Mark 15:42-47 – “Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. 45 So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.”  NKJV

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 12 that He would spend three days and nights in the heart of the earth and while they understood they did not understand.  The many prophecies regarding Jesus’ life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension had to be fulfilled but I must ask a question – “Why Was Time in the Tomb Necessary?” 

There are some far more accomplished in biblical commentary than I who can and have addressed this issue but let me offer something dropped in my heart as I contemplated this time of the year and the day the church identifies as “Good Friday.”  The disciples had demonstrated up to the time of Jesus’ death on the Cross that they still had not fully wrapped their heads around the Spiritual Kingdom rather held to the vision of an earthly one.  Deep inside there was still a flicker of hope that Jesus was going to overthrow the Roman’s and establish an earthly kingdom in which Israel was restored.  He tried to convey the truth to them and they believed in Him but their carnal minds still held to the desire of restoration in the natural.

I believe we can say without reservation that Jesus did not need to spend three days and nights in the heart of the earth for Himself.  Therefore, if He is spending time in the Tomb it must have us in mind.  He could have died on the Cross and aside from the prophecies arisen without the tomb and Salvation would have been purchased.  However, in order to confirm that He had truly died spending three days in the tomb provided indisputable evidence He was truly dead from the natural man’s view.  Still further the ‘Time in the Tomb’ provided an opportunity for the disciples to grieve the death of their Natural Restoration Hope and allowed the Death of their Dream to grip them.  They had believed in Jesus and hoped for Natural Restoration of their nation and not that hope was gone.

We call it Good Friday looking back on the events but they would never have called that Friday Good for the Tomb was ever before them signifying the death of their dreams.  The Time in the Tomb provides the foundation upon which the Holy Spirit can take the seeds that have been sown in death and allow them to germinate into life.  Had He not gone to the Tomb and stayed there three days the disciples might well have continued their Natural Restoration Theology and never transitioned into the True Kingdom of God and become a hindrance rather than powerful witnesses of the Gospel.

The Time in the Tomb was for mankind and now looking back we can call it GOOD FRIDAY for it marked the death of a natural dream and the birth of a spiritual reality called the KINGDOM OF GOD.  Sometimes in life we need Time in the Tomb to insure that only what rises is what God desires rather than persisting in the pursuit of the dreams that are the product of our own imaginations rather than the promise and purpose of God.

So on this GOOD FRIDAY I pray that God will allow you to see the death of any dreams not of Him in your life and as Jesus arose from the dead on that third day may His purposes rise to power in your life as well.   God bless you!