When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
The next day, that is after the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; Otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception would be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers; Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.
Matthew 27: 57-66
Here again is a great contrast of world views. The true followers of Jesus – Joseph and the two women named Mary – find themselves downcast, grieving, and in shock. They cannot believe their beloved Jesus is dead. Meanwhile, those who perpetrated this crucifixion of their own Messiah still plot against Him. It turns out they were listening to Him – only they refused to believe He was who He said He was. They were concerned with the possibility that His disciples would steal His body and falsely claim He is risen. What a paradox – Jesus’ believers were far too shaken to even think of doing that, and His enemies were trying to prevent it. The only thing that the chief priests and Pharisees were right about Jesus is that on the third day following His crucifixion, the world would be changed forever. But on this Saturday, Jesus had other work to do – He made His way into the “realm of the bodiless dead” (as St Gregory refers to it in another prayer): the realm of the souls awaiting judgement. And Jesus was there to set the righteous free; to take back from Hell those who belonged to Him. I like to think Jesus’ earthly father Joseph greeted him there. What a crowd Jesus must have preached to – the souls of all who had died before His death. Read Matthew 27:52-53, two of the most intriguing verses in the Bible.
Let us pray with St. Gregory:
The first born, one and only Son of the only Father,
the first born of the Mother of God, Virgin Bearer of the Lord,
creator becoming a true man as originally created,
not in the fallen state of mortals, but new and splendid with the sublime glory of kings,
not seen in the ages or existing in time.
The first born, higher than all the kings of earth,
formed from an incorruptible combination like us in body,
in the manner of the soul with body, and as gold with fire,
or to put it more plainly, light in air, neither transformed nor separated.
On the third day, in the hell of Tartarus,
he preached to the downcast captives and showed renewal and light.
And having carried out his providential mission of redemption,
he came back to life as God,
With the voice of the blissful, you were even for me
a kind intercessor, a living mediator, an immortal offering,
an endless sacrifice, a gift of purity, a priceless burnt offering,
an inexhaustible cup.
Merciful Lord, who loves mankind,
to you glory forever.
Amen
Prayer 34 D, E, H, M
