Sentence:  Perhaps after the soldiers had laid him on the ground , while Joseph of Arimathea <WSD>was</WSD> at Pontius Pilate 's asking for Christ 's body , Nicodemus was gathering his mixture of myrrh and aloes , and the others had gone home to mourn . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere