Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, 34 but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. 35 An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may [come to] believe. 36 For this happened so that the scripture passage might be fulfilled: “Not a bone of it will be broken.” 37 And again another passage says: “They will look upon him whom they have pierced.”
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body. 39 Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. 40 They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. 41 Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. 42 So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.
1 On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” 3 So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; 5 he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. 6 When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, 7 and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. 8 Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. 9 For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned home.
According to Jewish law, the corpse of a man guilty of a capital offense who was hung on a tree could not remain there overnight (Deut. 21:23). That is why the Jewish leaders asked for the legs of those who were crucified to be broken so that Jesus and the robbers would die quickly and could be taken down from their crosses before sundown. Jesus not having his legs broken (v. 33) calls to mind the unblemished Passover Lamb; “Your lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish (Ex. 12:5, 10).” The blood and water (v. 34) may have been a reference to rivers of living water flowing from Jesus’ side (Jn. 7:38-39; 1 Jn. 5:6-7) as he shed his blood on the cross for our sins (Mt. 26:28). The quote in verse 36 if from Ps. 34:21. Verse 37 refers to when “Moses made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever the serpent bit someone, the person looked t the bronze serpent and recovered (Num. 21:9),” and “When they look on him whom they have thrust through, they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child (Zech. 12:10}.”
Nicodemus (Jn. 3:1-21; 7:50-52) brought a large amount of spices to anoint Jesus for burial similar to Mary, Lazarus’ sister, who anointed Jesus with a large amount of expensive perfumed oil a few days before (Jn. 12:3). The tradition in the Johannine community held that Jesus was anointed and wrapped in strips of linen similar to Lazarus (v. 40; Jn. 11:44). The description of the exact location of the tomb (vv. 41-42) could be so that the tomb could be easily identified.
Mary Magdalene, one of the women standing at the foot of the cross (Jn. 19:25), was the first person to visit the tomb of Jesus. She found the stone at the entrance of the tomb (Mk. 15:46) rolled away and the tomb empty so she ran to get Simon Peter and John. She most likely thought that the Jews had taken the body (v. 2). Peter and John went to the tomb and found it empty as Mary said. Finding the burial cloths in the tomb indicated that the body had not been stolen as all the burial cloths would still be on the body (Jn. 11:44). John entered the tomb after Peter and immediately believed what Jesus had told them; “The Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day (Lk. 24:7).” The disciples would not understand the significance of the events until the Holy Spirit enlightened them, “The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you (Jn. 14:26).”
Almighty God, Scripture tells us that Jesus was “pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity.” Help us to truly understand what he did for us and to turn our hearts and minds to him so we too may be healed by his wounds. This we pray through the same Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Comments