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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - John 19:38 - 19:42
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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Joh_19:38-42
38After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. 39Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. 40So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Joh_19:38-39 "Joseph. . .Nicodemus" These two wealthy, influential members of the Sanhedrin were secret disciples of Jesus who went public at this critical and dangerous time.
Joh_19:39 "bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight" This was the traditional aromatic burial spices of the Jewish people of the first century. The amount is somewhat extravagant; many see this as symbolic of Jesus being buried as a king (cf. 2Ch_16:14). See special topic on anointing at Joh_11:2.
The Greek word for "mixture" (migma), found in MSS P66, cf8 i2, A, D, L, and most of the church Fathers and versions, is surprisingly changed to "package" (eligma) in MSS à *, B, W, and some Coptic versions. The UBS4 gives "mixture" a "B" rating (almost certain).
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Joh_19:40 "So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices" The spices were for two purposes: (1) to kill the odor and (2) to hold the burial wrappings in place.
Joh_19:41 "Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden" It is crucial that we understand the haste with which Joseph and Nicodemus worked. Jesus died at 3:00 p.m. and had to be in the grave by 6:00 p.m., which was the beginning of the Jewish Passover Sabbath.
▣ "a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid" This is a periphrastic perfect passive participle. We learn from Mat_27:60 that this was Joseph's own tomb. This is a fulfillment of Isa_53:9 quoted in Mat_27:57.
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