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LADIES VISITING THE TOMB
The study of the identity of the ladies visiting the tomb of Christ
raises some interesting issues.
Generally most commentators have taken the approach that Scripture is
only identifying one person by the title 'Magdalene'.
However, when we take a close look at the text of Mark 16:1-8 there
arises a few issues with this assumption.
Mark 16:1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought
spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
:8 So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb,
for they trembled and were amazed. And they
said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Scripture quite clearly states that these three ladies 1)Mary Magdalene,
2)Mary of James and 3)Salome "said nothing to anyone". This being in sharp
contrast to the other texts which depict Mary Magdalene informing others.
Matt 28:8 So they [Mary Magdalene and the other Mary] went
out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy,
and ran to bring His disciples word.
Mark 16:10 She [Mary Magdalene] went and told those who had
been with Him, as they mourned and wept.
Luke 24:10 It was Mary Magdalene [the Magdalene Mary], Joanna,
Mary the mother of James, and the other women with
them, who told these things to the apostles.
John 20:18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that
she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken
these things to her.
What is also different about the Mark 16:1-8 text is when the ladies
arrive at the tomb.
Mark 16:2 Very early in the morning [And exceedingly dawn],
on the first day of the week, they came to the
tomb when the sun had risen.
These ladies do not arrive until after sunrise! (The rendering,
"Very early in the morning" is misleading and incorrect; what is
being said is that these ladies came to the tomb very late toward
the end of dawn, ie soon after the sun had risen.)
Other texts talk about Mary Magdalene arriving before sunrise.
Matt 28:1 Now after the Sabbath [After the close of the
Sabbaths], as the first day of the week began
to dawn [grow light], Mary Magdalene and the
other Mary came to see the tomb.
Luke 24:1 Now on the first day of the week, very early
in the morning [dawn deep], they, and certain
other women with them, came to the tomb ...
John 20:1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene
went to the tomb early, while it was still
dark, ...
The former three ladies, who do not arrive at the tomb until after
the sun had risen, appear to arrive late because they first purchase
spices from the market that morning.
Mark 16:1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought
spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
What is also evident from the Mark 16:1-8 text is that these ladies,
who arrived after sunrise, had been completely unaware that the stone
in front of the tomb had earlier been rolled away.
Mark 16:3 And they said among themselves, "Who will
roll away the stone from the door of the
tomb for us?"
The Mark 16:1-8 text is telling us that these three ladies either
a) lacked knowledge of the events which had transpired earlier that
morning or b) had been informed but did not believe.
Since Luke 24:9-10 does speaks of three ladies who inform the apostles
we know that despite similar titles/descriptions that at least six
different ladies visited the tomb on that day.
MARK 16:1 LUKE 24:10
Mary Magdalene 'the Magdalene Mary'
Mary of James Joanna
Salome Mary of James
Hence this suggests we not only have two Magdalene's but also two Marys
related to one or more males called James.
LADIES AT THE CRUCIFIXION
When we look at the verses discussing the ladies witnessing the
crucifixion of Christ we can also note the existence of two Mary
Magdalenes.
The text of John mentions three ladies standing close to the cross of
Jesus:
John 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His
mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the
wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
There is in the Greek no word 'and' between the mention of
'His mother's sister' and 'Mary of Clopas'.
This suggests that Mary of Clopas was the sister of Christ's
mother.
So that there were ladies;
- the mother of Jesus
- His mother's sister, Mary of Clopas
- Mary Magdalene
The Matthew and Mark texts describe ladies who looked on from afar.
(In contrast to those standing close to the cross mentioned in the
gospel of John.)
Matt 27:55 And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee,
ministering to Him, were there looking on from
afar,
:56 among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother
of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's
sons.
Mark 15:40 There were also women looking on from afar,
among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother
of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome,
:41 who also followed Him and ministered to Him when
He was in Galilee, and many other women who came
up with Him to Jerusalem.
If it is assumed that the Matthew and Mark verses were referring
to the same three ladies then we have;
- Mary Magdalene
- Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses
- Salome, the mother of Zebedee's sons
This arrangement of all the ladies, both near and far from the cross,
tells us that,
- there are two Mary Magdalenes
- Salome may be the name of the mother of
Zebedee's sons
- Mary of Clopas is not the mother of
James the Less and Joses
MOTHER OF JOSES
In respect to the ladies the name Joses is mentioned three times,
Matt 27:56, Mark 15:40 & 47.
In Scripture the name Joses is given to a) a son of Mary the mother
of Christ (Matt 13:55, Mark 6:3) and b) to Barnabas.
Acts 4:36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by
the apostles (which is translated Son of
Encouragement), a Levite of the country
of Cyprus,
Since the mother of Jesus was standing close to the cross and the
mother of Joses was standing further away, it can be assumed that
the reference to the mother of Joses is a reference to the mother
of Barnabas.
Barnabas was a cousin of John Mark, who in turn appears to have been
the son of Peter.
1Col 4:10 ... with Mark the cousin of Barnabas ...
1Pet 5:13 ... and so does Mark my son.
MARY MAGDALENE
The term Magdalene, is commonly thought to be suggesting a connection
to Magdala (near the Sea of Galilee);
Matt 15:39 And He sent away the multitude, got into the
boat, and came to the region of Magdala.
According to Strong's Concordance the word 'Magdala' is a word meaning
'the tower'. So this opens the possibility that one (or more) of the
ladies is referred to by this name as a descriptive title.
The name Mary Magdalene is primarily mentioned in respect to Christ's
death and resurrection. However, there is one verse which mentions this
name early in the ministry of Christ.
Luke 8:2 and certain women who had been healed of evil
spirits and infirmities; Mary called Magdalene,
out of whom had come seven demons,
:3 ... and many others who provided for Him from
their substance.
This mention is encountered soon after the mention of the anointing of
Christ's feet by a lady 'sinner'.
Luke 7:37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner,
when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the
Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of
fragrant oil,
:38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she
began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped
them with the hair of her head; and she kissed
His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.
This lady who was described in non-flattering terms as "a sinner" and
"what manner of woman" (Luke 7:39), appears in John to be identified
as Mary, sister of Lazarus and Martha!
John 11:2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with
fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair,
whose brother Lazarus was sick.
The John 11:2 verse is placed prior to the pre-death anointing of
Christ so it may be concluded that it refers to the Luke 7:36-50
account.
When Christ was resurrected He appeared to the Mary Magdalene out
of who He had cast seven demons.
Mark 16:9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the
week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out
of whom He had cast seven demons.
This clearly was the same Mary Magdalene who was first introduced
in Luke 8:2.
Luke 8:2 ... Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come
seven demons,
When one looks at the John account of Christ meeting a Mary we can see
from verse 18 that Mary Magdalene was at least one of the ladies present
at that time.
John 20:18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that
she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken
these things to her.
The John 20:11-18 text only indicates the presence of one woman, but
Matthew 28:1,9 suggests that two ladies were present.
Matt 28:1 ... Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to
see the tomb.
:9 ... Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they
came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
OBSERVING THE TOMB
It goes without saying that for two groups of ladies to separately
visit the tomb on the day of His resurrection then each group must
include at least one lady who knows where His body was placed.
Scripture mentions the following women.
Matt 28:61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary,
sitting opposite the tomb.
Mark 15:47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses
observed where He was laid.
However, other ladies are also indicated.
Luke 23:55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee
followed after, and they observed the tomb and
how His body was laid.
:56 Then they returned and prepared spices and
fragrant oils. ...
These Luke verses indicate that the women who followed Him from Galilee
all knew where He had been laid and that they were later that evening
involved in preparing spices. (These appear not to have been the ladies
who on the day of His resurrection purchased spices.)
[ NB: The following verse suggests Mary mother of Jesus could
not have seen the tomb.
John 19:27 Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your
mother!" And from that hour that disciple
took her to his own home.
If Christ's mother was taken to John's home (presumably
in Galilee) that very hour then she would not have been
present to observe where Christ's body was laid.
However, since the word 'home' is not present in the
inspired Greek text this reasoning is questionable. ]
Since at least one of the ladies in the group who purchased spices
must have known the location of the tomb, it must be that one of the
following three ladies were part of this group.
- Mary Magdalene
- the other Mary
- Mary of Joses
Since the text of Matthew indicates Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
did later proceed to inform the disciples, then one is left with the
conclusion that Mary of Joses must have been part of the group who
later failed to say nothing to anyone.
Since the text of Luke 23:55-56 indicates that the women who followed
Jesus from Galilee were the ones who prepared spices, there is the
indication that it was those ladies who resided in Jerusalem who were
those who purchased the spices. This might of course include Martha
and Mary her sister.
OTHER VERSES
1) There was a Mary who was the mother of John Mark.
Acts 12:2 Then he [Herod] killed James the brother of
John with the sword.
:12 So, when he had considered this, he came to
the house of Mary, the mother of John whose
surname was Mark, where many were gathered
together praying.
The home of Mary was located in the district of Jerusalem,
where Herod was located.
2) There was a James who was the brother of Jude.
Jude 1:1 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and
brother of James, ...
SUMMARY
Compiling the pieces of information related to the ladies who witness
the crucifixion of Christ and who later visit His tomb is quite
difficult.
While some information can be derived it seems that in the end one has
to make some reasonable assumptions.
It is hoped that this commentary has served as a thought provoking guide
in the study of this topic.
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