Paper 188 Overview: The Time of the Tomb

Paper 188 covers the critical period between Jesus' death on Friday afternoon and his resurrection early Sunday morning, a span of about thirty-six hours. During this time, Jesus' body lay in Joseph of Arimathea's newly hewn tomb, while his disciples hid in fear and confusion, not truly expecting the resurrection despite Jesus' previous predictions. The Jewish authorities, however, remembered Jesus' claims that he would rise on the third day and placed guards at the tomb to prevent anyone from stealing the body and falsely claiming he had risen.

The paper explains the deeper meaning behind Jesus' death, correcting misunderstandings about its purpose and significance. Rather than being a sacrifice to appease an angry God or to atone for humanity's sins, Jesus' death represented the completion of his mortal life experience and demonstrated his supreme love and mercy. The cross became a powerful symbol throughout the universe, inspiring countless beings on millions of worlds to persevere in their spiritual journeys when faced with difficulties and challenges.

Jesus' mortal body remained in Joseph's tomb for approximately thirty-six hours, from Friday afternoon until early Sunday morning. This period between his death and resurrection remains largely mysterious, with limited information available about what transpired during this time. Shortly after Jesus died, the Roman soldiers took him down from the cross, and while the Jewish leaders had planned to have his body thrown into the criminal burial pits of Gehenna south of the city, Joseph of Arimathea intervened by requesting permission from Pilate to provide a proper burial.

Joseph approached Pilate with money prepared to offer as a bribe if necessary, which was common practice when friends of crucified individuals sought to claim their bodies. However, Pilate granted the request without accepting payment and signed an order authorizing Joseph to take immediate possession of Jesus' body. Meanwhile, the sandstorm that had darkened the sky during the crucifixion had subsided, and representatives from the Sanhedrin had gone to Golgotha to ensure Jesus' body would be disposed of in the criminal burial pits, only to discover that Pilate had already granted Joseph permission to claim the body.

When Joseph and Nicodemus arrived at Golgotha, they found Roman soldiers removing Jesus from the cross while representatives of the Sanhedrin stood by. Upon presenting Pilate's order for the Master's body, they faced an uproar from the Jewish leaders who angrily tried to seize the body themselves. The Roman centurion ordered four soldiers to stand guard over Jesus' body and instructed the others to drive back the hostile mob, restoring order before telling Joseph he could take the body as directed by Pilate's order.

Jewish law forbade burying crucified persons in a Jewish cemetery, so Joseph and Nicodemus decided to place Jesus in Joseph's new family tomb, carved from solid rock and located near Golgotha. Joseph genuinely believed Jesus would rise from the dead, though Nicodemus remained doubtful, and both men had kept their faith in Jesus somewhat secret despite suspicions from their fellow Sanhedrin members. Around 4:30 PM, they carried Jesus' body to the tomb, accompanied by John and the Roman centurion, where they prepared it according to Jewish burial customs by wrapping it in linen cloths with myrrh and aloes. After completing these preparations, they rolled a large stone before the entrance and departed, while the women who had followed Jesus remained nearby, planning to return after the Sabbath with additional spices and ointments to complete what they considered a proper preparation of the body.

While Jesus' followers gave little thought to his promise of resurrection, his enemies were keenly aware of his predictions. On Friday night after the Passover meal, around midnight, a group of Jewish leaders met at Caiaphas's home to discuss their concerns about Jesus' claim that he would rise from the dead on the third day. This meeting resulted in a committee being appointed to visit Pilate early the next morning with an official request from the Sanhedrin for Roman guards to secure Jesus' tomb against potential tampering by his disciples.

The committee's spokesman reminded Pilate that Jesus had said "After three days I will rise again" and expressed fear that his followers might steal the body and claim he had risen, creating an even worse situation than before. Pilate assigned ten Roman soldiers to guard the tomb, and the Jewish leaders added ten of their own temple guards to the watch. These twenty men rolled another stone before the tomb entrance, placed Pilate's seal on and around the stones to prevent disturbance without detection, and maintained a continuous watch until the resurrection occurred. The Jewish leaders ensured the guards were regularly provided with food and drink throughout their vigil, which extended through the Sabbath day.

Throughout the Sabbath, Jesus' disciples and apostles remained hidden while Jerusalem buzzed with discussions about his crucifixion. With approximately 1.5 million Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem for Passover week, many would eventually learn of the resurrection and carry the news back to various parts of the Roman Empire and beyond. Late Saturday night, John Mark secretly gathered the eleven apostles at his father's home, where they assembled in the same upper chamber where they had shared the Last Supper with Jesus two nights earlier.

Jesus' mother Mary, along with Ruth and Jude, returned to Bethany just before sunset on Saturday evening to join their family. David Zebedee stayed at Nicodemus's home, where he had arranged for his messengers to gather early Sunday morning. The Galilean women who had prepared spices for further embalming of Jesus' body remained at Joseph's home, planning to visit the tomb early Sunday morning. During this period of about thirty-six hours, Jesus' physical body rested undisturbed in the tomb while the universe observers could not fully explain what happened to his personality or consciousness.

The midwayers speculate about what might have happened during this time, suggesting that the Creator consciousness of Michael was free from its physical form, while his Thought Adjuster commanded the assembled celestial hosts. They believe the acquired spirit identity of Jesus was entrusted to the Paradise Father, and his human consciousness experienced no awareness of the passing time, as if the resurrection followed immediately after death. The records indicate significant universal activity during this period, including meetings of high celestial authorities and communications between Michael and other universe administrators.

Jesus did not die as a sacrifice to atone for humanity's racial guilt or to appease an offended and unforgiving God. The Son of Man did not offer himself as a sacrifice to satisfy divine wrath or to create a pathway for sinful humans to approach God. Despite these common misunderstandings, Jesus' death on the cross carries profound significance that should not be overlooked or diminished. His crucifixion has made Urantia known among neighboring inhabited planets as the "World of the Cross," marking it as a place of special cosmic significance.

Jesus desired to experience a complete mortal life in the flesh, which naturally includes death as its conclusion. His death, while tragic and unnecessary from a cosmic perspective, helps illuminate the gospel of the kingdom, though this good news is even more powerfully demonstrated through his life. The Father in heaven loved mortal humans just as much before Jesus' life and death as afterward, but this demonstration of the partnership between God and man enriched the understanding of all other beings in the universe of Nebadon. While the salvation of God for mortals would have been just as effective if Jesus had departed in some other manner, his death helps make the fact of divine sonship more experientially real.

The idea that God required Jesus' death as a sacrifice to atone for human sin fundamentally misunderstands both God's nature and Jesus' mission. Such concepts of atonement and sacrificial salvation are rooted in selfishness rather than selflessness. Jesus taught that service to others represents the highest concept of the brotherhood of spirit believers, and genuine believers focus more on loving and serving their fellows than on securing their personal salvation. The real value in Jesus' death lies not in some cosmic transaction but in the magnificent manner and matchless spirit with which he faced death, demonstrating how to live—and die—in accordance with the Father's will.

The cross of Jesus portrays the full measure of a true shepherd's supreme devotion, even to unworthy members of his flock. It permanently establishes all relationships between God and humans on a family basis—God as Father and humans as his children—rather than on the justice-based relationship between a king and his subjects. This shift from justice to love as the central organizing principle of the universe transforms how we understand our relationship with the divine and with each other. Jesus' attitude toward sinners was neither one of condemnation nor condonation, but rather a stance of eternal and loving salvation that awakens a response of love in the human heart.

Divine love as demonstrated on the cross goes beyond merely forgiving wrongs—it actually absorbs and destroys them completely. Jesus brought a new method of living to our world, teaching us not to resist evil but to find through him a goodness that effectively destroys evil. The love Jesus embodied is never satisfied with mere forgiveness but seeks comprehensive rehabilitation and eternal survival for all who accept it. Jesus, through his personal love for humans, broke the hold of sin and evil, setting people free to choose better ways of living and providing a deliverance from the past that promises triumph in the future. The real value of the cross consists not just in Jesus' physical suffering but in the fact that it was the supreme and final expression of his love and the completed revelation of his mercy.

The impact of Jesus' death extends far beyond earth to millions of inhabited worlds where countless evolving creatures have been inspired by his example. When tempted to abandon their spiritual struggles, beings throughout the universe take one more look at Jesus on the cross and find the courage to continue. The triumph of the death on the cross is summed up in Jesus' attitude toward those who attacked him, particularly when he prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." This devotion of love became contagious throughout the vast universe, inspiring disciples like Stephen to show similar forgiveness even while being stoned to death. The cross makes its supreme appeal by revealing one who willingly laid down his life in service to others—not just for friends but even for enemies—demonstrating a love greater than any previously known on earth.