When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. Matthew 27:57-61

Jesus said “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40)

We all remember learning the story of Jonah and the whale in Sunday School class, but did you know Jonah was a foreshadow of Christ in the Tomb for 3 days! The burial of Christ is an essential doctrine of Christianity. There’s often debate about that was Jesus doing during this time or even debates about the actual timeline, but one thing is for certain, Jesus died for us so we can live forever for Him!

3For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that He was seen by [a]Cephas, then by the twelve. (1 Corinthians 15:3-6)

As the Apostle Paul stated in what many believe is the first Creed of Christinaity, the death and burial of Christ is a foundational doctrine of Christianity. We can’t overlook the importance of the Tomb, where Jesus defeated sin, death, and Satan forever , and rose the firstfruits, in a resurrected body, and all those who repent and put their faith in Christ will also be resurrected also

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Isaiah 53:9

We see in the scriptures that Joseph of Arimathea was the man to give his tomb to Jesus Christ , which ultimately fulfilled the scriptures. It’s important to note that Joseph of Arimathea , was a religious leader and accepted Jesus as the Messiah, Son of God. Not all the religious leaders rejected Christ, including not all of Israel rejected Christ either. God still had his remnant that understand Jesus is The  Christ 

Another amazing detail is the accuracy of the scriptures, notice the prophecy in Isaiah 53:9, that the Messiah would be killed with the wicked, yet be rich in his burial. This was written 700 years before Christ was incarnated in the Virgin Birth (Isaiah 7:14) There should be no doubt, that the Bible is the Word of God, the possibilities of someone prophesying these intricate details is astronomical

Jesus Christ , as prophesied, spent 3 days in the Tomb, was resurrected defeating sin, death, and Satan forever! Glory to the Lamb of God, Amen!