Practical and Faithful

Following up on the women who saw Jesus’ death on the cross in Mark 15:40-41 (discussed in the previous article), let’s read Mark 15:47.

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

Mark 15:47 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.15.47.NIV

Here are a couple of those women mentioned again.  Salome isn’t listed here, but she’s back in the next verse.  I don’t know for sure, but perhaps she had other responsibilities (like a family to attend to), when the two Marys named here saw where Jesus was buried.  Mark 16:1-3 are the next verses in this account, picking up where chapter 15 left off.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

Mark 16:1-3 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.16.1-3.NIV

Remember, sundown on what we would call Friday started the Sabbath, when Jewish people were commanded to rest.  With the Pharisees enforcing their point of view during this part of the first century, this rest was probably mandated with lots of extra rules, including – or resulting in – shops being closed.  (By the way, I sometimes purchase electronics from a company whose web site will not accept orders from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday.  A notification shows up on their site during that time letting customers like me know when they will open up again.  You can browse their web site on the Sabbath, but they choose to not do business during that time.  I respect that!)

So, Joseph of Arimathea had bought linen cloth before the Sabbath started (see Mark 15:46), and these three women apparently bought spices after it ended, but there was rest on the Sabbath itself.  For a lot of people, though, I don’t think that this Sabbath brought peaceful rest (or “Shabbat Shalom“).  The long-awaited Messiah, anticipated by the Jewish people, was dead and buried.

Because the Sabbath ended at sundown on what we would call Saturday, I suspect that the shops opened in the evening, allowing the women to purchase the spices and prepare them for a more proper burial of Jesus the next day.  Even if a shopowner had opened up early on Sunday, before daybreak, I think that preparation of the spices would have taken time, so that would have been a good thing to work on at home, presumably by lamplight, the evening before.

I like that Mark doesn’t leave out the practical observation found in verse 3.  At least two of these women had seen the burial site, but even if they were strong, my understanding is that stones like this could be set into a channel with a downward slope, and pushing a big rock uphill can be a challenge for anyone.  So, it was natural to ask about how they would re-enter the tomb to finish taking care of the body.  Furthermore, we learn elsewhere that the stone had been sealed and guarded [see Matthew 27:62-66], so if the women happened to have seen or heard about that, then the problem might not have been the weight of the stone, but rather the politics of getting permission from Roman guards to let them into the tomb for their burial ritual (and perhaps convincing the guards that they were not trying to steal the body).

Let’s pause here for a moment, though, and appreciate what these women were doing.

• When a band of soldiers came to arrest Jesus, the disciples fled.
• When Jesus was put on trial, no one successfully persuaded others to exonerate Him, despite His innocence.
• When Pilate gave the crowd a chance to have Jesus released as a courtesy, they asked for a murderer to be set free instead.
• When Jesus died on the cross, the hopes of most – if not all – of His followers were crushed, since they didn’t yet understand what was going on.

However, these women were still faithfully attending to Jesus’ body.  Perhaps they still appreciated what Jesus had done for them (whether healing them, driving out demons from them, or teaching them).  Perhaps they still respected the courtesy that their culture gave to the dead.  Whatever their reasons, though, they were willing to spend money, prepare spices, and anoint His body, as soon as Sabbath rules and the practicality of the weekend would allow.  If you know what happens next (or, you’re welcome to read the rest of Mark 16), that’s one thing, but in times when God’s answer isn’t clear, faithfulness like what was shown by these women is particularly admirable.

From Sunday School lesson prepared for December 21, 2025

References:

• Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
• The College Press NIV Commentary – Mark, by Allen Black.  © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.