Chapter

Luke 23:55

ESV The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid.
NIV The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.
NASB Now the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how His body was laid.
CSB The women who had come with him from Galilee followed along and observed the tomb and how his body was placed.
NLT As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed.
KJV And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
NKJV And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.

What does Luke 23:55 mean?

Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for Jesus' body. After confirming Jesus is dead, Pilate consents (Mark 15:42–45). Joseph meets up with Nicodemus who brings about seventy-five pounds of aloe and myrrh—aromatics used to mask the smell of decaying bodies. They wrap Jesus in linen cloths, tucking the spices in the layers (John 19:39–40). They work quickly. At sundown, the Sabbath begins. They need to make sure their own families have what they need for the coming day of rest.

Several women from Galilee who follow and support Jesus have stayed near during His crucifixion. His mother, Mary; Salome, Mary's sister and Zebedee's wife; Mary the wife of Clopas; and Mary Magdalene stood beneath the cross (John 19:25). Later, it seems, Jesus' mother left, but the others just moved off to keep watch from a distance (Matthew 27:55–56; Mark 15:40–41).

Mary Magdalene and Mary the wife of Clopas and mother of James and Joseph follow Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus (Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:40; John 19:25). They watch the men wrap Jesus, lay His body in the tomb, and roll a large stone over the entrance (Luke 23:53; Matthew 27:60; Mark 15:46; John 19:39–42).

After the men leave, the women return to where they are staying. Instead of spending the last moments before sundown setting up for the Sabbath, they gather spices and ointments to further anoint Jesus' dead body (Luke 23:56; Mark 16:1). The preparations the men gave Jesus were honorable, but the women want to do more. They just need to figure out how to roll that stone back (Luke 23:56; Mark 16:1–3).
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