John 19:40

19:38-42 Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Christ in secret. Disciples should openly own themselves; yet some, who in lesser trials have been fearful, in greater have been courageous. When God has work to do, he can find out such as are proper to do it. The embalming was done by Nicodemus, a secret friend to Christ, though not his constant follower. That grace which at first is like a bruised reed, may afterward resemble a strong cedar. Hereby these two rich men showed the value they had for Christ's person and doctrine, and that it was not lessened by the reproach of the cross. We must do our duty as the present day and opportunity are, and leave it to God to fulfil his promises in his own way and his own time. The grave of Jesus was appointed with the wicked, as was the case of those who suffered as criminals; but he was with the rich in his death, as prophesied, Isa 53:9; these two circumstances it was very unlikely should ever be united in the same person. He was buried in a new sepulchre; therefore it could not be said that it was not he, but some other that rose. We also are here taught not to be particular as to the place of our burial. He was buried in the sepulchre next at hand. Here is the Sun of Righteousness set for a while, to rise again in greater glory, and then to set no more.

John 19:40 . Then — To prepare for his interment; they took the body of Jesus — Without regarding the reproach to which it might expose them; and wound it in linen clothes — Wrapped it in a great many folds of linen; with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury — Or rather, to embalm, for the proper meaning of the verb ενταφιαζειν , here used, is not to bury, but to embalm, as Dr. Campbell proves in a note on the words; showing that the verb ενταφιαζειν , and the noun ενταφιασμος , are used in the New Testament only in relation to the embalming of the body of our Lord; the word used for to bury, being invariably θαπτειν , which accords perfectly with the use made of the same words by the LXX. See Genesis 50:2 ; Genesis 50:5 , where the import of both words, and the distinction between them, is exemplified. It seems Joseph and Nicodemus intended to embalm our Lord’s body in a more exact manner as soon as the sabbath was over; hoping that, in the mean time, the spices lying near the body might preserve it from all taint of corruption. “Those who have written upon the manners and customs of the Jews tell us, that they sometimes embalmed their dead with an aromatic mixture of myrrh, aloes, and other gums or spices, which they rubbed on the body, more or less profusely, according to their circumstances and their regard for the dead.

After anointing the body, they covered it with a shroud, or winding-sheet, then wrapped a napkin round its head and face, others say, round the forehead only; because the Egyptian mummies are observed to have it so; last of all, they swathed the shroud round the body as tightly as possible, with proper bandages made of linen. At other times, they covered the whole body in a heap of spices, as is said of Asa, 2 Chronicles 16:14 . From the quantity of myrrh and aloes made use of by Joseph and Nicodemus, it would appear that the office performed by them to their Master was of this latter kind; for they had not time to embalm him properly.” They seem, however, to have done all that was usual in such circumstances to persons of wealth and distinction, which, as well as the sepulchre itself, agreed to Isaiah’s prophecy, Isaiah 53:9 .

Linen cloths (ὀθονίοις) Used only by John, if Luke 24:12 is rejected, as by some editors. The Synoptists all have σινδών, linen cloth. See on Mark 14:51. Matthew and Luke have ἐντύλιξεν, rolled or wrapped, and Mark ἐνείλησεν, wound, instead of John's ἔδησαν bound. With the spices Spread over the sheet or bandages in which the body was wrapped. The manner of the Jews As contrasted with that of the Egyptians, for instance, which is thus described by Herodotus: "They take first a crooked piece of iron, and with it draw out the brains through the nostrils, thus getting rid of a portion, while the skull is cleared of the rest by rinsing with drugs; next they make a cut along the flank with a sharp Ethiopian stone, and take out the whole contents of the abdomen, which they then cleanse, washing it thoroughly with palm-wine, and again, frequently with an infusion of pounded aromatics. After this they fill the cavity with the purest bruised myrrh, with cassia, and every other sort of spicery except frankincense, and sew up the opening. Then the body is placed in natrum (subcarbonate of soda) for seventy days, and covered entirely over. After the expiration of that space of time, which must not be exceeded, the body is washed, and wrapped round, from head to foot, with bandages of fine linen cloth, smeared over with gum" (ii., 86). Or, possibly, a contrast may be implied with the Roman custom of burning the bodies of the dead.

Tacitus says of the Jews: "The bodies of the deceased they choose rather to bury than burn, following in this the Egyptian custom; with whom also they agree in their attention to the dead" ("History," v., 5). To bury (ἐνταφιάζειν) Properly, to prepare for burial. See on John 12:7. Compare Septuagint, Genesis 1:2, where the same word is used for embalming the body of Joseph.

40. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury—the mixed and pulverized myrrh and aloes shaken into the folds, and the entire body, thus swathed, wrapt in an outer covering of "clean linen cloth" (Mt 27:59). Had the Lord's own friends had the least reason to think that the spark of life was still in Him, would they have done this? But even if one could conceive them mistaken, could anyone have lain thus enveloped for the period during which He was in the grave, and life still remained? Impossible. When, therefore, He walked forth from the tomb, we can say with the most absolute certainty, "Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept" (1Co 15:20). No wonder that the learned and the barbarians alike were prepared to die for the name of the Lord Jesus; for such evidence was to the unsophisticated resistless. (No mention is made of anointing in this operation. No doubt it was a hurried proceeding, for fear of interruption, and because it was close on the sabbath, the women seem to have set this as their proper task "as soon as the sabbath should be past" [Mr 16:1]. But as the Lord graciously held it as undesignedly anticipated by Mary at Bethany [Mr 14:8], so this was probably all the anointing, in the strict sense of it, which He received.)

40 . Then took they ] They took therefore . wound it , &c.] Or, bound it in linen cloths . The ‘cloths’ seem to refer to the bandages which kept the whole together rather than the large ‘linen sheet’ mentioned by the other Evangelists, which Joseph had bought on purpose ( Mark 15:46 ). The word here used for ‘linen cloths’ occurs also in Luke 24:12 : see note there. the manner of the Jews ] As distinct from the manner of the Egyptians, whose three methods of embalming are elaborately described by Herodotus (ii. 86 ff.). The Egyptians in all cases removed part of the intestines and steeped the body in nitre. to bury ] The Greek verb is rare in Scripture; in N.T. only Matthew 26:12 . The cognate substantive occurs John 12:7 ; Mark 14:8 . In Genesis 50:2 it is used by the LXX. for the embalming of Jacob.