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“There were also women looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When He was in Galilee, they would follow Him and help Him. Many other women had come up with Him to Jerusalem. When it was already evening, because it was preparation day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin who was himself looking forward to the kingdom of God, came and boldly went in to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised that He was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him whether He had already died. When he found out from the centurion, he gave the corpse to Joseph. After he bought some fine linen, he took Him down and wrapped Him in the linen. Then he placed Him in a tomb cut out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. Now Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching where He was placed.” (Mark 15:40-47 HCSB)

Crushed dreams and shattered hopes, we’ve all dealt with them, haven’t we? Things we hoped would come true or longings for something more than our present reality. What in us makes us believe dreams can come true or that hopes can become a reality? If death has always been our final experience and disappointments have always been our present reality, what makes us believe in something more, something better than this. If this is what life has always been like then what makes us hope for something more than this, more than this life?

There’s an old saying that goes, hope springs eternal. The original quote is from “An Essay on Man” by Alexander Pope. The full quote is: “Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always to be blest. The soul, uneasy and confined from home, rests and expiates in a life to come.” Pope says we live a life that never seems to blessed but we continue to long for that blessing. Our soul is uneasy and not at rest because it is not at home but longs to find rest and peace in eternal life with God.

Without a hope for something more, for something better, but especially the hope of eternal life, man would fall into despair and give up. Personally, I agree with the great mathematician Blaise Pascal, who states that: “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus. That there is an emptiness in us is born out by our continual desire for something, anything that can fill this unmet need or desire within us. We seek to satisfy with it with the latest trend, but everything continually falls short. Ah, but hope springs eternal… so we continue our search.

In this week’s focal passage we reach the end of the road for Jesus. At least, that’s the expectation by everyone in the story. The expectation by everyone, except Jesus. To expect anything else would be CRAZY! Right? Simply ludicrous! Outrageous! Unheard of!

Certainly, nothing in their experience (or our experience) supports any other conclusion. So, that’s the natural expectation by those who follow the man, Jesus. Yes, even those closest to Him, those who’ve been told repeatedly to expect something else (see Mark 8:31, 9:30-32, 10:33-34), believe this is the end. But as the disciples have been learning but not yet understanding, this is NO ORDINARY man. This is the Son of Man who is the eternal Son of God. This is the Lamb of God who has come to bear the sin of the world.

In these closing verses of chapter 15, Mark tells us about a few faithful disciples. He concludes with something that might be shocking to his readers but not to me, the women had not abandoned Jesus. The disciples had scattered at Jesus’ arrest, though Peter followed from a distance. But less than twelve hours earlier, even Peter had denied knowing Jesus. Now we learn that a small group of women had been watching intently from a distance. This small group of women are even identified, Mary Magdalene or of Magdala, Mary the mother of little James and Joses (or Joseph) and also Salome.

We know of Mary Magdalene. While Mark doesn’t really tell us Mary’s story, we read of it in Luke’s account. Mark seems to assume his readers also know her, as well. We only know the second Mary through her sons, little James and Joses, who are also followers of Jesus and apparently well known by Mark’s readers. And also, Salome was with them. While there is some dispute as to who or which Salome Mark may be referencing, it seems clear that with this simple name he must be referencing someone they all knew and is the mother of James and John, Zebedee’s wife.

These women are given a single sentence describing their relationship with Jesus, but what a description! They would “follow Him and help Him.” The words used to describe these women put them right in the middle of what Jesus came to do, to call men and women to deny self, take up their cross and to follow Him and to serve or minister (translated as help, here) to others. So, they followed Him and served Him right to the very end. Or was it?

Mark then launches into a more detailed description of what happens next. Jesus died on Friday afternoon, preparation day or the day before the Sabbath. It is already late in the afternoon, just past 3:00 pm. That doesn’t seem late to us, but for a Jewish household it means they only have a few hours to get ready for the Sabbath observance. That also means that they don’t have much time to get Jesus down and prepared for burial. Mosaic law dictates that Jesus must be taken down, prepared and buried because leaving a corpse hanging on a cross would curse the land.

Joseph of Arimathea, who is a prominent member of the Sanhedrin Council and was looking for and lived in anticipation of the coming of the kingdom of God, bursts onto the scene. We have not heard of him before, but he plays a significant role in Jesus’ burial. We are told in Luke’s account that Joseph was secretly a disciple of Jesus and had disagreed with the Council’s assessment of Jesus and their decision to seek His death through the Roman procurator, Pilate. So, Joseph goes to Pilate and seeks to have Jesus’ body released to him for burial. John also tells us that Joseph is assisted by Nicodemus, another member of the Council and the one who had come to Jesus by night.

So, now we’ve been introduced to several disciples who have not abandoned Jesus – several women and Joseph. This does seem a bit odd, doesn’t it? Where are Simon Peter and Andrew, James and John, Philip, little John and the others? Where are those who had vowed to “die with him”, if needed (see Mark 14:31). Where’s Mary, His mother and his brothers and sisters? Perhaps they feared of also being identified as insurrectionists, convicted and sentenced to death. However, Mark says that Joseph “boldly went in to Pilate” and asked for Jesus’ body to be released to him. It’s possible that the women were insignificant enough to be of little concern and that Joseph was prominent enough to be above questioning.

Next, Pilate is surprised by Joseph’s request because he didn’t expect Jesus to have died so quickly. Usually, crucified criminals would take several days to finally succumb to crucifixion. That was, perhaps, the most cruel part of this type of death sentence. Basically, they would die of suffocation and exposure as their bodies grew weaker and weaker. They would finally become incapable of lifting themselves, relieving the physical pressure on their chests that compressed their lungs, and taking a breath.

Pilate summoned the centurion who had been charged with overseeing the execution. When Pilate was assured by the centurion and convinced of Jesus’ death, he released the corpse to Jospeh. It is Mark’s use of this word (ptoma: corpse, dead body) that clearly indicates that Jesus has died. The previous word used in verse 43 (soma: body), can be used for either a living or dead body, but Mark clearly tells us here that Jesus is physically dead using the word for corpse.

So, Pilate releases Jesus’ corpse to Joseph of Arimathea for burial. Joseph then goes and buys fine linen and then comes back to the scene of the crucifixion and takes “Him down and wrapped Him in the linen.” Joseph then places Jesus corpse in a tomb cut out of the rock and seals the opening with a stone rolled across the entrance as Mary Magdalene and the other Mary closely watch where He has been placed.

Why is it so important for Mark to establish that Jesus is truly dead and buried and that the women who had witnessed His death know where He was buried? Because of what’s coming next. It’s just Friday, but Sunday is coming.

These disciples have not only been getting Jesus’ body ready for a proper burial, but Mark is getting us ready to deal with the epic fallout and life-altering aftermath of Jesus’ death. He needs us to come face-to-face with the reality that Jesus really has died, died in Barabbas’ stead and ours. He wants us to face the fact that all of creation shuddered at this epic event as the ground shook and the sun grew dark. He needs us to recongize that the Temple veil was torn at the very moment Jesus breathed His last breath so that direct access to God was opened for all mankind. He wants us to stand alongside the Centurion and realize there is something uniquely different about this Man’s life and death – that He surely was the Son of God.

Mark has hurried us along on this journey into the life, love and lessons of the Son of Man so that we might slow down at the moment of His death and burial to recognize Him as the Son of God with what’s coming next…

So, let me ask you the obvious question. Are you ready? Have you prepared yourself to answer the question of all questions: Just who is this man, Jesus? What does all of this mean and how does it make things different? If Jesus is who He claims to be, what does that mean for my life and does it really matter?

It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming…