Whether Joseph knows it or not, he is preparing Jesus for priestly ministry. Clean linen cloth reminds us of the priestly attire at the temple, the linen clothing that the high priest wore on the day of atonement when he entered the Most Holy Place to sprinkle blood toward the ark. The stones of the temple were “hewn” and the stones of the foundation were “large stones,” 8-10 cubits high (1 Kings 7:10). John makes this point very clearly in his account of the resurrection, when he shows the tomb to be like the Most Holy Place, and the slab on which Jesus lay to be the ark, flanked by two angels. Jesus is placed in the grave to transform the place of death into a source of life, to cleanse and sanctify a place of intense impurity.
Should we read that backward into the Old Covenant as well? The High Priest’s approach to the ark on the Day of Atonement was an ascent to the presence of Yahweh. Was it also a descent to Sheol? The temple itself was all stone on the exterior; “hewn from stone,” one could say. The High Priest enters the Most Holy Place with blood, sign of death. He sprinkles blood on the ark cover. He is dressed in simple linen, like a corpse. He is warned not to go in at other times, lest he die, so the Most Holy Place is a place of most intense life and also a place where instant death is always a possibility.
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