The Women Who Followed Jesus

“And the women also, which came with Him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulcher, and how His body was laid.  And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.”  Luke 23:55-56

Many accounts in scripture focus on men, basically because God made men to be the spiritual heads of families, the warriors, and providers for their families.  However, when Jesus was crucified on what we refer to as “Good Friday”, it was the friends of Jesus who were women that were not afraid to do what was necessary to make sure that His burial was dignified, highly honorable, and according to Jewish protocol.

There were two men, though, who were instrumental in taking possession of Jesus’ body so that He could be buried respectfully and with honor.  One was Joseph of Arimathaea who went to Pontius Pilate and begged for the body of Jesus.  Pilate was surprised that Jesus was already deceased, and, after verifying this with one of the centurions, he gave Joseph permission to take possession of Jesus’ body (Mark 15:24-25).  Joseph then went to Calvary’s hill, carefully removing Jesus’ broken body from the cross, wrapped Him in linen, and laid Him in Joseph’s own tomb (Matthew 27:60).  The other man was Nicodemis, the man who came to Jesus by night to talk to Him because he was very interested in what he had been hearing about Jesus.  He apparently was a wealthy man for he brought 100 pounds of spices with which to anoint Jesus’ body (John 19:39).  They did not embalm bodies, thus the spices were used to cover the odor of decay.  However, they were not aware that Jesus’ body would not decay (Psalm 16:10), because He would rise again.

Once Jesus’ body was wrapped, Mary Magdalene, of whom Jesus cast out seven devils, and Mary, the mother of Joses (a brother of three of Jesus’ disciples) came to inspect their work to make sure that every proper step was taken in the preparation of Jesus’ body.  Women are usually more concerned about details than men.  Out of respect for modesty and purity, only men were handling Jesus’ body.  The women didn’t approach until after He was wrapped in the linen.  After the inspection by the women, they all departed the tomb, and Joseph rolled a great stone over the entrance (Matthew 27:60).

Where were Jesus’ eleven disciples? (Judas, the twelfth disciple, had committed suicide because of his betrayal of Jesus).  The eleven ran for fear of their own lives.  Joseph of Arimathaea, who had been a secret follower of Jesus, was now not afraid to be discovered as a follower and neither was Nicodemis.  The women went home to prepare spices to bring back to the tomb, but since the following day was the Sabbath, there was nothing that they could do except rest the next day.  They must have been extremely saddened and grieved because they had lost their best Friend and One whom they counted on to continue to fellowship with them and continue His teaching and healing.  But now He was gone, or so they thought.  Were their hopes dashed?  Did they expect to see Jesus alive and well again?  The women were the first to visit the tomb the morning after the Sabbath.  What would they find when they arrived there to finish anointing His body with the spices that they had so carefully prepared?  What they found was certainly not what they expected!  Tomorrow: the best news ever!