Mark 15:46Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

In preparing His body, the Jews aimed to honor the deceased with an array of expensive fragrances. Nicodemus contributed an impressive hundred pounds of spices, a mixture of myrrh and aloes. Myrrh, the costly resin from a fragrant Arabian tree, accompanied by aloe, a plant valued for its aroma and origin in India, served to both perfume the body and protect it from decay. These fragrances were applied as both powders and soothing ointments. In the case of our Savior, they were utilized in their ointment form, as indicated by the term ‘mixture’: “The world-builder, says the son of Sirach, builds the mixture with these” (Sirach 38:8). Even prior to His crucifixion, He had foretold this anointing when He remarked of Mary, who had used pure nard to anoint His feet, “Leave her alone; she intended it for the day of My burial” (John 12:3, 7).

With the fervor of Nicodemus providing numerous valuable spices, Joseph acquired a new, pristine linen cloth for the burial (Mark 15:46), the finest available, known as sindon. The Savior’s washed body was treated with fragrances, wrapped in this cloth, secured with snurkamd, and His head and face covered with a sudar, a narrow towel. St. Chrysostom remarked that although they did not esteem Jesus highly, they nevertheless showed Him profound love.

Consider, dear listeners, how the tokens of deep reverence for this great deceased transformed into faithful witnesses of Christ’s resurrection. Ordinarily, the wrappings infused with mastic would cling tightly to the lifeless body, defying separation; however, upon the resurrection morning, John observed the wrappings lying neatly in the tomb, prompting him to believe before Peter arrived (John 20:4, 5, 8). The proximity of Joseph's tomb to Golgotha favored Jesus' followers, as the Sabbath commandment required the swift burial by devout Israelites; the cave was but 108 steps from the crucifixion site.

Joseph had carved a cave in his garden, pondering whether he would meet his end in Arimathea or Jerusalem, where he frequently resided due to his duties. As a wealthy Israelite, he ensured it was expertly fashioned from solid rock, not from soft earth or mere stones. This cave was spacious and tall enough so that a man standing could barely touch the ceiling. Furthermore, it was new, having housed no body before. In their great love and respect, Jesus was placed within this cave as an honored dead man, even as malevolence sought to belittle His sacred remains.

How remarkably the prophecy of Isaiah found fulfillment here! The prophet spoke of the Suffering Servant of the Lord: “They appointed His sepulchre with the wicked, but with the rich His grave monument” (Isaiah 53:9). It was as if the prophet stood at Calvary, documenting the convergence of human wickedness with the profound love and respect shown to Jesus Christ. Moreover, the seemingly random circumstances surrounding the burial conspired to magnify the glory of Christ’s resurrection!

The Lord Jesus was laid to rest in a new tomb, devoid of prior occupants. Had it been otherwise, naysayers might claim that another body had risen, or that His resurrection depended on the bones of some esteemed individual. The Evangelists intentionally highlighted that the cave was hewn from solid rock (Matthew 27:60) and that the entrance, post-burial, was sealed with a large stone (Matthew 27:60). This arrangement signified the honor granted to the one resting within, dictated by Joseph's intentions. Yet in divine providence, the solid rock and the stone barrier safeguarded the truth of Christ's resurrection, leaving no room for doubt about the circumstances of His body.

Secondly, they anointed Jesus with spices and wrapped Him in linen, in accordance with Jewish burial customs. Additionally, it is noted that the burial site was a fresh tomb with a hewn stone coffin, wherein no one had ever been laid, and it was in this very tomb that the body of Christ was interred. Furthermore, Matthew recounts that the Jewish leaders, anxious about the possibility of theft, sealed the tomb at Pilate’s command and stationed soldiers to guard it. All these events unfolded according to divine purpose, and the Spirit-inspired Evangelists meticulously recorded them to affirm the reality of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. The large stone sealing the sepulchre presented a formidable barrier to any potential theft. The presence of armed guards instilled great trepidation, and the unused coffin effectively silenced any false accusations. The myrrh and aloe anointed on the Savior’s perfect body eliminated any doubt regarding theft. Thus, how could anyone believe that those intending to steal could outwit the vigilant soldiers on guard, roll away the heavy stone from the tomb’s entrance, and have the time to unwrap the body from the linens before Peter arrived to find everything intact? (Jn. 20:6-7) For by divine providence, the lifegiving body of our Lord Jesus was laid to rest with the utmost solemnity.

There, the radiance of His Divinity was more evident than ever before; He gathered and liberated all who longed for Him during their earthly existence. Through His redemptive work, which aimed to return all things to their rightful order and sought to equip humanity with authentic means to achieve a higher state of being, the initial gathering of glorified humanity began. This was the foundation upon which His disciples on earth were invited to establish themselves. Whether viewed as a space external to these souls or as an internal state, we can discern various positions therein according to the spiritual maturity of the departed. Some had yet to begin this journey, while others had made varying degrees of progress; some had fulfilled their purpose correctly, while others had missed the mark. It is challenging to make definitive statements regarding the beginning or end states of souls. We focus instead on those who had nurtured their abilities—indeed, purified them through growth—by following the divine guidelines and means established for human education towards a higher existence, particularly the righteous of the Old Covenant. While these divine ordinances and means were available, they never fully eradicated the blemishes of sin; consequently, the remnants of sorrow and struggle, though diminished, remained present. Thus, the vision of these souls regarding the Divine, whom they drew near to in this phase of their existence, remained incomplete. Where there exists even the slightest trace of sin, the devil finds a foothold; sin serves as his mark. The more a soul harbors the influence of sin, the more power the adversary wields over it. Some souls he holds captive, as if bound, rendering access to higher aid obstructed by a formidable barrier, a locked gate secured by an unwavering faith. They battled this sin, striving for liberation: in the state beyond death, self-awareness reaches its zenith, intensifying their discomfort with the dominion of evil, which resists their ascent despite their weakened state. It was these captives that Jesus came to liberate. John heralded His arrival, just as he had during his earthly ministry. Finally, Jesus Himself emerged, and through the removal of His fleshly veil, the glory of His Divine nature shone forth with clarity. The realm of souls trembled at the arrival of this new Spirit, who proclaimed that through His innocent suffering, He had atoned for their sins; there was no longer estrangement between them and God—He was their Father. He eradicated all opposition within each soul to this truth. He revitalized the weary hearts with an outpouring of His divine power. After accomplishing reconciliation and sanctification within each spirit, He triumphantly led them to a new, higher realm, where those marked by His grace would henceforth dwell eternally. Thus emerged that sacred assembly, the church of the firstfruits inscribed in heaven, the spirits of the perfected righteous, that city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, which the apostles later urged all earthbound souls to aspire to—the purified city, the holy church, the radiant Jerusalem (Heb. 12:23, 24). Undoubtedly, the impact of the Gospel also reached those souls who had entered into covenant with God during their earthly lives but had faltered, as well as those beyond the covenant made with the Jewish nation. This includes Peter’s remarks regarding Jesus preaching to the spirits who had once disobeyed God’s patience, awaiting them during Noah’s time while constructing the ark (1 Pet. 3:20). The same apostle notes the purpose of this Gospel: that those who had died, judged by human standards in the flesh, might live according to God in the spirit. Ultimately, Jesus’ descent into hell was a moment of profound significance for the ruler of that realm, who had distanced himself from God, not honoring his authority. It marked a time of judgment and condemnation for him; his reign and power diminished and disgraced (Col. 2:15). Under his influence, Judas betrayed the Savior; he requested that the apostles be scattered like wheat; he opposed Jesus with all his might, causing Him to cry out with strong supplications to the One who could deliver Him from death, uttering the poignant words, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” Yet with this, everything was fulfilled. After this, Satan fell from heaven like lightning, and for inflicting injury upon the heel of the world’s Liberator, he was left to grovel in shame.

It is well-documented the state of Christ's disciples following His death orchestrated by the Jewish chief priests. Fear scattered them, leaving only John at the foot of the cross, to whom the Lord entrusted His mother due to his unwavering love. None of the apostles attended Jesus’ burial. Only Joseph, a secret follower of Jesus and a council member who had once defended Him, had the courage to request Jesus’ body from Pilate for burial. Joseph was accompanied by Nicodemus, who had received mysterious words from the Lord regarding His death: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” Together, they wrapped the wounded body in a linen cloth with aromatic spices and placed it in Joseph’s new tomb. Some women who had traveled with Jesus from Galilee were also present. Less fearful for their own safety or more steadfast in their love for the Lord, they remained close by the cross, and when the burial took place, they sat opposite the tomb until the stone sealed the entrance where Jesus’ body lay. Joseph and Nicodemus were diligent, despite the time constraints, to honor their final duty of gratitude to the Divine Teacher, whose words still resonated within their hearts. The Galilean women were eager to bring fragrances to Jesus’ tomb, demonstrating their desire to fulfill their acts of devotion prior to the expected day of resurrection. Even two days later, as the disciples sought to collect their thoughts and recall the Lord’s words regarding His resurrection, they struggled to believe, some more stubbornly than others. It was not easy to accept. Such events had not occurred before; the dead had been raised, but only through the intervention of great men of righteousness. Who, at that time, could restore life to the lifeless body of the greatest righteous man they knew? They failed to comprehend the Scriptures. Both Jesus’ enemies and His friends were convinced that His death marked the end; they regarded the very notion of resurrection as folly.

As Maimonides articulated, "the dead man's eyes and mouth were first closed," followed by washing, anointing with fragrant oils, and wrapping in white linen (Tract. Ebel. c. 4. § 1; Friedlieb, s. 171). These brief instructions from the Hebrew scholar find partial confirmation in Scripture, as early traditions included closing the eyes of the deceased (Gen. 46:4). It is possible the departed received a kiss during this act (Gen. 50:1). Washing the body was customary (Acts 9:37), after which it was wrapped in a clean σινδών (Mk. 15:46), a white cotton cloth, with the head being covered by a specific piece called σουδάριον (Jn. 20:7; 11:44). To be buried in the nude was seen as a disgrace to the nation, thus burial shrouds for the impoverished were funded by the treasury. Fragrant unguents, the quantity and worth of which reflected the stature of the deceased, were placed on and between the wrappings. For instance, at Herod's burial, 500 bearers carried the incense (Antiqu. XVII, 8, 3; Bell. Jud. I, 33, 9). Occasionally, incense was also used to anoint the deceased (2 Chron. 16:14; Jn. 19:40; compare 12:7; Mk. 16:1; Lk. 24:1). However, this differed substantially from the Egyptian practice of embalming, which, according to Herodotus (II, 86), took 70 days and was performed on the bodies of Jacob and Joseph in Egypt. In Palestine, embalming ceased during the time of the patriarchs. After proper preparations, instead of being placed in a coffin like today, the body was laid on a bier or stretcher (מטה – 2 Kings 3:31; 2 Chron. 16:14; Luke 7:14). Royal funeral biers were often lavishly adorned (Antiqu. XVII, 8, 3), and they were accompanied by crowds mourning loudly (Gen. 56:10; 2 Sam. 3:31-34; Jer. 22:18; compare 34:5). In later times, women mourners took on this solemn duty (Jer. 9:17), beginning their wailing in the deceased's home, eliciting collective laments that echoed through the assembly. The Bible contains laments (David's) for figures such as Saul, Jonathan, and Abner (2 Sam. 1:19-27; 3:33-34; see also 2 Chron. 35:25). Such mournful songs, frequently complemented by instruments—specifically mourning pipes (Mt. 9:23; 11:17)—accompanied the bier to the burial site. Joseph, clutching a long piece of pristine cloth (σίνδον καθαρά, Matthew 27:59), hurried from Pilate to Golgotha. Meanwhile, by that moment, the scene at Golgotha had changed entirely; the guards who had complied with Pilate's commands were nowhere to be found, and the multitude that had recently thronged the area had dispersed as well. The supernatural occurrences surrounding the death of the God-Man imbued those present with a sense that something profound had just taken place, leading them to return home in sorrowful contemplation (Lk. 23:48). The voices of the crowd leaders fell silent, left only to revel in their apparent victory. Silence enveloped Golgotha, with only a few pleading gazes remaining fixed upon the Dead One, as some hearts beat faster in anticipation of Joseph’s arrival. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the less and Joses, and possibly other devoted women from Galilee (Mt. 27:55-56, 61; Mk. 15:40-41, 47). Likely, the beloved disciple of the Lord and His holy Mother, entrusted to this disciple’s care, were also present. Here too stood Nicodemus, the Lord’s secret disciple who had come to Him by night. Upon hearing the joyous news of Joseph’s return, they hastened to fulfill their last earthly duty toward the Dead One. It was not the crude hands of the executioner-soldiers but the loving touch of Joseph that took down the body from the cross. The new tomb hewn from rock was encircled by a lush garden, situated so closely to Golgotha that the Evangelist John explicitly indicates the site where Jesus Christ was crucified (Jn. 19:41). The nearness of this location facilitated the necessary funeral arrangements far more conveniently than the open summit of Golgotha, prompting the removal of the Lord's body to Joseph's garden immediately after it had been taken down from the cross. There, after washing away the blood-soaked wounds, they enveloped Him in a clean σινδών and covered His royal head with a special shawl (σουδάριον), lavishly sprinkling His burial wrappings (ὀθόνια) with 100 liters of myrrh and aloes, a gift from Nicodemus (ibid. vv. 39-40). In silence, immersed in deep sorrow, Joseph and Nicodemus then carefully lifted the holy body, entering the sepulcher to lay it reverently upon the designated resting place, a bench-like structure distinctly different from a loculus. This is evidenced when Mary arrives at the tomb on the third day, bending to look inside and sees "two angels in white, sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain" (Jn. 20:11-12). This description would not be applicable if it had been a loculus. They fulfilled their final earthly homage to the Deceased, working together to roll a large stone (golal) to seal the entrance to the tomb—an act customary to safeguard the site from wild animals. Touching the tomb, even inadvertently, rendered a Jew unclean, so such stones were often covered with white or red plaster to make them visible from a distance. The plaster was refreshed in the month of Adar, following the rainy season, hence the analogy drawing the Pharisees to whitewashed sepulchers (Mt. 23:27). The approaching twilight, signaling the commencement of the festival, forced the burial to be executed hastily. Nevertheless, considering their ritual incomplete, the women present resolved to prepare "spices and ointments" (Lk. 23:56) to anoint the body once the Sabbath had passed. Their preparations, however, proved futile, as their oils never graced the pure body of the Lord Jesus Christ. This occurrence marks the final moment in the account of the Lord's sufferings. Soon after, those designated by Providence as the first bearers of the joyful news of His resurrection began sharing it amongst themselves, filled with both joy and trepidation. Yet, reaching this conclusive point in the Saviour's sufferings, the quest in our study is far from complete. Where in our present Jerusalem is the pathway that the Lord Jesus Christ traversed amid the throngs from Pilate's court to the execution site? Where is Golgotha, once a place of dread for the ancient Jews, now revered by all Christians? And ultimately, where lies the tomb of the Savior of the world, that sacred shrine which draws countless pilgrims to Jerusalem from every nation? These inquiries are so critical and extensive that they warrant a chapter of their own.