Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 23:55
And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulcher, and how his body was laid.
55. the women also ] The two other Synoptists mention specially Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of James and Joses.
followed after ] Literally, “following closely.”
Verse 55. The women also, which came] These were Mary of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, Lu 24:10. To these three, Mark, in Mr 16:1, adds, Salome; but some think that this was only a surname of one of these Marys. See Poole on “Mat 27:61“. It is Bezas observation upon these verses, that Christ, being opposed by the devil and all his instruments, being now dead, leaveth two or three poor women, as it were, in the front of the battle, intending within a very short time, without much ado, to triumph over all these terrible adversaries. And the women also which came with him from Galilee,….
[See comments on Lu 23:49].
followed after; Joseph; and those that were with him, when they carried the body of Jesus, in order to inter it:
and beheld, the sepulchre; took notice of it, what an one it was, whereabout it stood in the garden, that they might know, and find it again:
and how his body was laid; in what position, form, and order; and observed that it was only wrapped in linen, and not anointed, or embalmed.
Had come with him ( ). Periphrastic past perfect active of . Followed after (). Aorist active participle of , an old verb, but in the N.T. only here and Ac 16:17. It is possible that they followed after Joseph and Nicodemus so that they “beheld the tomb,” ( ), and also “how his body was laid” ( ). First aorist passive indicative of . They may in fact, have witnessed the silent burial from a distance. The Syriac Sinaitic and the Syriac Curetonian give it thus: “and the women, who came with Him from Galilee went to the sepulchre in their footsteps, and saw the body when they had brought it in there.” At any rate the women saw “that” and “how” the body of Jesus was laid in this new tomb of Joseph in the rocks.
1) And the women also’ which came with him from allies,” (de hai gunaikes aetines esan suneleluthuiao ek tes Galilaias auto) “And the women who had come in the company with him (in church disciple like company) out of and from Galilee,” to minister to Him of their substance, their estate wealth. At least four or five of the women were named, Mat 27:55-56; Luk 8:2; Mar 15:40-41.
2) “Followed after,” (katakolouthesasai) “They followed after Joseph, afar,” as he carried the body of Jesus to the tomb, for burial, in the garden, Mat 27:61. They may not have known who had the body at this time.
3) “And beheld the sepulchre,” (etheasanto to mnemeion) “They gazed at (beheld) the tomb or sepulchre, carefully noted all things, Luk 23:53; Joh 19:41-42.
4) “And how his body was laid.” (kai hos etethe to soma autou) “And how his body was placed or laid out,” in their view, in the preparation room, before His final burial, Mar 15:47.
(55) And the women also.Here again we come upon traces of St. Lukes informants. The other Gospels speak of one or two by name. He knows that others belonging to the company of women who came with Jesus from Galilee (note the recurrence of the same description as in Luk. 23:49) had taken part in the work. They had stood within view of the cross. They saw the body taken down. They followed (it was not far) to the garden owned by Nicodemus.
‘And the women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and beheld the tomb, and how his body was laid, and they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.’
Instead they used the last moments before the Sabbath in order to observe what happened to His body, watching as His corpse was carried into the tomb. Then in order to prepare spices and ointments with which they would show their love for their dead Master, they returned to where they were staying. The idea of the spices and ointment was that for a while they would counteract the approach of decay while the spirit might still be in the body, and keep the corpse from smelling too pungently. It was all that they could do.
The impression we get from the narrative is that they prepared the spices and ointments prior to the Sabbath, but may not necessarily be so. Representing things chronologically was not the fetish then that it is today. They were more interested in what was done than in when it was done. This is something that comes out constantly in the Old Testament where statements are made, and then the narrative goes back to fill in the detail. Certainly we may see that they made certain preparations before the Sabbath, but equally certainly they would want their offering to be fresh when it was offered, and that suggests that they would expect to leave the main preparations until after the Sabbath (any woman would know that). Indeed Mark makes clear that they had to buy more because they did not have sufficient, which was in fact extremely likely. This was not after all something that they had come from Galilee prepared for. So Luke’s statement must be seen as applying to all their preparations, both before and after the Sabbath.
Luk 23:55. And how his body was laid. The word , rendered how, signifies no more than that;and the sentence may be rendered they came to the sepulchre, and saw that the body was placed or buried there. St. Mark has it, Mar 15:47 beheld where he was laid.
55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
Ver. 55. See Mat 27:61 .
55. ] Only Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses (‘the other Mary,’ Matt.), Mark.
Luk 23:55 . : possibly = , but possibly meant to suggest the idea of distinction: Galilean women, and such in character as you would expect them to be: leal-hearted, passionately devoted to their dead Friend. , spices, dry. , ointments, liquid.
came = were come with. Only here and Act 16:17.
from = out of. Greek ek. App-104. followed after. Greek. sunakoloutheo. Only here and Mar 5:37.
beheld. Greek. theaomai. App-133.
55.] Only Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses (the other Mary, Matt.),-Mark.
Luk 23:55. , looked at [beheld]) so as that with the greater ease they might anoint Him the day but one following (on the day after the morrow).- , the sepulchre) Luk 23:53.
Luk 23:49, Luk 8:2, Mat 27:61, Mar 15:47
Reciprocal: Luk 23:27 – and of Luk 24:1 – they came Act 1:14 – with the
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These women saw the manner of burying for the body of Jesus, including the rolling of a “great stone” up to the entrance (Mat 27:60). That explains their concern about the stone as they were going to the sepulchre (Mar 16:3).
Luk 23:55. And the women, etc. Matthew and Mark mention the two Marys alone; it is probable that others were with them, but that these two alone remained at the sepulchre. None of them, nor even Nicodemus, seems to have been with Joseph when the body was taken down.
Vers. 55, 56. The embalming of Jesus having been done in haste, the women proposed to complete it. This same evening, therefore, they prepared the odoriferous herbs () and the perfumed oils () necessary for the purpose; and the hour of the Sabbath being come, they rested.
Once more, what would be the meaning of this conduct if that very day had been Sabbatic, the 15th Nisan? Evidently it was yet the 14th; and the 15th, which was about to begin, was at once the weekly Sabbath and the first Passover day, and so invested with double sacredness, as John remarks (Luk 19:31).
Mark says, somewhat differently (Luk 16:1), that they made their preparations when the Sabbath was past, that is to say, on the morrow in the evening. No doubt they had not been able to finish them completely on the Friday before 6 o’clock afternoon.
The of the T. R. before , Luk 23:55, is evidently a corruption of .
It has been asked how, if Jesus predicted His resurrection, the women could have prepared to embalm His body. But we have seen the answer in the case of the converted thief: they expected a glorious reappearance of Jesus from heaven after His death, but not the reviving of His body laid in the tomb.
A feeling of pious and humble fidelity is expressed in the conduct of the women, as it is described by Luke in the touching words: And they rested according to the commandment. It was the last Sabbath of the old covenant. It was scrupulously respected.
Verse 55
Mark (Mark 15:40) mentions their names.
23:55 {18} And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
(18) Christ, being set upon by the devil and all his instruments, and being even in death’s mouth, places weak women in his service, bearing in mind to immediately triumph over these terrible enemies, and that without any great endeavour.
This reference to the women prepares for the account of Jesus’ resurrection. When they went to the tomb on Sunday morning, they did not go to the wrong one. They had previously been there and had seen Jesus’ corpse in it. They prepared spices for their return visit on Sunday to honor Jesus further. Luke’s reference to the passing of the Sabbath with no disciple activity confirms Jesus’ prediction that He would be in the grave three days (Luk 18:33; cf. Luk 24:7). It also shows that Jesus’ followers observed the Sabbath as obedient Israelites (Exo 20:10).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)