Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 15:46
And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulcher which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulcher.
46. And he bought fine linen ] Thus successful, Joseph purchased fine (probably white) linen, the original word for which has been already explained in the note on ch. Mar 14:51, and then he repaired to Golgotha, where he was joined by Nicodemus, formerly a secret disciple like himself, but whom the Cross had emboldened to come forward and bring a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight (Joh 19:39), to do honour to the Lord of life.
wrapped him in the linen ] Thus assisted, Joseph took down the Holy Body, laid it in the fine linen, sprinkled the myrrh and aloes amongst the folds, and wound them round the wounded Limbs.
a sepulchre ] He then conveyed the Body to a new Tomb, wherein as yet no man had ever been laid, and which he had hewn out of the limestone rock in a garden he possessed hard by Golgotha (Joh 19:41). He was anxious probably himself to be buried there in the near precincts of the Holy City. Here now they laid the Holy Body in a niche in the rock, and
rolled a stone ] of large size (Mat 27:60) to the horizontal entrance, while
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And he bought fine linen,…. That is, Joseph, as is expressed in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Persic versions; which, when he had done, as is highly probable, in the city of Jerusalem, he went to Mount Calvary,
and took him down; took the body of Christ down from the cross; though, no doubt, with the assistance of others, or by others, and not he himself, at least not alone:
and wrapped him in the linen; wound him up in it, as was the manner of the Jews; [See comments on Mt 27:59];
and laid him in a sepulchre, which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre;
[See comments on Mt 27:60].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Wound (). This word is only here in the N.T. As is only in Matt 27:59; Luke 23:53; John 20:7. Both verbs occur in the papyri, Plutarch, etc. They both mean to wrap, wind, roll in. The body of Jesus was wound in the linen cloth bought by Joseph and the hundred pounds of spices brought by Nicodemus (Joh 19:39) for burying were placed in the folds of the linen and the linen was bound around the body by strips of cloth (Joh 19:40). The time was short before the sabbath began and these two reverently laid the body of the Master in Joseph’s new tomb, hewn out of a rock. The perfect passive participle () is from , a stonecutter (, stone, , to cut). For further details see on Mt 27:57-60. Lu 23:53 and Joh 19:41 also tell of the new tomb of Joseph. Some modern scholars think that this very tomb has been identified in Gordon’s Calvary north of the city.
Against the door ( ). Matthew has the dative without and adds the adjective “great” ().
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Stone. See on Mt 27:60.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And he bought fine linen,” (kai agorasas sindona) “And having bought or purchased a piece of unused linen,” to give Him a temporary burial preparation, until the Sabbath was passed, Joh 19:41-42.
2) “And took Him down,” (kathleon auton) “He took Him down,” from, and off of, the cross, Luk 23:53.
3) “And wrapped Him in the linen,” (eneilesen te sindoni) “Wrapped (Him) with the linen,” called by Matthew “a clean linen cloth,” Mat 27:59; Luk 23:53.
4) “And laid Him in a sepulchre,” (kai katetheken auton en mnemati) “And deposited Him in a tomb,” Mat 27:60; Luk 23:53, where it was added “never man before was laid,” Joseph’s own tomb.
5) ”Which was hewn out of a rock,” (ho en lelato memenon ek petras) “Which was already hewn out of a rock,” Mat 27:60; Luk 23:53.
6) “And rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.” (kai prosekulisen lithon epi ten thrran tou mnemeiou) “And he rolled a stone upon the door of the tomb entrance,” Mat 27:60, a very large and heavy stone, Mar 16:3.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(46) He bought fine linen.Better, a fine linen sheet. The word is the same as in Mat. 27:59. The fact that it was bought just before the Sabbath began is peculiar to St. Mark.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And he bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of a rock. And he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.’
Joseph was aided in his efforts by Nicodemus, another member of the Sanhedrin who brought myrrh and aloes for the burying (Joh 19:41). So there were at least two prominent Jewish leaders who were now prepared to show their hand in support of Jesus, even if it was too late. They were no doubt assisted in their efforts by servants for whoever touched the body would be ‘unclean’ for the remainder of the feast.
‘And he bought a linen cloth.’ The purchasing of necessary foods was allowed on 15th Nisan and burial cloths as well, as long as the price and quantity were not mentioned. They could not necessarily be bought in advance, death does not always give warning, and with the Sabbath approaching (when they could not be bought) they would be needed.
‘Laid Him in a tomb.’ The tomb was unused (Joh 19:41), suitable to receive the pure, unblemished sacrifice of the Son of God. Tombs often contained a number of bodies, but this was one that Joseph had prepared for himself (Mat 27:60). It was a typical tomb of the time, cut in the rocks. Many such rock tombs can be found near Jerusalem.
‘And he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.’ A normal way of sealing tombs (compare Joh 11:38-39). The stone must have been quite large as the women did not feel that they would be able to move it, even in numbers (Mar 16:3), but his servants would do the actual work. It would probably have been a circular stone looking like a wheel which would roll across the entrance in a rut, intended to keep out wild animals and casual thieves. And then they left, content that they had done what they could, possibly regretting that they had not done more earlier. They would never forget what impact Jesus had made on them, but now it was all too late, and they were no doubt filled with regret.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.
Ver. 46. See Trapp on “ Mat 27:59 “ See Trapp on “ Mat 27:60 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
46. . ] Therefore it was not the first day of unleavened bread , which was one of sabbatical sanctity; as indeed the whole of this narrative shews, but such expressions as this more strikingly.
is the technical word for taking down bodies from the cross. See the examples in Kypke from Philo and Josephus. So is for placing bodies in the tomb: cf. ibid.
. ] It is not said, but implied , both here and in Luke and John, that the tomb was his own for how should he place the Body there otherwise? The newness of the tomb is not mentioned here, but by the other three Evangelists.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 15:46 . , having purchased linen; therefore purchases could be made. This word, and the reason given for Joseph’s haste (Mar 15:42 ), have, not without a show of reason, been regarded as unintentional evidence in favour of the Johannine Chronology of the Passion. So Meyer, Weiss, and Holtzmann. : was the technical term for taking down from the cross. Proofs in Elsner, Raphel, Kypke, and Loesner. : here only in N.T. ( , [161] [162] ): no indication in Mk. as in Mt. that it was new , and Joseph’s own.
[161] Codex Sinaiticus (sc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.
[162] Codex Vaticanus (sc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
fine linen. Greek. sindon. See note on Mar 14:61, Mar 14:62.
sepulchre memorial tomb.
out of. Greek. ek. App-104. Not the same word as in Mar 15:21.
rock. Greek. petra, as in Mat 16:18.
a stone. See note on Mat 27:60.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
46. .] Therefore it was not the first day of unleavened bread, which was one of sabbatical sanctity; as indeed the whole of this narrative shews, but such expressions as this more strikingly.
is the technical word for taking down bodies from the cross. See the examples in Kypke from Philo and Josephus. So is for placing bodies in the tomb: cf. ibid.
.] It is not said, but implied, both here and in Luke and John, that the tomb was his own-for how should he place the Body there otherwise? The newness of the tomb is not mentioned here, but by the other three Evangelists.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
and took: Mat 27:59, Mat 27:60, Luk 23:53, Joh 19:38-42
and laid: Isa 53:9
hewn: Isa 22:16
and rolled: Mar 16:3, Mar 16:4, Mat 27:60, Mat 28:2, Joh 11:38
Reciprocal: Luk 24:2 – General Joh 20:1 – the stone Act 13:29 – they took
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6
Joh 19:38-40 tells us that, Nicodemus assisted Joseph in this service of Love. He was the man who had come to Jesus by night (Joh 3:1-2).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 15:46. And he bought a linen cloth. It has been argued from this purchase that the day was not the first day of unleavened bread, which was one of sabbatical sanctity, but in Lev 23:7, labor alone was forbidden on that day. That the tomb belonged to Joseph is implied here, that it was new is omitted by Mark alone.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
THE BURIAL
46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.
Evidently the women were still a bit afar from the happenings with the Lord since it is mentioned that they observed where He was buried, but were evidently not a part of that burial.
Joseph surely had some respect for the Lord since he took the effort to see to His burial and used fine linen for the purpose.
Maybe a side note to burial. What we go through in our country is near barbaric in nature. To cause families to go through the viewing, the funeral and the burial, all drawn out processes that only prolong the reality of death. It is a natural course in our lives and nothing to be feared since it is rather automatic and we do not have to do a thing to be sure it occurs.
We have bought into the ritual put upon us by the funeral directors need to make a living. The casket, the vault, the never ending stream of costs and time to draw out a process that has already occurred. The person is dead, gone, and not coming back, face it and get on with life.
The world makes us feel that a full funeral is the only way to have a going away, when in reality a quick burial and it can be over. My father was crippled and doctors wanted his body for science to see if his spinal cancer might have been caused by his injuries. He used to joke with us, that way when they are done with me they will cremate me and send me back and you can go out with a posthole digger and bury me without all the cost.
That did not occur but that older generation had a better view of death and burial than this current generation. My wife and I have decided that we will be cremated and buried without a funeral that way we will not be embarrassed when no one comes to our funerals 🙂
Maybe if the lost saw that believers did not fear death as they do there might be some stirring in their minds about the Christ that overcame the grave. At least believers in recent years have changed to memorial services where it is more of a celebration, though there is still a large emphasis on the dieing, rather than the resurrection to life with the Father in heaven.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
Nicodemus assisted Joseph with these tasks (cf. Joh 19:39), and perhaps other people, such as their servants, helped them. Mark’s simple description stressed the wrapping of Jesus’ body in the linen sheet (Gr. sindon). Perhaps this also indicated a real burial to his original readers.