There were also
some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary
the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee,
they used to follow him and minister to him; and there were many other women
who came up with him to Jerusalem. When evening had already come, because it
was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of
Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for
the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and
asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate wondered if he was dead by this time, and
summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead.
And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. Joseph
bought a linen cloth, took him down, wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid
him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone
against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses
were looking on to see where He was laid.
Jesus did have female disciples and, in Mark, they were
the only ones of the disciples who watched the crucifixion, and that from
afar. Mark mentions that these
three—Mary Magdalene, another Mary (who was the mother of one of the twelve)
and a woman named Salome. Other gospel
writers speak of other women who followed Jesus, including Jesus own mother,
also called Mary (which is actually a Latinized form of the Hebrew name Miriam)
(Luke 8:2-3; Luke 10:39-42; John 11:1; John 19:25). These women were powerless to assist Jesus or
to gain access to his body because they were not allowed to approach the Roman
guards.
Joseph of Arimathea did try to
access Jesus’ body. Not only was Joseph
male, and wealthy, but also an important member of the Sanhedrin. We don’t know about him until now, but it
seems that he was a secret believer in Jesus’ teaching. He forced himself to go up before Pilate and
ask for Jesus’ body. He was afraid to be
known as a disciple of Jesus, and so it took some courage for him to do this.
Pilate, however, thought nothing of a
connection between Jesus and Joseph, but only expressed surprised that Jesus
was already dead. Six hours on a cross
was a surprisingly short time to die, but considering the number of beatings
Jesus went through (one by the Sanhedrin soldiers, one at Pilate’s command and
one as the Romans soldiers were preparing him for the cross), it should have
been expected. Once Jesus’ death was
confirmed, permission was granted for Joseph to take the body.
There were two reasons for rush. For one, it was just about the Sabbath, and
the bodies should not be prepared once the Sabbath came that Friday night at
sunset. Second, it says in the law
(Deuteronomy 21:22-23) that a body of an executed criminal may not hang
overnight. Joseph, at this point, buried
Jesus’ body with the bare minimum required.
He placed him quickly in a burial cloth and placed him in a new tomb
(other gospels say it was Joseph’s own—Matthew 27:60) and placed a stone over
the tomb, so no one would disturb the body.
This burial was not to the woman’s liking, but they planned one of more
honor after the Sabbath was finished, Sunday morning.
The people of God are made up of different members, all working toward God's purposes. Joseph was wealthy but fearful-- he had much to lose. Still, he requested that respect be made for Jesus. He may have done nothing else for Jesus during his life, we don't know, but we know that he did this one work and so is respected by people for all ages.
There were also women that we know little about. They were supposed to remain silent, to stay in the background. And it is because of their skill of staying in the background that they accomplished the greatest deed of all. Those who are not noticed, those who have few resources and are weak in they eyes of the world-- keep your eye on them. God will use them to accomplish his greatest purposes.
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