Chapter 121

Before the Sanhedrin, Then to Pilate

THE night is drawing to a close. Peter has denied Jesus for the third time, and the members of the Sanhedrin have finished with their mock trial and have dispersed. However, as soon as it becomes dawn Friday morning, they meet again, this time at their Sanhedrin hall. Their purpose likely is to give some appearance of legality to the night trial. When Jesus is brought before them, they say, as they did during the night: “If you are the Christ, tell us.”

“Even if I told you, you would not believe it,” Jesus answers. “Moreover, if I questioned you, you would not answer.” However, Jesus courageously points to his identity, saying: “From now on the Son of man will be sitting at the powerful right hand of God.”

“Are you, therefore, the Son of God?” all of them want to know.

“You yourselves are saying that I am,” Jesus replies.

For these men intent on murder, this answer is sufficient. They consider it blasphemy. “Why do we need further witness?” they ask. “For we ourselves have heard it out of his own mouth.” So they bind Jesus, lead him away, and hand him over to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.

Judas, Jesus’ betrayer, has been observing the proceedings. When he sees that Jesus has been condemned, he feels remorse. So he goes to the chief priests and older men to return the 30 pieces of silver, explaining: “I sinned when I betrayed righteous blood.”

“What is that to us? You must see to that!” they heartlessly reply. So Judas throws the silver pieces into the temple and goes off and tries to hang himself. However, the branch to which Judas ties the rope apparently breaks, and his body plunges to the rocks below, where it bursts apart.

The chief priests are not sure what to do with the silver pieces. “It is not lawful to drop them into the sacred treasury,” they conclude, “because they are the price of blood.” So, after consulting together, they purchase with the money the potter’s field to bury strangers. The field thus comes to be called “Field of Blood.”

It is still early in the morning when Jesus is taken to the governor’s palace. But the Jews who have accompanied him refuse to enter because they believe that such intimacy with Gentiles will defile them. So to accommodate them, Pilate comes out. “What accusation do you bring against this man?” he asks.

“If this man were not a wrongdoer, we would not have delivered him up to you,” they answer.

Desiring to avoid involvement, Pilate responds: “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.”

Revealing their murderous intent, the Jews claim: “It is not lawful for us to kill anyone.” Indeed, if they killed Jesus during the Passover Festival, it would likely cause a public uproar, since many hold Jesus in high regard. But if they can get the Romans to execute him on a political charge, this will tend to absolve them of responsibility before the people.

So the religious leaders, not mentioning their earlier trial during which they condemned Jesus for blasphemy, now trump up different charges. They make the three-part accusation: “This man we found [1] subverting our nation and [2] forbidding the paying of taxes to Caesar and [3] saying he himself is Christ a king.”

It is the charge that Jesus claims to be a king that concerns Pilate. He, therefore, enters the palace again, calls Jesus to him, and asks: “Are you the king of the Jews?” In other words, have you broken the law by declaring yourself to be a king in opposition to Caesar?

Jesus wants to know how much Pilate already has heard about him, so he asks: “Is it of your own originality that you say this, or did others tell you about me?”

Pilate professes ignorance about him and a desire to learn the facts. “I am not a Jew, am I?” he responds. “Your own nation and the chief priests delivered you up to me. What did you do?”

Jesus in no way attempts to dodge the issue, which is that of kingship. The answer that Jesus now gives no doubt surprises Pilate. Luke 22:66–23:3; Matthew 27:1-11; Mark 15:1; John 18:28-35; Acts 1:16-20.

▪ For what purpose does the Sanhedrin meet again in the morning?

▪ How does Judas die, and what is done with the 30 pieces of silver?

▪ Rather than kill him themselves, why do the Jews want the Romans to kill Jesus?

▪ What charges do the Jews make against Jesus?

Chapter 122

From Pilate to Herod and Back Again

ALTHOUGH Jesus makes no attempt to conceal from Pilate that he is a king, he explains that his Kingdom is no threat to Rome. “My kingdom is no part of this world,” Jesus says. “If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But, as it is, my kingdom is not from this source.” Jesus thus acknowledges three times that he has a Kingdom, although it is not of an earthly source.

Yet, Pilate presses him further: “Well, then, are you a king?” That is, are you a king even though your Kingdom is no part of this world?

Jesus lets Pilate know that he has drawn the right conclusion, answering: “You yourself are saying that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone that is on the side of the truth listens to my voice.”

Yes, the very purpose of Jesus’ existence on earth is to bear witness to “the truth,” specifically the truth about his Kingdom. Jesus is prepared to be faithful to that truth even if it costs him his life. Although Pilate asks: “What is truth?” he does not wait for further explanation. He has heard enough to render judgment.

Pilate returns to the crowd waiting outside the palace. Evidently with Jesus at his side, he tells the chief priests and those with them: “I find no crime in this man.”

Angered by the decision, the crowds begin to insist: “He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, even starting out from Galilee to here.”

The unreasoning fanaticism of the Jews must amaze Pilate. So, as the chief priests and older men continue shouting, Pilate turns to Jesus and asks: “Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?” Yet, Jesus makes no attempt to answer. His calm in the face of the wild accusations causes Pilate to marvel.

Learning that Jesus is a Galilean, Pilate sees a way out of responsibility for him. The ruler of Galilee, Herod Antipas (son of Herod the Great), is in Jerusalem for the Passover, so Pilate sends Jesus to him. Earlier, Herod Antipas had John the Baptizer beheaded, and then Herod became frightened when he heard about the miraculous works Jesus was performing, fearing that Jesus was actually John who had been raised from the dead.

Now, Herod is overjoyed at the prospect of seeing Jesus. This is not because he is concerned about Jesus’ welfare or that he wants to make any real attempt to learn whether the charges against him are true or not. Rather, he is simply curious and hopes to see Jesus perform some miracle.

Jesus, however, refuses to satisfy Herod’s curiosity. In fact, as Herod questions him, he does not say a word. Disappointed, Herod and his soldier guards make fun of Jesus. They clothe him with a bright garment and mock him. Then they send him back to Pilate. As a result, Herod and Pilate, who had formerly been enemies, become good friends.

When Jesus returns, Pilate calls the chief priests, the Jewish rulers, and the people together and says: “You brought this man to me as one inciting the people to revolt, and, look! I examined him in front of you but found in this man no ground for the charges you are bringing against him. In fact, neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us; and, look! nothing deserving of death has been committed by him. I will therefore chastise him and release him.”

Thus Pilate has twice declared Jesus innocent. He is eager to free him, for he realizes that it is only because of envy that the priests have handed him over. As Pilate continues to try to release Jesus, he receives even stronger motivation to do so. While he is on his judgment seat, his wife sends a message, urging him: “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I suffered a lot today in a dream [evidently of divine origin] because of him.”

Yet, how can Pilate release this innocent man, as he knows he should? John 18:36-38; Luke 23:4-16; Matthew 27:12-14, 18, 19; 14:1, 2; Mark 15:2-5.

▪ How does Jesus answer the question regarding his kingship?

▪ What is “the truth” about which Jesus spent his earthly life bearing witness?

▪ What is Pilate’s judgment, how do the people respond, and what does Pilate do with Jesus?

▪ Who is Herod Antipas, why is he overjoyed to see Jesus, and what does he do with him?

▪ Why is Pilate eager to free Jesus?

Chapter 123

“Look! The Man!”

IMPRESSED by Jesus’ demeanor and recognizing his innocence, Pilate pursues another way to release him. “You have a custom,” he tells the crowds, “that I should release a man to you at the passover.”

Barabbas, a notorious murderer, is also being held as prisoner, so Pilate asks: “Which one do you want me to release to you, Barabbas or Jesus the so-called Christ?”

Persuaded by the chief priests who have stirred them up, the people ask for Barabbas to be released but for Jesus to be killed. Not giving up, Pilate responds, asking again: “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”

“Barabbas,” they shout.

“What, then, shall I do with Jesus the so-called Christ?” Pilate asks in dismay.

With one deafening roar, they answer: “Let him be impaled!” “Impale! Impale him!”

Knowing that they are demanding the death of an innocent man, Pilate pleads: “Why, what bad thing did this man do? I found nothing deserving of death in him; I will therefore chastise and release him.”

Despite his attempts, the enraged crowd, egged on by their religious leaders, keep yelling: “Let him be impaled!” Worked into a frenzy by the priests, the crowd wants blood. And to think, only five days before, some of them were probably among those who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem as King! All the while, Jesus’ disciples, if they are present, remain silent and inconspicuous.

Pilate, seeing his appeals are doing no good but, rather, that an uproar is arising, takes water and washes his hands before the crowd, and says: “I am innocent of the blood of this man. You yourselves must see to it.” At that, the people answer: “His blood come upon us and upon our children.”

So, in accord with their demands​—and wishing to satisfy the crowd more than to do what he knows is right—​Pilate releases Barabbas to them. He takes Jesus and has him stripped and then scourged. This was no ordinary whipping. The Journal of the American Medical Association describes the Roman practice of scourging:

“The usual instrument was a short whip (flagrum or flagellum) with several single or braided leather thongs of variable lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bones were tied at intervals. . . . As the Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim’s back with full force, the iron balls would cause deep contusions, and the leather thongs and sheep bones would cut into the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Then, as the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh.”

After this torturous beating, Jesus is taken into the governor’s palace, and the whole body of troops is called together. There the soldiers heap further abuse on him by braiding a crown of thorns and pushing it down on his head. They put a reed in his right hand, and they clothe him with a purple garment, the type that is worn by royalty. Then they say to him mockingly: “Good day, you King of the Jews!” Also, they spit on him and slap him in the face. Taking the sturdy reed from his hand, they use it to hit him on the head, driving even further into his scalp the sharp thorns of his humiliating “crown.”

Jesus’ remarkable dignity and strength in the face of this mistreatment so impresses Pilate that he is moved to make another attempt to redeem him. “See! I bring him outside to you in order for you to know I find no fault in him,” he tells the crowds. Possibly he imagines that the sight of Jesus’ tortured condition will soften their hearts. As Jesus stands before the heartless mob, wearing the thorny crown and the purple outer garment and with his bleeding face etched with pain, Pilate proclaims: “Look! The man!”

Though bruised and battered, here stands the most outstanding figure of all history, truly the greatest man who ever lived! Yes, Jesus shows a quiet dignity and calm that bespeak a greatness that even Pilate must acknowledge, for his words are apparently a mingling of both respect and pity. John 18:39–19:5; Matthew 27:15-17, 20-30; Mark 15:6-19; Luke 23:18-25.

▪ In what way does Pilate attempt to have Jesus released?

▪ How does Pilate try to absolve himself of responsibility?

▪ What is involved in being scourged?

▪ How is Jesus ridiculed after being scourged?

▪ What further attempt does Pilate make to release Jesus?

Chapter 124

Handed Over and Led Away

WHEN Pilate, moved by the quiet dignity of the tortured Jesus, again tries to release him, the chief priests become even angrier. They are determined to let nothing interfere with their wicked purpose. So they renew their shouting: “Impale him! Impale him!”

“Take him yourselves and impale him,” Pilate responds. (Contrary to their earlier claims, the Jews may have authority to execute criminals for religious offenses that are of sufficient gravity.) Then, for at least the fifth time, Pilate declares Jesus innocent, saying: “I do not find any fault in him.”

The Jews, seeing that their political charges have failed to produce results, fall back on the religious charge of blasphemy used hours earlier at Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin. “We have a law,” they say, “and according to the law he ought to die, because he made himself God’s son.”

This charge is new to Pilate, and it causes him to become more fearful. By now he realizes that Jesus is no ordinary man, even as his wife’s dream and Jesus’ remarkable strength of personality indicate. But “God’s son”? Pilate knows that Jesus is from Galilee. Yet, could he possibly have lived before? Taking him back into the palace again, Pilate asks: “Where are you from?”

Jesus remains silent. Earlier he had told Pilate that he is a king but that his Kingdom is no part of this world. No further explanation now would serve a useful purpose. However, Pilate’s pride is hurt by the refusal to answer, and he flares up at Jesus with the words: “Are you not speaking to me? Do you not know I have authority to release you and I have authority to impale you?”

“You would have no authority at all against me unless it had been granted to you from above,” Jesus responds respectfully. He is referring to the grant by God of authority to human rulers to administer earthly affairs. Jesus adds: “This is why the man that handed me over to you has greater sin.” Indeed, the high priest Caiaphas and his accomplices and Judas Iscariot all bear heavier responsibility than Pilate for the unjust treatment of Jesus.

Impressed even more by Jesus and fearful that Jesus may have a divine origin, Pilate renews his efforts to release him. The Jews, however, rebuff Pilate. They repeat their political charge, craftily threatening: “If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar. Every man making himself a king speaks against Caesar.”

Despite the dire implications, Pilate brings Jesus outside once more. “See! Your king!” he appeals yet again.

“Take him away! Take him away! Impale him!”

“Shall I impale your king?” Pilate asks in desperation.

The Jews have chafed under the rule of the Romans. Indeed, they despise Rome’s domination! Yet, hypocritically, the chief priests say: “We have no king but Caesar.”

Fearing for his political position and reputation, Pilate finally caves in under the Jews’ relentless demands. He hands Jesus over. The soldiers strip Jesus of the purple cloak and clothe him with his outer garments. As Jesus is led off to be impaled, he is made to bear his own torture stake.

By now it is midmorning on Friday, Nisan 14; perhaps it is approaching noon. Jesus has been up since early Thursday morning, and he has suffered one agonizing experience after another. Understandably, his strength soon gives out under the weight of the stake. So a passerby, a certain Simon of Cyrene in Africa, is impressed into service to carry it for him. As they proceed along, many people, including women, follow, beating themselves in grief and bewailing Jesus.

Turning to the women, Jesus says: “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me. On the contrary, weep for yourselves and for your children; because, look! days are coming in which people will say, ‘Happy are the barren women, and the wombs that did not give birth and the breasts that did not nurse!’ . . . Because if they do these things when the tree is moist, what will occur when it is withered?”

Jesus is referring to the tree of the Jewish nation, which still has some moisture of life in it because of Jesus’ presence and the existence of a remnant that believe in him. But when these are taken out from the nation, only a spiritually dead tree will remain, yes, a withered national organization. Oh, what cause for weeping there will be when the Roman armies, serving as God’s executioners, devastate the Jewish nation! John 19:6-17; 18:31; Luke 23:24-31; Matthew 27:31, 32; Mark 15:20, 21.

▪ What charge against Jesus do the religious leaders make when their political charges fail to produce results?

▪ Why does Pilate become more fearful?

▪ Who bear the greater sin for what happens to Jesus?

▪ Finally, how do the priests get Pilate to hand Jesus over for execution?

▪ What does Jesus tell the women who weep for him, and what does he mean by referring to the tree as being “moist” and then “withered”?

Chapter 125

Agony on the Stake

ALONG with Jesus two robbers are being led out to be executed. Not far from the city, the procession comes to a halt at the place called Golgotha, or Skull Place.

The prisoners are stripped of their garments. Then wine drugged with myrrh is provided. Apparently it is prepared by the women of Jerusalem, and the Romans do not deny this pain-dulling potion to those being impaled. However, when Jesus tastes it, he refuses to drink. Why? Evidently he wants to have full possession of all his faculties during this supreme test of his faith.

Jesus is now stretched out on the stake with his hands placed above his head. The soldiers then pound large nails into his hands and into his feet. He wrenches with pain as the nails pierce flesh and ligaments. When the stake is swung upright, the pain is excruciating, for the weight of the body tears at the nail wounds. Yet, rather than threaten, Jesus prays for the Roman soldiers: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Pilate has posted on the stake a sign that reads: “Jesus the Nazarene the King of the Jews.” Apparently, he writes this not only because he respects Jesus but because he loathes the Jewish priests for their having wrung Jesus’ death sentence from him. So that all may read the sign, Pilate has it written in three languages​—in Hebrew, in the official Latin, and in the common Greek.

The chief priests, including Caiaphas and Annas, are dismayed. This positive proclamation spoils their hour of triumph. Therefore they protest: “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” Chafing from having served as the pawn of the priests, Pilate answers with resolute contempt: “What I have written I have written.”

The priests, along with a large crowd, now gather at the site of the execution, and the priests refute the testimony of the sign. They repeat the false testimony that was given earlier at the Sanhedrin trials. Not surprisingly, therefore, passersby begin speaking abusively, wagging their heads in mockery and saying: “O you would-be thrower-down of the temple and builder of it in three days, save yourself! If you are a son of God, come down off the torture stake!”

“Others he saved; himself he cannot save!” the chief priests and their religious cronies chime in. “He is King of Israel; let him now come down off the torture stake and we will believe on him. He has put his trust in God; let Him now rescue him if He wants him, for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’”

Caught up in the spirit, the soldiers too make fun of Jesus. They mockingly offer him sour wine, apparently holding it just beyond his parched lips. “If you are the king of the Jews,” they taunt, “save yourself.” Even the robbers​—one impaled to Jesus’ right, and the other to his left—​ridicule him. Think of it! The greatest man who ever lived, yes, the one who shared with Jehovah God in creating all things, resolutely suffers all this abuse!

The soldiers take Jesus’ outer garments and divide them into four parts. They cast lots to see whose these will become. The inner garment, however, is without a seam, being of superior quality. So the soldiers say to one another: “Let us not tear it, but let us determine by lots over it whose it will be.” Thus, unwittingly, they fulfill the scripture that says: “They apportioned my outer garments among themselves, and upon my apparel they cast lots.”

In time, one of the robbers comes to appreciate that Jesus truly must be a king. Therefore, rebuking his companion, he says: “Do you not fear God at all, now that you are in the same judgment? And we, indeed, justly so, for we are receiving in full what we deserve for things we did; but this man did nothing out of the way.” Then he addresses Jesus, with the petition: “Remember me when you get into your kingdom.”

“Truly I tell you today,” Jesus replies, “You will be with me in Paradise.” This promise will be fulfilled when Jesus rules as King in heaven and resurrects this repentant evildoer to life on earth in the Paradise that Armageddon survivors and their companions will have the privilege of cultivating. Matthew 27:33-44; Mark 15:22-32; Luke 23:27, 32-43; John 19:17-24.

▪ Why does Jesus refuse to drink the wine drugged with myrrh?

▪ Why, apparently, is a sign posted on Jesus’ stake, and what exchange does it initiate between Pilate and the chief priests?

▪ What further abuse does Jesus receive on the stake, and what evidently prompts it?

▪ How is prophecy fulfilled in what is done with Jesus’ garments?

▪ What change does one of the robbers make, and how will Jesus fulfill his request?

Chapter 126

“Certainly This Was God’s Son”

JESUS has not been on the stake long when, at midday, a mysterious, three-hour-long darkness occurs. A solar eclipse is not responsible, since these take place only at the time of the new moon and the moon is full at Passover time. Moreover, solar eclipses last only a few minutes. So the darkness is of divine origin! It probably gives pause to those mocking Jesus, even causing their taunts to cease.

If the eerie phenomenon occurs before the one evildoer chastises his companion and asks Jesus to remember him, it may be a factor in his repentance. Perhaps it is during the darkness that four women, namely, Jesus’ mother and her sister Salome, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of the apostle James the Less, make their way close to the torture stake. John, Jesus’ beloved apostle, is with them there.

How the heart of Jesus’ mother is ‘pierced through’ as she watches the son she nursed and nurtured hanging there in agony! Yet Jesus thinks, not of his own pain, but of her welfare. With great effort, he nods toward John and says to his mother: “Woman, see! Your son!” Then, nodding toward Mary, he says to John: “See! Your mother!”

Jesus thereby entrusts the care of his mother, who is evidently now a widow, to his specially loved apostle. He does this because Mary’s other sons have not as yet manifested faith in him. Thus he sets a fine example in making provision not only for his mother’s physical needs but also for her spiritual ones.

At about three in the afternoon, Jesus says: “I am thirsty.” Jesus senses that his Father has, as it were, withdrawn protection from him in order that his integrity might be tested to the limit. So he calls out with a loud voice: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” At hearing this, some who are standing nearby exclaim: “See! He is calling Elijah.” Immediately one of them runs and, placing a sponge soaked with sour wine on the end of a hyssop stalk, gives him a drink. But others say: “Let him be! Let us see whether Elijah comes to take him down.”

When Jesus receives the sour wine, he cries out: “It has been accomplished!” Yes, he has finished everything that his Father has sent him to earth to do. Finally, he says: “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” Jesus thereby commits to God his life-force in confidence that God will restore it to him again. Then he bows his head and dies.

The moment Jesus breathes his last, a violent earthquake occurs, splitting open the rock-masses. The quake is so powerful that the memorial tombs outside Jerusalem are broken open and corpses are thrown out of them. Passersby who see the dead bodies that have been exposed enter the city and report it.

Furthermore, at the moment Jesus dies, the huge curtain that divides the Holy from the Most Holy in God’s temple is rent in two, from top to bottom. Apparently this beautifully ornamented curtain is some 60 feet [18 m] high and very heavy! The astonishing miracle not only manifests God’s wrath against the killers of His Son but signifies that the way into the Most Holy, heaven itself, is now made possible by Jesus’ death.

Well, when people feel the earthquake and see the things happening, they grow very much afraid. The army officer in charge at the execution gives glory to God. “Certainly this was God’s Son,” he proclaims. Likely he had been present when the claim of divine sonship was discussed at Jesus’ trial before Pilate. And now he is convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, yes, that he is indeed the greatest man who ever lived.

Others too are overcome by these miraculous events, and they begin returning home beating their breasts as a gesture of their intense grief and shame. Observing the spectacle at a distance are many female disciples of Jesus who are deeply moved by these momentous events. The apostle John is also present. Matthew 27:45-56; Mark 15:33-41; Luke 23:44-49; 2:34, 35; John 19:25-30.

▪ Why can a solar eclipse not be responsible for the three hours of darkness?

▪ Shortly before his death, what fine example does Jesus provide for those with aged parents?

▪ What are Jesus’ last four statements before he dies?

▪ What does the earthquake accomplish, and what is the significance of the temple curtain’s being rent in two?

▪ How is the army officer in charge at the execution affected by the miracles?

Chapter 127

Buried Friday​—An Empty Tomb Sunday

BY NOW it is late Friday afternoon, and the Sabbath of Nisan 15 will begin at sundown. Jesus’ dead body hangs limp on the stake, but the two robbers alongside him are still alive. Friday afternoon is called Preparation because this is when people prepare meals and complete any other pressing work that cannot wait until after the Sabbath.

The Sabbath soon to begin is not only a regular Sabbath (the seventh day of the week) but also a double, or “great,” Sabbath. It is called this because Nisan 15, which is the first day of the seven-day Festival of Unfermented Cakes (and is always a Sabbath, no matter on what day of the week it comes), falls on the same day as the regular Sabbath.

According to God’s Law, bodies are not to be left hanging on a stake overnight. So the Jews ask Pilate that the death of those being executed be hastened by breaking their legs. The soldiers, therefore, break the legs of the two robbers. But since Jesus appears to be dead, his legs are not broken. This fulfills the scripture: “Not a bone of his will be crushed.”

However, to remove any doubt that Jesus is really dead, one of the soldiers jabs a spear into his side. The spear pierces the region of his heart, and immediately blood and water come out. The apostle John, who is an eyewitness, reports that this fulfills another scripture: “They will look to the One whom they pierced.”

Also present at the execution is Joseph from the city of Arimathea, a reputable member of the Sanhedrin. He refused to vote in favor of the high court’s unjust action against Jesus. Joseph is actually a disciple of Jesus, although he has been afraid to identify himself as one. Now, however, he exercises courage and goes to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body. Pilate summons the army officer in charge, and after the officer confirms that Jesus is dead, Pilate has the corpse handed over.

Joseph takes the body and wraps it in clean fine linen in preparation for burial. He is assisted by Nicodemus, another member of the Sanhedrin. Nicodemus also has failed to confess his faith in Jesus because of fear of losing his position. But now he brings a roll containing about a hundred Roman pounds [33 kg] of myrrh and expensive aloes. Jesus’ body is wrapped in bandages containing these spices, just the way the Jews have the custom of preparing bodies for burial.

The body is then laid in Joseph’s new memorial tomb that is carved in the rock in the garden nearby. Finally, a large stone is rolled in front of the tomb. To accomplish the burial before the Sabbath, preparation of the body is hasty. Therefore, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James the Less, who have perhaps been helping with the preparation, hurry home to prepare more spices and perfumed oils. After the Sabbath, they plan to treat Jesus’ body further in order to preserve it for a longer period of time.