After the Fire, the Fire Still Burns

John the Baptist began to spread the new way with a fiery oratory style and a radical message that inspired the masses and threatened the establishment. So the powers-that-be chopped off his head and extinguished his fire. Or so they thought.

Little did they know that Jesus Christ was there to pick up the torch. He would not allow the flame to be extinguished. Instead his message and his style went even further, flaming up so brightly that many saw the hope of an entirely new world, one which would not see the current authorities retain their traditional power. And so again out of fear, they took him away. They beat him, mocked him, and nailed him to a cross where he would also die. They thought that they had extinguished the flame once again. The fire was out as Jesus died and his followers, it's final flickering embers, dispersed into the wind. Or so those same powers of this world thought.

Jesus had indeed been put to death on Friday, and his body taken away and buried in a tomb on Saturday. A massive stone had been set against the opening to the tomb, and guards set outside so that none would be able to remove it. And so night time fell, and into the early still-dark hours of Sunday morning, Jesus lifeless body lay there entombed.

Early on Sunday morning, three of Jesus' female followers arise before dawn, gather their spices and oils, and set out for the tomb. Mary Magdalene, Salome, and another Mary intended to further and better care for Christ's body, which had been hastily prepared for initial burial by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. They had followed Jesus in the group of his closest friends for some time. They had the fire lit inside them by his new teaching that included "Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted."

Setting out at about the same time was a 2nd group of women, led by Joanna, who had arranged to meet Mary Magdalene's group at the tomb. They too had the fire lit inside of them by Christ's teachings that included "love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." They knew that a large stone had been rolled in front of the tomb, but they had no idea that it had now been sealed and had guards placed at its entrance.

Before they arrived, an angel suddenly appeared at the tomb and frightened the guards with his brightness. The guards fled in awe and terror, and when they did the angel rolled the stone away from the tomb. As Mary Magdalene's group approached they immediately saw that the stone was rolled aside, and that the tomb was open. She left the other two there and immediately returned to town to let Jesus' Apostles know that the tomb was open.

The other two women decided to enter the tomb, and there they found the angel who said to them "Do not be afraid. I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.' Behold, I have told you." The two women quickly ran back to town to give the message to the Apostles.

Then Joanna's group arrived, are met by two angels, and are given the same message. They also excitedly return to tell the message. They catch up with the first group, and all of the women are suddenly met on the road by Jesus. They immediately fall to his feet and do him homage as he gives them the message himself: "Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."

Peter and John, having been given the message by Mary Magdalene, run ahead of her and arrive at the tomb. The fire of Jesus' teachings which included "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden" has fully engulfed their lives. There they see that Jesus is gone, and examine the burial cloths. They observe that in the condition the cloth is found, it appears as if Christ's body was not removed, but instead appears to have simply disappeared from within.

For all of these men and women, these close followers of Jesus Christ, the Word burns like a flame within. It will be further inflamed as the reality of his rise from the dead and the continuation of his teaching takes place in the coming weeks. Christ had died, but now he had risen and thus had defeated darkness, sin, and death. The authorities had once again misunderstood. Just as with the snuffing out of John's life they had not put out the fire of his message, neither had they with Jesus' death.

Jesus spread his fiery message during his lifetime and his public ministry, and the authorities believed that fire had been put out. These earthly 'authorities' failed to realize that after the fire of Christ's life had been extinguished, the fire of his message still burned. On his return it now burned again even brighter, and would begin to spread around the world as a raging inferno of peace, hope, and love.

Christ Has Died

There is no credible historical or religious writing that makes any allusion to any other fact than that Jesus Christ died on the cross and was buried in a nearby tomb. He was not miraculously raised up to Heaven, he was lowered down from the cross, likely by his friends and followers, or by workers hired by Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph was a rich man who also had become a follower of Jesus and believed in his teachings. Joseph had stepped forward to donate a nearby tomb which he owned as the final burial place of Jesus, and thus had asked for the body. His wealth and his status in the community as a member of the 'Sanhedrin', a local governing council, impressed Pilate enough that he granted Joseph permission. When you think about this particular act, think a little more deeply. Roman law at the time was actually against this very type of action, because the authorities feared that such a tomb would become a shrine of pilgrimage. There has been some speculation through time that Pilate granted the request simply because of Joseph's status in the community, or possibly some bribe or payment from Joseph. There is also speculation that it was a simple matter of conscience. Pilate believed that Jesus was innocent of any crime, let alone one for which he should have been put to death. He stated this numerous times in the hours leading up to the crucifixion. At least a part of his decision to allow the burial at Joseph's tomb may have come simply from feelings of guilt. Approval for this act of charity was granted by Jesus' family as well, and so the cross was lowered and the battered, bloody, and lifeless body of Christ was removed from it. We think about the drama surrounding Jesus' passion and many of the events surrounding his death and resurrection, but we rarely contemplate the most minute details as Joseph and his friend Nicodemus would have dealt with them in the aftermath of the crucifixion. The reality would be that men had to remove the long nails from Christ's hands and feet. They would have had to untie his arms. Someone would have had to remove the mocking crown of thorns from his head. His body would have then been wrapped and carried away towards Joseph's tomb, which was not far from Golgotha. Items involved in the crucifixion such as the nails, the rope, the crown of thorns, and even the cross itself on which Christ hung were most assuredly taken by some of Jesus' followers or by others who believed these artifacts would have some material value as souvenirs, if not by Joseph and Nicodemus themselves. Before being laid in the tomb, Joseph and Nicodemus would have had the body brought to a room where they cleaned it, prepared it for burial with myrrhs and aloes, and wrapped it in a linen cloth. Jesus' mother Mary, and his close friend and follower Mary of Magdalene, were both present throughout the entirety of the process as he was lowered from the cross, transported to the burial place, prepared for burial, and finally laid in the tomb. It was likely their intention to both ensure that he receive proper treatment, and they also planned on returning to the tomb at some point to apply further oils and spices to the body, a process that normally took place over a few days. Finally, Christ's body was carried into the tomb, likely with a small, somber ceremony of simple witness and prayer possibly only involving Joseph, Nicodemus, and the two Mary's, as Jesus' other followers had fled into hiding. A large stone was then ordered to be rolled into place to seal the tomb. On the following day, the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate and asked that guards be posted at the sealed tomb for three days, because they understood the significance of the belief that Christ was the Messiah, and that it was foretold that he would rise on the third day. The officials feared that Jesus' followers would come by night, remove the body from the tomb, and then claim that Jesus had risen from the dead in fulfillment of the prophecies. Pilate granted this request, and either Roman centurions or Temple guards went to the tomb, ensured that it was secure, and then stood a vigilant watch. All through the day on Saturday, and through Saturday night into early on Sunday morning, Jesus' battered, cold, dead, wrapped body lay in that tomb in utter darkness.