Witnesses to Jesus' Burial

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Christ is Risen!

Matthew 27:45-61 (The Message)
 ^45-46From noon to three, the whole earth was dark. Around mid-afternoon Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"
 ^47-49Some bystanders who heard him said, "He's calling for Elijah." One of them ran and got a sponge soaked in sour wine and lifted it on a stick so he could drink. The others joked, "Don't be in such a hurry. Let's see if Elijah comes and saves him."
 ⁵⁰But Jesus, again crying out loudly, breathed his last.
 ^51-53At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. What's more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus' resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)
 ⁵⁴The captain of the guard and those with him, when they saw the earthquake and everything else that was happening, were scared to death. They said, "This has to be the Son of God!"
 ^55-56There were also quite a few women watching from a distance, women who had followed Jesus from Galilee in order to serve him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the Zebedee brothers.

The Tomb

 ^57-61Late in the afternoon a wealthy man from Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, arrived. His name was Joseph. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate granted his request. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linens, put it in his own tomb, a new tomb only recently cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the entrance. Then he went off. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary stayed, sitting in plain view of the tomb.


For Reflection
Buried, but not dead, Jesus lives. God suffered the death of his son and lifts Him from the depth to be the path way to salvation.  The curtain separating God and man was torn. Women not recognized by the contemporary culture as leaders were justified.  The passion does not end in death.  Rather it begins in a transformed life.  How has the resurrected Christ lived in you?

Pray
Shout Hosanna!  Praise God for the living Christ.  Pray that you will seek the resurrected Christ in your life.