truly dead?”

          “Yes, sir.” replied the soldier.

          The centurion shrugged returning the document to Joseph and said, “Very well. You may have the body.” The centurion paused a moment and reflected, “I have never seen a man die like that man did. He was calm and in charge. It was as if he was the one carrying out his own execution.”

          Joseph replied, “Yes, he was an unusual man. Many called him, ‘The Lamb of God’. He was to be the substitute for all of us.”

          The centurion considered what Joseph had said for a moment. And I did too. Taking sacrificial lambs to the Temple was my job. I understood the substitute issue. I deserved God’s punishment, but the lamb took my place; he paid for my sins in my place. And Jesus was the Lamb of God for all of mankind. Jesus Christ took our place.

          The centurion told the soldier to bring two ladders. They were nearby. I carried one and the soldier carried the other. The soldier propped them up on opposite sides of the upright pole. He pulled out the huge spike from the feet while Nicodemus and I climbed the ladders and lifted the cross-beam off the upright pole and then down the ladders. The soldier and Joseph pulled the feet of Jesus forward as we descended the ladders with the cross-beam. We ended up in front of the ladders on the ground where the body of Jesus was stretched out. The soldier pulled out the two nails from the hands and the body of Jesus was free of the cross-beam. Joseph had a cloth, and we covered the body, wrapping it up at the same time.

          Joseph said, “I have a family tomb just down the hill from here. We’ll take the body there and finish the preparations quickly. If we aren’t finished by sundown, the authorities will be really mad.”

          I carried the feet; Joseph and Nicodemus each carried an arm. We were at the tomb in five minutes. Two servants were already at the tomb with wrapping strips and embalming spices.

          Joseph said, “We’ll do the best we can for now, and bring more spices after the sabbath is over.”

          We washed the body of Jesus as best we could. He was bruised with lacerations everywhere. We wrapped and wrapped, adding spices as we went. I heard footsteps outside and saw Roman soldiers. Joseph poked his head out and asked, “What’s going on?”

          The captain said, “We were sent, by order of Pontus Pilate, to secure the tomb. Are you about finished?”

          Joseph thought a moment and said, “Almost. The sabbath begins in about a half hour. We’ll be done in half that time.” And he returned to us and our work. We finished and exited the rock tomb. The Roman soldiers rolled the round stone door across the mouth of the tomb. The captain produced a candle and lit it. He dripped wax over the round stone and embedded a scarlet cord into the wax. Then using his signet ring, he pressed it into the soft wax before it cooled. The tomb was officially sealed by the Roman government. A guard was stationed, one at each side of the tomb, with two others on the pathway in. The captain sat nearby.

          We left moments before sunset. None of us spoke as we hurried back into town. Joseph said goodbye to Nicodemus where their ways parted. Joseph spoke to me, “What are you going to do, Samuel? You can’t make it back to Bethlehem; it’s the sabbath day. Why don’t you stay with me? You can go back on Sunday after the sabbath day is over.”

          He was right. By Levitical law, I could only travel five or six furlongs on the sabbath day and Bethlehem was more than nine miles away. I agreed to stay with Joseph. We broke bread, said our sabbath prayers together, and then went to bed. My mind was so cluttered that I couldn’t sleep. So much had gone on. Only three days ago I had spoken to Jesus, and now I had just buried him. Craziness! How could these things be? What was going to happen to his disciples? What was going to happen to me?