John 19:39Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Afterward he could regularly visit Him, so that by hearing Him he might become a disciple.

As in Jn 12:3, here the unit of weight libra is mentioned, the so-called Roman pound, equal to about 327 grams.

Yet we should not read this as “bringing at first a mixture of myrrh.”

Rather, the phrase “at first” should be attached to the preceding thought.

In antiquity, a developed system of punctuation did not yet exist. The reader himself had to construct phrases while observing rhetorical rhythm.

In this case, Blessed Augustine essentially proposes the reading now accepted.

Nicodemus came to Jesus for the first time by night, as the same John narrated in the earlier parts of his Gospel (cf. Jn 3:1-2).

Thus one must understand that Nicodemus came to Jesus not only then, but then for the first time.

Afterward he came quite often, so that by hearing Him he might become His disciple.

This has recently been revealed to almost all peoples through the finding of the relics of the most blessed Stephen.

The finding of the relics of the holy protomartyr and archdeacon Stephen took place on December 27, 415, through a revelation in a dream to the presbyter Lucian.

According to tradition, Nicodemus was buried by Gamaliel near the grave of St. Stephen.

The relics of St. Stephen that were found soon came also to North Africa through Paul Orosius.

He had gone to Palestine at Blessed Augustine’s request to visit Blessed Jerome of Stridon at the beginning of 416.

Besides the relics, Orosius brought with him the presbyter Lucian’s Letter to All the Churches on the Discovery of the Relics of the Martyr Stephen.

Thus Blessed Augustine indicates that, after the finding of the relics of St. Stephen and Nicodemus, no one should doubt the tradition that Nicodemus became a disciple of the Savior.

Only in John do I read of Joseph that he came secretly to Pilate out of fear of the Jews. Why did a righteous man hide because of fear of danger? I think he asked secretly so that the body of the Lord might be handed over to him without hindrance, not so that he might avoid danger. What is astonishing if a righteous man hid, when the apostles themselves, the teachers of the righteous, were hiding?

Come also yourself. Come late, come by night, come at any time, and you will always find Jesus ready to look upon you. He does not lessen the wage for those who come late. The one who came at the sixth hour was not deprived of his wage, and the one who came at the eleventh received it in full (cf. Mt 20:1-9). Nicodemus came by night (cf. Jn 3:2). It was night because the Resurrection had not yet come. But when Christ rose, the righteous man said: "The night is far spent, the day is at hand" (Rom 13:12).

Luke calls Joseph righteous; Matthew calls him rich. He who received the body of Christ is fittingly called rich. Receiving the Rich One, he could not be poor in faith. Therefore he is rich who is righteous. He wraps Christ in a linen shroud and, as a true Israelite, mixing the varied spices of the virtues, pours out a hundred litras of aloes, that is, the measure of perfect faith.

Who is this Joseph, in whose tomb Christ is laid? Certainly a righteous man. The body of Christ is entrusted to the tomb of a righteous man, so that the Son of Man may have where to lay His head, and may find rest in the dwelling of righteousness. It is good that He was laid in a new tomb. In the literal sense, this prevents unbelievers from slandering and saying that someone else rose. Apart from the spiritual sense, the words cannot be understood: "Their throat is an open grave" (Ps 5:10). An open grave is the throat of a man. There destructive unbelief and dead words collect, and it grows old and decays with age, as though by the assault of wild beasts. There is also another tomb, within the inner man. The Word hews it out for Himself, penetrating the hardness of a pagan heart and smoothing it by works of faith and teaching. Thus the power of Christ is manifested among the nations.

"But why did none of the twelve disciples come, neither John, nor Peter, nor any other of the notable ones? The Evangelist does not hide this either, namely, that they did not come. What then does this mean? It seems to me that Joseph was one of the very prominent men, as is evident from the burial itself, and that he was known to Pilate. For this reason he obtained permission to bury Jesus, and he buries Him no longer as a criminal, but magnificently, according to the Jewish custom, as a great and glorious man" (Chrysostom; cf. Theophylact).

A mixture of myrrh and aloes: concerning mixtures of fragrant spices or aromatics, see the note on Mk 16:1 and parallels.

About a hundred litras: a litra is twelve ounces. Such a great quantity of spices (cf. Jn 12:3) bears witness to the great zeal of the one who brought them to the Crucified One. It also shows the great honor he wished to render Him at His burial. The mixture was probably partly liquid and partly powdered. With it they partly sprinkled the linens, partly anointed the body, partly sprinkled the bier on which the body was placed in the tomb or cave, and partly burned it in the cave. For all this Nicodemus brought spices in abundance.

Then Nicodemus said before all: "Does our law judge a man without first hearing him and learning what he has done?" (Jn 7:51).

From the spirit of the Gospel accounts it is clear that Joseph and Nicodemus acted by mutual agreement in the matter of the Savior’s burial. If Joseph alone went to Pilate with the request, it was certainly because the cave belonged to Joseph.

It was there that they wished to bury Jesus. Therefore he acted before Pilate as a kindly host, asking Pilate’s permission to receive a precious guest into his own place.

Thus Joseph and Nicodemus took down from the Cross the body of the Lord Jesus. Two members of the Sanhedrin, two men honored by the whole people for wealth, knowledge, and personal worth, take down Jesus’ body with their own hands.

They take down the very body which the Sanhedrin had exposed to public contempt. Is this not a loud proclamation, not only of the innocence, but also of the high dignity of Jesus, whom the Sanhedrin persecuted?

The Sanhedrin repaid Nicodemus as it repaid Joseph. It expelled Nicodemus also from its assembly and from Jerusalem.

My hearers, two features especially strike us in Joseph and Nicodemus. These are their compassionate love for Jesus Christ, and their resolve, despite dangers, to fulfill the duty of compassion. Shall we refuse to follow their beautiful example?

They are happy, supremely happy, because they could render a service of compassion to the Lord Jesus Himself. But can the same honor, the same happiness, not also belong to us?

Through love for our neighbors we can express our love for the Lord. What you do for the poor, you do for Me. What you do not do for the unfortunate, you do not do for Me (Mt 25:37-40).

So our Lord has said to us. See how much compassionate love means. How can we refuse works of mercy and labors of compassion?

How can we fail to accept the heaviest labors and the most self-denying tasks for the poor and suffering, when we know that by laboring for them, we labor for the Lord?

In whatever form suffering humanity appears before us, and in whatever form we must give help or consolation to poor humanity, let us miss no occasion to do good.

Let us keep the firm thought that the Lord refers our service to men to Himself. Without doubt He will repay our deed of love with love in eternity.

We have no means to do much for the suffering. Let us do what we can. There will be a reward even for our little, if only it comes from a sincere heart.

Believe this: a tear shed for the suffering will not be forgotten. A kind word spoken to a poor man will be remembered there. A piece of bread, perhaps needless to us, will not be lost to us.

It is sweet to the hungry man to whom we give it. A worn garment with which we cover the nakedness of the helpless will benefit us ourselves.

Joseph and Nicodemus performed a work of compassion, seeking neither glory nor gain. On the contrary, the hatred of men awaited them for their deed.

Let us not be sad if we too must suffer unpleasantness for our good deed. Then our reward is twofold, both for the work of love and for the endurance of affliction.

There is little benefit to us when we receive our reward on earth. There is little benefit when we sound a trumpet about our almsgiving (Mt 6:11-41).

But if we gather the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind to a feast, then we are blessed. We are blessed because they have nothing with which to repay us.

Yet we shall be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous (Lk 13:13-14).

Glory to our God. Amen.

For the last time, my hearers, it remains for us to speak of the sufferings of the Savior. Behold, His tomb is before us. His tomb is not a tomb of earthly majesty.

It is a tomb clothed with divine majesty. Thanks be to Thee, humbled Goodness of heaven, for Thou dost count us, the unworthy, worthy to behold the works of Thy self-emptying to the end.

Nicodemus also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom is for burial (Jn 19:39-40).

Among the Jews, if they wished to give the rite splendor and magnificence as a sign of honor to the dead, the preparation of the body for burial consisted in precious aromatics.

Nicodemus brought a full hundred litrai, or a hundred pounds, of aromatics. This was a mixture of myrrh and aloes. Myrrh is the costly resin of a fragrant Arabian tree.

Aloes are still more costly. They are a product of India, growing in reedlike form, and are also fragrant. Myrrh and aloes were used in burial both as fragrant substances and as means to keep the body from rapid decay.

These aromatics were used both dry and in the form of a fragrant ointment. For the Savior’s body they were used in the latter form, as the word "mixture" shows.

"The perfumer," says the son of Sirach, "makes a mixture with these" (Sir 38:8). Long before His death, the Savior foretold this preparation of His holy body for burial.

He did so when He spoke of Mary, who anointed His feet with pure nard: "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial" (Jn 12:3, 7).

While Nicodemus’ zeal supplied so many precious aromatics, Joseph bought a new, clean shroud (Mk 15:46). This was linen, the finest and very costly cloth, called sadin or sindon.

The Savior’s washed body was anointed with aromatics, wrapped in the sindon, bound with cords, and His head and face were covered with a sudarium, a narrow towel.

"From everything," says St. Chrysostom, "it is clear that they did not think very highly of Jesus, yet they showed Him complete love."

Notice also, hearers, how the signs of deep reverence for the great Dead One later became faithful messengers of Christ’s Resurrection.

In the ordinary course of things, the cloths wrapped around the body with ointment, and firmly attached to the body by the ointment, could not have separated from the lifeless body.

Yet on the morning of the Resurrection John clearly saw the linen cloths lying alone in the tomb. Therefore he who came before Peter saw and believed (Jn 20:4, 5, 8).