Day 7 - "Burial"

Day Seven - "Burial"

“So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices… in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid… they laid Jesus there.” —John 19:40-42

What’s dead is dead. 

The Messiah was a lifeless and ragged body. Friends had to loosen the nails to take Him down from the cross. He was carefully lowered, washed, and dressed with spices and oil before being wrapped. Blood soaked through the linen wrappings and stained clothes and hands—the blood of their beloved Rabbi.

The disciples had given their lives to Jesus, proclaiming and believing in a Kingdom that now lay trampled and torn to shreds. They were hiding in fear. Death had taken their hope of a Messiah who would bring order to the world and buried it in a cave. Can you imagine processing trauma, shock, and grief while still trying to participate in the Sabbath and the Feasts?

Death is the slamming shut of a door. It holds no space for memory or energy. 

It is rough, hard, and cold—like the stone blocking the entrance to Jesus’ tomb. From now on, this stone was as close as they could get to Him. Why then would Jesus submit to the Father’s will to the point of death on a cross—and leave His disciples traumatized and alone?

Before the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24)

What’s dead is dead—or so it seems. 

The grain of wheat sheds itself in the darkness of the earth, and gives way to a deeper and eternal way of living.

Before His death, Jesus communicated that if He remained living in the state the disciples were familiar with, they would not experience Life within themselves as He experienced Life. We would live codependent on Jesus, rather than seeing the Father living within us—and bearing the fruit that comes from being one with the Father.

Jesus’ identity and relationship with the Father now belong to all who believe in the finished work of Christ.

Even to His last breath on the cross, Jesus submitted to the Father’s will. 

As God’s Spirit rested on Jesus, that same Spirit of Life now dwells within us. He told the disciples: “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” (John 12:44-46)

As God rested on the Sabbath from all His work, so the Son of Man rested from His. Jesus completely trusted the Father. He understood that death puts our human egos and finite wills to rest—so that the endless possibilities of the Father’s will might be realized in our humanity. 

Reflection: 
-Don’t rush to the resurrection and fresh new season just yet. You will not remain in darkness.
-Picture yourself lying next to the lifeless Jesus. Is there a current loss you are experiencing or have had a hard time letting go? Sit with God in it. How is He sitting and holding this space of death with you? 
-Look back over the rich life that existed in the season or story that ended. Take time to see the kind care of God, honoring your past season. 
-Let Jesus help you wrap it up in gratitude—and give it back to the Father. Something new, deeper, and eternal is on its way.