Today we talk about Jesus in the tomb in Mt 27.57-66; Mk 15.42-47; Lk 23.50-56; Jn 19.38-42.

The body has to go somewhere. Two men who kept their distance while Jesus was alive step forward when he is dead. Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council that condemned him, goes to Pilate and asks for the body. Nicodemus, the man who first came to Jesus by night in John 3, arrives with spices. Both of them are staking something real on a dead man. Both of them do it anyway.

This week Alan and Mary Balfour sit with the burial narratives and with the day the church has historically done the least with: Holy Saturday. It is the only day in the liturgical year with no Eucharist. The tomb is sealed. The women who followed Joseph and watched where the body was laid now wait, spices prepared, unable to finish the burial until the Sabbath ends.

But Holy Saturday is not only absence. The Apostles' Creed says he descended to the dead, and the tradition of the harrowing of hell takes that line seriously. The icons show Jesus standing at the broken gates of Hades, grasping people by the wrist, not the hand, because the dead cannot reach for him on their own. He pulls them out. The salvation is entirely his doing. It is one of the most complete images of grace in the entire Christian tradition.

Good Friday deals with the past. Easter Sunday begins the new creation. Holy Saturday is the day in between, the theology of waiting, which turns out to be where most of human life actually lives.

This episode releases on the Feast of the Ascension. Next week brings the resurrection, and the close of the season.

Readings for next week: Mt 28.1-15; Mk 16.1-11; Lk 24.1-12; Jn 20.1-10

Links mentioned in this episode:

- Jesus’ descent into hell iconography (https://www.orthodoxroad.com/christs-descent-into-hell-icon-explanation/)

- Dr. Tony’s notes on the crucifixion (https://www.stmartininthefields.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/The-Crucifixion.pdf)

- Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner's Guide to Holy Week (https://a.co/d/89u4GX8)

- Christ Chronological Bible (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143364603X)

- Check us out on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@biblelovepodcast)