Luke 23:54-56 54It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was drawing near. 55The women who had traveled together with him from Galilee followed after and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56Then after they returned, they prepared spices and ointments. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
Verse 54 adds a small crisis to the situation. It was Friday late afternoon and the sun was setting. Sundown was the beginning of the Sabbath. Everything about Jesus’ burial had to be done before the sun went down; otherwise, the Jews would be breaking the Sabbath, which was sacred to them. The women mentioned here are not named, but as 8:2–3 and 24:10 indicate, this likely included Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and Mary, the mother of James. These women had followed Jesus from Galilee and were part of his group of disciples. The focus in the Gospels is on the twelve apostles, but there are references to many people following Jesus as disciples. These women also showed a lot of care and love for Jesus. They wanted to show this love by caring for his body and giving it a proper burial.
They saw what Joseph and Nicodemus were doing by laying Jesus in a tomb. They thought they could come back later and anoint Jesus’ body. Evidently, they did not see that Joseph and Nicodemus had already done that, or they thought to add more. They did not stay long enough to see all that was happening and went and got their own spices ready. This was another sacrificial, selfless act of kindness and deep respect towards Jesus. They basically ran out of sunlight when the approaching Sabbath.
Both Joseph and these women give a much different response to Jesus than the others involved in Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion. These two groups represent those with deep faith even when their hopes seemed to crumble. They honor Jesus in as a king by providing a tomb and anointing his body. Even though the women were not successful in their plans, they still had started and made an effort in that direction. These two groups represent disciples who have hope, even though their understanding was limited.
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