A tomb and it's securing stone Meditation Reader, Jesus's body had been placed in the tomb by Joseph of Arimathea. Despite being certain that Jesus is dead, his Jewish enemies visit Pilate to ensure that no one can steal his body and claim his resurrection. Thus, today's passage exposes two ironies. While Jesus' disciples have fled and seemingly forgotten his promise of resurrection, his enemies are very conscious of it...and, despite having had him killed, are still scared of Jesus' power....

Meditation Reader, After the climactic and turbulent events of the crucifixion, Luke ends his narrative with the distinctly quiet and dignified description of Jesus' burial, which we'll copy out today. Luke describes Joseph in unusual detail, providing his name, his role and high position in society (member of the council), his character (good and upright), his dissent, where he is from, and his ultimate hope (in God). In so doing, he provides the explanation for why and how he has the...

Meditation Reader, Copying out verses often brings surprises. Like you, I'm familiar with these lines, and it was my recollection that Jesus died and then the curtain in the temple was torn in two. In Luke, as we can see in today's verses, the curtain was torn in two, and then Jesus gave up his life. In both Mark and Matthew, the curtain is torn in two as Jesus gives up his life. It's a small detail (and one that likely has little significance), but slowing down to copy out verses leads you...