Luke 23:55-56
If we continue in Luke's account, we get the impression that the women hurried to a spice shop, bought the spices and oils, prepared them, and then rested on the Sabbath (verse 56). But we would be wrong!
We have to go to Mark 16:1 for some vital information: "Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him." Logistically, the sequence of events cannot be otherwise. If Joseph barely had time to bury Jesus' body before sundown, how much less time would the women have had to do all that they needed to do!
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
'After Three Days'
Related Topics: After Three Days
| Annual Sabbaths
| Jesus Christ's Burial
| Jesus Christ's Death
| Joseph of Arimathea
| Preparation Day
| Preparing for Sabbath
| Sabbaths, Annual
Jesus died on Passover, Wednesday afternoon, and Joseph of Arimathea buried Him shortly before sunset, when the first day of Unleavened Bread began. Combining the gospel accounts, particularly Mark 16:1, the women bought and prepared the spices and oils only after the Sabbath was past—on Friday, the preparation day for the weekly Sabbath. This verse compactly covers the time spanning the annual high holy day, the preparation day between, and the weekly Sabbath. These devoted women rested on both the annual and weekly Sabbaths, prioritizing holy time above the honorable work of preparing the Messiah's body. Their commitment suggests they would find it unlikely that the harvest from which the Wavesheaf was taken could begin on a high holy day.