Commentary on the Gospel of John

                                  Chapter Nineteen

                                                                                                                                              Verses 38-42

These verses relate that Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus displayed their love for Christ and their faith in Him when they took care of the body of Jesus and made sure that He was buried according to Jewish tradition. Joseph even laid Jesus' body in his own tomb. Matthew 27:60. This story clearly demonstrates that they already possessed love for Jesus and faith in Jesus which caused them to do this good work as their witness for Jesus. In other words, they were already saved by grace when they did this good work which demonstrated their faith.

Sooner or later, the Holy Spirit will cause every believer to do some kind of good work that will demonstrate that believer's faith in Christ. Inevitably, the Holy Spirit will do this. Galatians 5:22-23. Persons who never do a good work to demonstrate that they have faith in Christ cannot be saved by grace. James 2:26. God desires to give rewards to every believer who gets to Heaven. Mathew 25:21.

Nine exact prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus' crucifixion, death, and burial. If Jesus had been a mere human, He could have had no control whatsoever in the fulfillment of these nine prophecies. This means that the odds of the fulfillment of these nine prophecies in human terms would have to be astronomical. God caused them to be fulfilled. Jesus suffered and died on the cross to save all living humans, but two thieves were crucified with Him which symbolized the fact that Jesus suffered and died to save all living humans. Isaiah 53:12. Four soldiers divided Jesus' four inner garments among them, but they gambled for His robe. Amazingly, the prophecy about this event made this exact distinction. Two prophecies were fulfilled in one statement. Psalm 69:21. The legs of Jesus were not broken. This event fulfilled three prophecies. The most amazing prophecy happens to be the fact that God commanded Moses to instruct the people to not break the bones of the sacrificial lamb at Passover. Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12; Psalm 34:20. A crowd of believers and non-believers stood and watched Jesus suffer and die on the cross. The prophecy about this event has a double meaning. One meaning happens to be about Jesus' return to stop the Tribulation period and to establish His millennial reign, but the other meaning is about how a crowd will observe Jesus' crucifixion. Zechariah 12:10; John 19:37. That they buried Jesus with the spices myrrh and aloes also fulfills a prophecy. The verses that precede this prophecy can only be about Christ as being God. Psalm 45:6-8. The body of Jesus was laid in the tomb of a rich man, Joseph of Arimathaea. Matthew 27:57-60. This event also fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy. Isaiah 53:9.

God provides very good evidence in the Bible (KJB) for His existence, but never absolute proof. That is a matter for faith alone. Hebrews 11:6. The limited minds of humans cannot grasp absolute proof anyway. For example, an absolute proof that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line would require an infinite set of examples. Humans can have the idea of infinity but can never experience infinity. The fact that God would fulfill nine exact prophecies about Jesus' suffering and death, which would have been impossible for Jesus to fulfill if He had been a mere human, provides ample evidence that Jesus is God and that everyone should put their trust in Him. Hebrews 11:6.