49 All Jesus' close friends and the women who had come with him from Galilee stood at a distance and watched.
50-51 There was a man named Joseph, who was from Arimathea in Judea. Joseph was a good and honest man, and he was eager for God's kingdom to come. He was also a member of the Jewish council, but he did not agree with what they had decided.
52 Joseph went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.
53 He took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in fine cloth. Then he put it in a tomb that had been cut out of solid rock and had never been used.
54 It was Friday, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and watched how Jesus' body was placed in the tomb.
56 Then they went to prepare some sweet-smelling spices for his burial. But on the Sabbath they rested, as the Law of Moses commands.