We are at Mark 15:38 Jesus has just breathed his last. He did not ask god to forgive his executioners and those crucified with him were not told they would be with him in paradise. His side was not pierced. He said nothing but a lament. Then, according to the text, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This would not have been seen by anyone unless they were at the temple, and certainly not by anyone at the execution. It is also not recorded in extrabiblical history.
A centurion who heard Jesus's lament and saw him die said, "surely this man was the son of god." I don't see how he came to that conclusion. Some women watched the crucifixion from a distance. One was Mary Magdalene, who is first mentioned here. Another was Mary the mother of James, Joses, and Salome. These women were part of a group of women who had followed Jesus to Jerusalem from Galilee. They had been "taking care of his needs." This probably means they cooked and washed for him, because for some reason he couldn't do it for himself. (It couldn't be because he was sexist and thought that was women's work, could it?) The text does not say Jesus's mother or any of the twelve disciples was there.
In verse 42 we are told it was preparation day, the day before the Sabbath, Friday. Either Passover fell on a Friday that year or something about the timeline in Mark is off. It is still Passover if we follow the text. Evening is coming. The Sabbath begins at dusk. Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for Jesus's body. Pilate confirmed with the centurion that Jesus was already dead and then gave the body to Joseph. The body was wrapped in linen and put in a tomb. A stone was rolled in front of it. The text does not say the tomb belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. The two Marys previously mentioned saw where the body was laid.
We are now in chapter 16. The Sabbath is over. It is just after sunrise on the first day of the week, Sunday. Jesus has been dead approximately 39 hours, less than two full days, if you count hours. If you count the names of the days he has been dead, I guess it makes three: part of Friday, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday. But that seems like cheating to me.
The two Marys are going to the tomb to anoint the body with spices. They aren't sure who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb. When they got there, the stone was already rolled away. A young man dressed in white was sitting inside the tomb. The ladies were alarmed but the young man told them not to be. He said Jesus had risen. They were to go tell Peter and the disciples that Jesus was going ahead of them to Galilee and they would see him there.
The women were naturally frightened and confused. They ran away from the tomb and told no one what had happened! So, how does the author know anything about it? This is where the story ends in the earliest manuscripts, suggesting that perhaps Jesus was never actually seen alive again.
Mark 16:9-16 appear to have been added to the text at a later date, making its events highly unlikely. We will cover that passage next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment