LUKE 24:1 But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
This verse puzzles me.
After Christ was crucified , laid to rest in the sealed tomb everyone thought it was game over, Christ was dead and no hope left. Why were the women returning to the tomb 3 days after Christ was laid to rest and why were they bringing spices if they thought Christ was dead in the tomb and the tomb was sealed?
Sailor, thank you for your comments and questions.
Even though Jesus had taught His followers at different times that He would die and would rise again on the third day, they still didn’t understand it at all. After His crucifixion, they were confused, sad, and fearful. Even though He taught them what would happen, they still didn’t fully understand that Jesus would be bodily resurrected—at least they didn’t understand it yet. After Jesus died, they wanted to do they only thing they knew to do--to proceeded on with their usual burial traditions for the one they loved.
I believe the reason they brought more spices, was that they didn’t have time on Friday night to do what they thought was a full job of preparing the body. Jesus gave up His life on the cross at about three in the afternoon. By the time Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, then gathered up the linen and spices, time would have gone by. They didn’t have very long to get the body of Jesus ready and in the tomb before the Sabbath began at sunset (Sabbath began at sundown on Friday and ended at sundown on Saturday). This time crunch before the Sabbath began was why they broke the legs of the two thieves-they wanted them dead because they didn’t want their bodies hanging on crosses on the Sabbath of the Passover feast. So, by the time they took Jesus off the cross, quickly wrapped him and placed spices in the wrappings, then closed the tomb— they would have rushed and probably didn’t do all the spices they wanted to do for a proper burial.
That is why I think the women brought more spices that early Sunday morning. The Sabbath was over, and they wanted to do their best for the body of Jesus. While the women made their way toward the tomb, they wondered how they would roll the massive stone away in order to finish placing spices in the wrappings around the body of Jesus. (By this time—Jesus had been dead for less than 40 hours-from Friday at 3PM, to Sunday at dawn.)
The three days in the tomb used to bother me because to me, from Friday at 3 to Sunday at dawn didn’t make sense as being three days. But then I learned that the Jewish way of counting the days was to count any part of the day as a day. So, in other words:
ONE DAY - Friday at 3:00PM to midnight
TWO DAYS - Saturday, all day in the tomb
THREE DAYS - Sunday, from midnight to Sunday dawn when the angel appeared at the tomb to the women
This is so good. I really enjoyed reading it. To God be the glory!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes, to God be the glory forever.
LUKE 24:1 But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
This verse puzzles me.
After Christ was crucified , laid to rest in the sealed tomb everyone thought it was game over, Christ was dead and no hope left. Why were the women returning to the tomb 3 days after Christ was laid to rest and why were they bringing spices if they thought Christ was dead in the tomb and the tomb was sealed?
Sailor, thank you for your comments and questions.
Even though Jesus had taught His followers at different times that He would die and would rise again on the third day, they still didn’t understand it at all. After His crucifixion, they were confused, sad, and fearful. Even though He taught them what would happen, they still didn’t fully understand that Jesus would be bodily resurrected—at least they didn’t understand it yet. After Jesus died, they wanted to do they only thing they knew to do--to proceeded on with their usual burial traditions for the one they loved.
I believe the reason they brought more spices, was that they didn’t have time on Friday night to do what they thought was a full job of preparing the body. Jesus gave up His life on the cross at about three in the afternoon. By the time Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, then gathered up the linen and spices, time would have gone by. They didn’t have very long to get the body of Jesus ready and in the tomb before the Sabbath began at sunset (Sabbath began at sundown on Friday and ended at sundown on Saturday). This time crunch before the Sabbath began was why they broke the legs of the two thieves-they wanted them dead because they didn’t want their bodies hanging on crosses on the Sabbath of the Passover feast. So, by the time they took Jesus off the cross, quickly wrapped him and placed spices in the wrappings, then closed the tomb— they would have rushed and probably didn’t do all the spices they wanted to do for a proper burial.
That is why I think the women brought more spices that early Sunday morning. The Sabbath was over, and they wanted to do their best for the body of Jesus. While the women made their way toward the tomb, they wondered how they would roll the massive stone away in order to finish placing spices in the wrappings around the body of Jesus. (By this time—Jesus had been dead for less than 40 hours-from Friday at 3PM, to Sunday at dawn.)
The three days in the tomb used to bother me because to me, from Friday at 3 to Sunday at dawn didn’t make sense as being three days. But then I learned that the Jewish way of counting the days was to count any part of the day as a day. So, in other words:
ONE DAY - Friday at 3:00PM to midnight
TWO DAYS - Saturday, all day in the tomb
THREE DAYS - Sunday, from midnight to Sunday dawn when the angel appeared at the tomb to the women