Event New Testament
The burial of Jesus
Also known as The tomb of Joseph of Arimathea
Before the Sabbath began, Joseph of Arimathea, a council member and disciple, asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. With Nicodemus he wrapped it in linen with spices and laid it in a new tomb cut into rock in a garden near the place of crucifixion. The women from Galilee saw where He was laid, and Matthew records that the tomb was sealed and guarded.
Why it matters. The burial establishes that Jesus truly died and where His body lay, so that the empty tomb on the first day of the week has a known location and witnesses.
- Primary passages
- Dates
- AD 30 to 33 (approximate) (medium confidence, Passover week of the crucifixion under Pontius Pilate; AD 30 and AD 33 are the leading proposals)
The event belongs to the final week before the crucifixion, which is dated to AD 30 or AD 33 on calendrical grounds. FaithGraph records the range and does not choose.
- Witnesses
Chronology confidence: high
All four Gospels record that Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body and laid it in a rock-cut tomb before the Sabbath. John adds Nicodemus and the spices; Matthew adds the guard at the tomb; Mark and Luke record the women watching where He was laid.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
Connections
The crucifixion of Jesus precedes The burial of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceThe burial follows the death the same evening, before the Sabbath.
Evidence:Jesus participates in The burial of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceThe body of Jesus is taken down, wrapped, and laid in the tomb.
Evidence:Joseph of Arimathea participates in The burial of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceJoseph asks Pilate for the body and lays it in his own new tomb.
Evidence:Mary Magdalene participates in The burial of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceMary Magdalene sees where the body is laid.
Evidence:Mary Magdalene witnesses The burial of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceMary Magdalene watches where He is laid; the women from Galilee see the tomb.
Evidence:Nicodemus participates in The burial of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceNicodemus brings myrrh and aloes and helps wrap the body.
Evidence:Pontius Pilate participates in The burial of Jesus
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidencePilate grants the body to Joseph after confirming the death, and later permits a guard at the tomb.
Evidence:The burial of Jesus occurs at Golgotha
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceJohn says the tomb was in a garden at the place where Jesus was crucified.
Evidence:The burial of Jesus is read as fulfilling Isaiah 53:9
Historic Christian readingMedium confidenceIsaiah's servant is assigned a grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death; Christians have long read Jesus' burial in the tomb of the rich Joseph of Arimathea as this. No New Testament text cites the verse for the burial, so it is labeled a historic reading.
Evidence:Other responsible views
- Servant song as a whole: The New Testament applies Isaiah 53 to Jesus explicitly (Luke 22:37, Acts 8:32-35, 1 Peter 2:22-25) without singling out verse 9 for the burial; some readers see the burial detail as part of that larger fulfillment rather than a separate one.