And because it was the Jewish day of Preparation
The Jewish day of Preparation refers to the day before the Sabbath, which is Friday. This day was significant because all work, including burial preparations, needed to be completed before the Sabbath began at sundown. The urgency to bury Jesus before the Sabbath highlights the adherence to Jewish customs and laws. This day was also the preparation for the Passover, adding further significance as Jesus is seen as the Passover Lamb, fulfilling the typology of the sacrificial lamb whose blood brings deliverance.

and the tomb was nearby
The proximity of the tomb is important due to the time constraints imposed by the approaching Sabbath. The tomb belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin who secretly followed Jesus. The location of the tomb in a garden near the crucifixion site, Golgotha, aligns with archaeological findings that suggest the presence of rock-cut tombs in the area. This fulfills Isaiah 53:9, which prophesies that the Messiah would be buried with the rich, as Joseph was a wealthy man.

they placed Jesus there
The act of placing Jesus in the tomb signifies the completion of His earthly suffering and the beginning of the fulfillment of His resurrection prophecy. The use of "they" indicates that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, another secret disciple, were responsible for the burial. This fulfills the Jewish custom of a proper burial and sets the stage for the resurrection, which is central to Christian faith. The burial in a new tomb, where no one had been laid, underscores the purity and uniqueness of Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection.

1. Jesus
Central figure of the New Testament, whose crucifixion and burial are described in this passage.

2. Joseph of Arimathea
A secret disciple of Jesus who asked Pilate for Jesus' body and provided the tomb for His burial.

3. Nicodemus
A Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council who assisted Joseph in preparing Jesus' body for burial.

4. The Tomb
A new tomb located in a garden near the site of crucifixion, where Jesus was laid.

5. The Jewish Day of Preparation
The day before the Sabbath, when Jews prepared for the day of rest, influencing the urgency of Jesus' burial.The Fulfillment of Prophecy
Jesus' burial in a rich man's tomb fulfills Old Testament prophecy, demonstrating God's sovereignty and the reliability of Scripture.

The Courage of Discipleship
Joseph and Nicodemus show courage by stepping forward to care for Jesus' body, challenging us to be bold in our faith.

The Significance of the Sabbath
The urgency of Jesus' burial due to the Sabbath highlights the importance of rest and preparation in our spiritual lives.

The Proximity of the Tomb
The nearby tomb signifies God's provision and timing, reminding us that God provides what we need when we need it.

The Reality of Death and Hope of Resurrection
Jesus' burial underscores the reality of His death, setting the stage for the hope of resurrection, which is central to Christian faith.(42) The Jews' preparation day.--Comp. John 19:14; John 19:31, and Excursus F: The Day of the Crucifixion of our Lord, p. 559.

Verse 42. - There, therefore, by reason of the preparation of the Jews, for the sepulcher was nigh at hand, they laid Jesus. John assigns the rapidity with which the process could be completed as a reason for entombment in this particular garden sepulcher, and the ground of the urgency was the "preparation" solemnities. Once more the critics divide into two groups as to the significance of this reference to the date of the Lord's death. It is obvious that both the synoptists and John imply that it was a "Friday," and that the next day was the sabbath. Why, for the third time in the space of a few lines, should this circumstance be noticed? On the first occasion, the morning of the day is said to be "the preparation of the Passover;" on the second it is called "preparation before the sabbath," and John adds that that particular sabbath was a "high day," which, as we have seen, is explained by remembering that its sanctity was doubled, seeing that on that particular year the weekly sabbath would coincide with the 15th of Nisan, which had a sabbatic value of its own. Now he says for the third time it was the "preparation of the Jews" - as we understand it, a day or a time when special preparations were being made by the Jews, and that before sunset, for the slaying of the Paschal lamb. Moreover, the sabbath was drawing on (ἐπέφωσκεν, Luke 23:54). This threefold statement implies that there was something more in the παρασκευή than the Friday of the Passover week. It is curious to observe the precisely contradictory conclusions drawn from this statement by two classes of interpreters. Godet has given an interesting sketch (vol. 3. pp. 286, 287) of the extraordinary idea of M. Lutteroth, that the Lord was crucified on the 10th of Nisan! that he rose from the dead three full days and nights afterwards, on the morning of the 14th. But why should John three times over thus designate the day? and why should the synoptists lay such emphasis on its being the "preparation," if the day were really the first great day of the Passover Feast? It is remarkable that St. Paul, referring to the institution of the Eucharist, does not say "on the night of the Passover meal," but on "the night in which he was betrayed" (1 Corinthians 11:23), and he speaks of Jesus as the (ἀπαρχή) "Firstfruits of the dead," as though the resurrection morning coincided with the presentation of the firstfruits, which, on the idea that Jesus suffered on the 15th, would have been presented on the morning of the Jewish sabbath, while the reference in 1 Corinthians 5:7-9, written at the time of a Passover, is rather in favor of the slaying of the Paschal lamb coinciding with the death of Jesus than the institution of the Eucharist doing so. The most extraordinary reference to the Παρασκεύη is that which St. Matthew 28:62 introduces, when he actually refers to the sabbath when it had begun (on the evening of the 14th or 15th, whichever it was, i.e. after 6 p.m.) under the designation of "the day after the preparation." Generally the more important day would receive its own proper name, and not be designated by the less signal day. Why did not St. Matthew say, "On the morrow, which was the Sabbath"? The one group of interpreters answer that he wished to discriminate the veritable sabbath as distinct from the half-sabbath of the previous day, made so by being also the great day of the feast! But it is more natural to suppose that "the day of preparation," the death-day of the Lord, loomed so largely in the mind of the evangelist, that its morrow derived importance in this particular instance from itself. The only real difficulty in settling this wearisome controversy arises from one statement in the synoptists, which, if resolved in the rigid sense of limiting their expressions to the evening of the 14th and beginning of the 15th, involves us in grave difficulties when considering five or six distinct and independent statements of John's Gospel. We have shown at each of these places the double method of exegetical treatment that has been attempted, and in each case honesty compels us to admit that John is here in apparent discord with the synoptists. If, however, our Lord anticipated by a few hours the celebration of the Paschal supper, seeing that his "hour was come," not indeed deviating from the legal day (though, as Lord of the sabbath and greater than the temple, he was amply justified in doing so), but hurrying on the process between the 13th and 14th, when the water-bearers would be seen fetching their pure water for the purpose; and if he celebrated the Passover at the beginning rather than the end of the 14th of Nisan, then the apparent discord between John and the synoptists vanishes, and the terrible events of the trials and crucifixion of Jesus really took place at the time when the Jews (not Christ himself) were preparing for the Passover proper. On this hypothesis the two narratives would be no longer in hopeless antagonism. With this conclusion we are more satisfied, since, as we have seen in John 13:1 and elsewhere, the synoptists themselves afford numerous corroboratory evidences (Introduction, pp. 92-95.).

Parallel Commentaries ...

And
οὖν (oun)
Conjunction
Strong's 3767: Therefore, then. Apparently a primary word; certainly, or accordingly.

because it was
διὰ (dia)
Preposition
Strong's 1223: A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through.

the
τὴν (tēn)
Article - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Jewish
Ἰουδαίων (Ioudaiōn)
Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 2453: Jewish. From Iouda; Judaean, i.e. Belonging to Jehudah.

day of Preparation
Παρασκευὴν (Paraskeuēn)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3904: The day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath, Friday. As if from paraskeuazo; readiness.

[and]
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

the
τὸ (to)
Article - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

tomb
μνημεῖον (mnēmeion)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3419: A tomb, sepulcher, monument. From mneme; a remembrance, i.e. Cenotaph.

was
ἦν (ēn)
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

nearby,
ἐγγὺς (engys)
Adverb
Strong's 1451: Near. From a primary verb agcho; near.

they laid
ἔθηκαν (ethēkan)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 5087: To put, place, lay, set, fix, establish. A prolonged form of a primary theo to place.

Jesus
Ἰησοῦν (Iēsoun)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2424: Of Hebrew origin; Jesus, the name of our Lord and two other Israelites.

there.
ἐκεῖ (ekei)
Adverb
Strong's 1563: (a) there, yonder, in that place, (b) thither, there. Of uncertain affinity; there; by extension, thither.


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NT Gospels: John 19:42 Then because of the Jews' Preparation Day (Jhn Jo Jn)