County of statue: Montgomery County
Location of cave & statue: MO-P, Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows, in small cave, Starkenburg
Marker erected by: Church of the Risen Savior
"The Holy Sepulcher (1950 - photo #13) was constructed of reinforced concrete imitating an underground cavern. It is the location of a reclining statue of the dying Christ and an alter for offerings." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
Statue:
"Entering down a flight of stairs, one comes into the cave-like tomb where the statue of the body of Christ lies in death. The dankness of the underground tomb, the candles casting light amid the darkness, give the Pilgrim the real feeling of the Death Christ suffered for our sins. Here, one can kneel in meditation, and truly feel a part of the suffering and death of Our Lord." ~ Church of the Risen Savior
"The burial of Jesus refers to the burial of the body of Jesus after crucifixion, described in the New Testament. According to the canonical gospel accounts, he was placed in a tomb by a man named Joseph of Arimathea.
"The earliest reference is in a letter of Paul. Writing to the Corinthians around the year 54 CE, he refers to the account he had received of the death and resurrection of Jesus ("and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures").
"The next generation of writings are the four canonical gospels, written between 66 and 95CE, all of which conclude with an extended narrative of Jesus' arrest, trial, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.:p.91 All four state that, on the evening of the Crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body, and, after Pilate granted his request, he wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid it in a tomb.
"There are significant differences between the four accounts, recording the evolution of the tradition from the earliest gospel (that of Mark) to the last (the Gospel of John). Modern scholarship tends to see the gospel accounts as contradictory, and finds the Mark portrayal more probable.
Gospel of Mark
In the earliest of the gospels, the Gospel of Mark, written around 70CE, Joseph of Arimathea is a member of the Jewish Council – the Sanhedrin which had condemned Jesus – who wishes to ensure that the corpse is buried in accordance with Jewish law, according to which dead bodies could not be left exposed overnight. He puts the body in a shroud and lays it in a tomb carved into the rock. The Jewish historian Josephus, writing later in the century, described how the Jews regarded this law as so important that even the bodies of crucified criminals would be taken down and buried before sunset. In this account, Joseph does only the bare minimum needed for observance of the law, wrapping the body in a cloth, with no mention of washing or anointing it. This may explain why Mark has a story prior to the Crucifixion, in which a woman pours perfume over Jesus (Mark 14:3-9): Jesus is thereby prepared for burial even before his death.
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew was written around the year 85 or 90, using the Gospel of Mark as a source.[11] In this account Joseph of Arimathea is not a member of the Sanhedrin, but a wealthy disciple of Jesus. Many interpreters have read this as a subtle orientation by the author towards wealthy supporters. This version suggests a more honourable burial: Joseph wraps the body in a clean shroud and places it in his own tomb, and word used is soma (body) rather than ptoma (corpse). The author adds that the Roman authorities "made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard." This detail may have been added to answer claims by contemporary opponents that the followers of Jesus had stolen his body.
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Mark is also a source for the account given in the Gospel of Luke, written around the year 90. As in the Mark version, Joseph is a member of the Sanhedrin rather than a follower, but here he is described as not having agreed with the verdict on Jesus.
Gospel of John
The last of the gospels, John, differs from Mark on this point, depicting Joseph as a disciple who gives Jesus an honourable burial. John says that Joseph was assisted in the burial process by Nicodemus, who brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes and included these spices in the burial cloth according to Jewish customs." ~ Wikipedia