Why Did Mary and the Women Carry Spices to the Tomb?

[Jesus_is_Saint]

Luke 24:
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

My question is:
Knowing that Jesus' tomb was blocked by a big rock, the women should expect that they could not access to Jesus' body, then why did they carry spices to the tomb?

 

[Jesus_is_Saint]

Same incident was reported in:
Mark 16:
1 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.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

They brought it to anoint the body.

Mark 16:3 - And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?"

They were worried about moving the stone, but doubtless thought the guards in the cemetary or passing helpful mourners would do it for them.

 

[Strong in Him]

They took spices to anoint Jesus' body.
This would not have been done at the time, due to the approaching Sabbath.

Maybe, in their grief, they didn't immediately remember about the rock, or maybe they thought the guards would allow them to uphold their traditions and honour someone they loved.

 

[ken777]

Luke 24:
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

My question is:
Knowing that Jesus' tomb was blocked by a big rock, the women should expect that they could not access to Jesus' body, then why did they carry spices to the tomb?

Have you ever done something that doesn't make a lot sense only later to realize there was a purpose? They were impelled by the Holy Spirit to carry out God's will.

 

[Alithis]

Have you ever done something that doesn't make a lot sense only later to realize there was a purpose? They were impelled by the Holy Spirit to carry out God's will.

it was not gods will for them to do so ,, but rather to raise him from the dead .. for upon their arrival they found that is what had occurred .And he had already been anointed for burial by the woman with the alabaster jar .

as to the OP ..the question is simple .. 1. they took spices because dead bodies do smell rather bad ..2. they asked who shall roll away the stone .. so A-- they didn't know of it until they arrived or b- they knew of it but were hoping some one would move it for them . -neither had to happen because they found the stone gone and the body gone - for he had risen .

 

[ken777]

it was not gods will for them to do so ,, but rather to raise him from the dead .. for upon their arrival they found that is what had occurred .And he had already been anointed for burial by the woman with the alabaster jar.

I didn't say it was God's will for them to anoint the body - it was God's will that they be there as witnesses.

 

[tdidymas]

"Anointing the body" with spices was something they did as a regular practice back then, because they did not embalm dead people at that time. Spices were there to cover up the odor of decaying flesh. They assumed that Jesus was not going to rise from the dead, even though He had told them He was. It was one of those "in one ear and out the other" things.
TD

 

[ken777]

"Anointing the body" with spices was something they did as a regular practice back then, because they did not embalm dead people at that time. Spices were there to cover up the odor of decaying flesh. They assumed that Jesus was not going to rise from the dead, even though He had told them He was. It was one of those "in one ear and out the other" things.
TD

You make a good point. It seems so obvious to us as we read the Gospels with hindsight.

I wonder though if it was just that they did not understand what Jesus meant: "And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean." (Mark 9:10)

 

[tdidymas]

I wonder though if it was just that they did not understand what Jesus meant: "And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean." (Mark 9:10)

Actually, that is the reason why it "went in one ear and out the other." People tend not to retain in memory what they don't understand.
TD

 

[Jesus_is_Saint]

John 19:
37 and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."
38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away.
39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
40 Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.

But earlier Jesus' body was wrapped with spices.

 

[Alithis]

John 19:
37 and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."
38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away.
39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
40 Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.

But earlier Jesus' body was wrapped with spices.

yup .. id guess it was out of love and grieving that they would go and add spices to a body ..probably

 

[Highway Chaplain]

The spices and ointments were not as much for covering the odor. They were used to accelerate the decaying of the flesh much like a chemical cremation. The body was only allowed 1 year to lay on the s;lab. Once all flesh was dissolved then family member of the deceased would collect the now dry bones and arrange them in a wooden chest with the person's name called an ossuary. The bones would either be placed in a corner of the tomb or taken to a home.

 

[WebersHome]

.

But earlier Jesus' body was wrapped with spices.

When my No.1 nephew passed away a few years ago, we all took turns putting a handful of soil on his grave as a means of closure. There was already sufficient soil over his body, but it wasn't my soil.
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