Question 7
(A) Give an account of the burial of Jesus as recorded in the Synoptic gospels.
(B) Give three reasons for which Christians should avoid expensive funerals.
Observation
This question was very popular among the candidates and those who attempted it showed a great mastery of this passage and their performance was above average. Some students did not have detailed knowledge of the passage as some candidates just wrote out and mixed the narratives of all the gospels together. Points candidates needed to have pointed out in the A part were:
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The burial of Jesus as found in the Synoptic gospels. (Matthew27:5766; Mark 15: 42-47; Luke 23:50-56)
- After the death of Jesus, a young man named Joseph of Arimathea went to request for Jesus’ body for burial from Pilate.
- Joseph of Arimathea was a respected member of the Council and a righteous man
- He was a secret disciple of Jesus
- Joseph requested for Jesus’ body since it was Friday evening and the Sabbath was about to begin.
- Pilate ascertained if Jesus was clinical dead
- When Jesus was confirmed dead, Pilate willingly released Jesus’ body to Joseph of Arimathea
- Joseph wrapped Jesus’ body in a clean linen shroud and laid him in his new tomb.
- The tomb was hewed from stone
- He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb
- Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus followed up to see where Jesus was laid.
- Luke’s gospel adds that the women went home and prepared spices to prepare Jesus’ body on the third day.
- Matthew alone states that on the next day, the chief priest and Pharisees approached Pilate to ensure that the tomb was sealed
- They also requested that the tomb should be guarded so that Jesus’ disciples would not steal the body
- Pilate permitted them; the tomb was sealed and guards were mounted to watch over the tomb.
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Reasons Christians should avoid expensive funerals
- Diverts funds which otherwise would have been profitably used on the bereaved family.
- It may prevent the bereaved family from being in debt after the funeral
- It exposes the bereaved family to security risks
- Expensive funerals serve as breeding grounds for immorality.
- It can bring about conflicts within the bereaved family.