So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
Two members of the ruling council had kept their faith hidden. Now, in daylight, they prepare the body of Jesus for the grave with a costly weight of spices, as Jews buried their dead.
The custom behind the words
The verse assumes a practice its first readers knew. Bandages were wound round the body, with the spices packed in among the cloths.
Morrish Bible DictionaryAmong the Jews they simply wrapped the body round with bandages, with a quantity of spices enclosed. Nicodemus supplied "a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds in weight."
The word John uses is not the ordinary word for burying. One commentator points to the Greek word behind it:
William KellyThe word is not thaptein but entaphiazein. It is the word used for embalming, or at least for preparing a body for burial, as here.
A body kept from dishonour
A criminal's body belonged in a criminal's grave. His did not go there.
Numerical Bible NotesHis grave was appointed with the wicked; but this could not be allowed to take effect: He was with the rich in His death. Joseph's tomb was the only fitting place for the body of the Holy One, who could not see corruption, during its brief stay there. God's providence justified Him there, until the resurrection should justify Him openly.
The same judgment that fell on Him at the cross now insisted He be honoured:
Samuel RidoutThe same unyielding judgment which had dealt with Him at the cross now demanded the fullest honour to Him, as judicial testimony that His sacrifice was accepted.
What the linen and the spices say
Both materials carry meaning.
L. M. GrantNicodemus has traded his timidity for boldness. He brings so large an amount of spices to signify that the death of the Lord Jesus has in it a sweet fragrance, one that will delight the heart of God the Father for the ages of eternity. The wrapping in fine linen reminds us of the perfect purity of the life of the Lord Jesus in every detail. That life was laid down for a time, in sacrifice, but with a view to taking it up again.
That fragrance did not end at the tomb:
Numerical Bible NotesHe has left His death behind, but we cannot leave it behind. His resurrection glorifies that death; it does not erase it. The myrrh and aloes perfume His garments still (Ps. 45:8). Up in the glory of heaven, the hearts of His redeemed still see Him as a "Lamb slain" (Rev. 5:6).
Hidden men brought into the open
The word "they" covers two men who had kept their faith to themselves until now.
William KellyGod uses a dangerous time to call out His own hidden ones. Joseph of Arimathea can be a secret disciple no longer… The death of Jesus, which caused others to fear, made Joseph bold… Nicodemus, who at first had no reputation for moral courage, joins in the last acts of love with an abundant offering of myrrh and aloes. The cross of Christ, such a stumbling block to unbelief, tests and displays his faith. The two grow brave by grace and make up for the missing service of the twelve apostles.
The scene puts a question to every believer who stays hidden:
A J PollockIs it not a call to secret believers, timid disciples who keep in the shadows, to come out boldly into full daylight and confess their Saviour and Lord?
Love ahead of understanding
Burying Him "as is the burial custom of the Jews" was the act of people who did not expect Him back.
R. EvansYou would look in vain for proofs of understanding and power in the believers at this time. Yet the divine nature showed itself in their attachment to Jesus. All this time they were seeking the Living among the dead. They did not know the Scriptures, nor the power of God. They did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
Those same cloths had more to say when He rose. One writer sets them beside the grave clothes of Lazarus:
J T MawsonWhen Lazarus came out of his tomb he was bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and he needed friendly hands to loose him. The sacred body of Jesus did not need such friendly service. It did not rise from the dead wrapped in the garments of death. He left them behind Him undisturbed by His rising… all that spoke of bondage and of prison had been left behind.
Summary
- Custom — Jews wound the body in linen bandages with spices packed among them. The word John uses points to embalming, not just to laying a body in the ground.
- Care — His grave was assigned with the wicked, yet He was with the rich in His death. The Holy One could not see corruption, and Joseph's tomb was the only fitting place for Him.
- Cost — The spices speak of a death fragrant to the Father. The linen speaks of a spotless life. That perfume still clings to Him in glory.
- Courage — The hour that frightened the bold made the timid brave. Two hidden men filled the gap left by Jesus' twelve disciples. Their example calls every quiet believer into daylight.
- Conquest — They buried Him without knowing He must rise. The linen they wound round Him stayed in the empty tomb — the sign that death had lost.