And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment

 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.  Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.  And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.' "  Having said this, He breathed His last.  So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!"  And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.  But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things.

Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.  He had not consented to their decision and deed.  He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.  That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.  And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.  Then they prepared spices and fragrant oils.  And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. 

- Luke 23:44-56a

On Saturday, we read that were also two others, criminals, led with Jesus to be put to death.  And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.  Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."  And they divided His garments and cast lots.  And the people stood looking on.  But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."  The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself."  And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:  THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us."  But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong."  Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."  And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.  Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.  How is it that the natural elements of the world are affected by the Crucifixion of Christ?  He is the light of the world (John 8:12); at His murder all things are "topsy turvy."  My study bible notes that the veil that separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple was a symbol of the separation between God and man.  Christ's death opens the way into the presence of God for all people, giving people access to that which is the most holy of all, which is God Himself.  In many Orthodox churches, one will see a curtain between the altar and the nave, which is open during liturgical services to emphasize our communion with God -- at one time sealed off from human beings,  now available to all who approach in faith.

And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.' "  Having said this, He breathed His last.  Jesus gives us all an example, as on the Cross He is praying; this is a verse from Psalm 31 (verse 5) which we may read carefully in its entirely to understand its significance to this time.   My study bible tells us that Christ does not have His life taken from Him, but rather He will voluntarily commit it to the Father.  In the understanding of the Church, His was the first human soul that was not taken to Hades (the place of the dead); rather it is freely given into the hands of God.  In this way, He frees all of humanity from the power of death.  His death reconciles human beings to God -- not as satisfaction for blood-justice, but because every aspect of our fallen human nature is transformed in Him, even death.  Whatever divinity touches is healed; this is our faith.  Christ becomes human in order to sanctify human nature; as my study bible notes, He takes on our sin in order to free us from sin, He accepts our weakness in order to make us strong, He suffers in order to transfigure suffering, and enters death in order to destroy it (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).

So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!"  My study bible quotes St. Cyril of Alexandria, who writes, "Observe that no sooner had Christ endured the Passion on the Cross for our sakes than He began to win many unto knowledge of the truth."

And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.  But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things.    To beat their breasts is a formal sign of mourning, an act of grief.  But we note Christ's followers -- and especially Luke mentions the women who followed Him from Galilee.  They stand at a distance and watch, true witnesses, with Him even in death.  They do not participate with this fickle crowd.

Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.  He had not consented to their decision and deed.  He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.   My study bible says that if the apostles had buried Christ, then doubters could have claimed that His body was simply hidden away.  Joseph of Arimathea is both a council member and also a good and just man.  His involvement refutes any possibility that deceptive activity had taken place with Christ's body.  My study bible adds that there is as spiritual significance to the tomb where no one had ever lain before.  That is, Christ died a death unlike any person had ever died before.  It is a death without corruption, and a death which leads to victory over death (or the grave) itself.

That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.  And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.  Then they prepared spices and fragrant oils.  And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.  My study bible notes that Christ's rest in the tomb fulfills the image of His birth in a cave, traditional place in the Near East where animals are kept (see 2:7).  It reveals the ultimate purpose of His coming into the world.  The faith of the women, it says, while stronger than that of the disciples who are in hiding, was still imperfect in that they prepared for the corruption of Christ's body.  But, we note, they continue in their role as ministers to Him (8:1-3).  Preparation is Friday.  The original Sabbath (Saturday) is the day God rested from God's work of creation (Genesis 2:1-3), and so Christ rests from the work of the new creation on the Sabbath.  Therefore, my study bible says, He gives the Sabbath its ultimate meaning and even in death, He fulfills the Law, as do the women. 

Let us note a certain sense of the beauty of the Gospel of Luke.  Luke is the one who also gives us a picture of Christ's birth -- an event of cosmic importance (in fact the central event of cosmic history from the point of view of the Bible), first prepared by angels making announcements not to the world, but to individuals of quiet status in the society, news known only to them (Luke 1).  It is the shepherds living out in the fields to whom the angelic hosts proclaim this event, and Mary who keeps these tidings, pondering them in her heart (Luke 2).  This is a quiet revelation that shakes the reality of all that is, of the birth of the One whose death creates darkness at noon, and rents in two the temple's veil.  So it is in Luke with His death.  There is a sense of quiet over it all:  the women who have faithfully followed from Galilee stand and watch His crucifixion from afar, like silent witnesses who follow His command to "watch."  They have been "ministers to His ministry" and continue to minister to Him in their preparation of His body for burial.  They are obedient unto the Law, and rest on the Sabbath.  In this quiet, the whole of the world is awaiting a new birth from this cave.  At the crucifixion, one man, the centurion, recognizes Christ's righteousness and will later become an early member of the Church.  One thief on the cross confesses and is reconciled to Christ (see Saturday's reading, above).  Joseph of Arimathea, member of the council who did not consent to Christ's death, a good and just man -- and obviously a man of wealth -- privately goes to Pilate and requests Jesus' body, having quietly prepared with great care a new tomb.  There is a humble quality to the verses in which we're told he wrapped Christ's body in new linen and laid it in the tomb.   Of the apostles we read nothing.  They are scattered and in hiding.   These acts of cosmic importance do not come with great fanfare, and their very silence is a beauty given to us in Luke's Gospel.  It teaches us of the centrality of our own faith, which so often comes as a mere whisper in the heart, a prayer in silence, in our own room with our Father in the secret place who sees in secret (Matthew 6:6).  Contrary to the blockbuster films that ever seek to make up for lack of meaning through increasing explosions, special effects, and grittier violence, the actual blood and grit of crucifixion is absent here.   Christ's suffering, in fact, has as much or more to do with the cruelty and spiritual blindness of those who mock than anything else.  This is a book written by those who know full well the violence of the world, its gore, its illnesses, its physical suffering (and after all, St. Luke was himself a physician).  It is a book which tells us the importance of this story in the women who watch from a distance, who remain obedient to the Law, and the greatness of One who loved us so that He died for us and will change the entire order of the cosmos in so doing.   By contrast, it is the fickle crowds who clamored for His death and now beat their breasts.  This is a book for the faithful, who accept the world matter-of-factly on its terms, and yet retain a faith through all things, keeping in mind what is truly important and essential.  That is, that this crucifixion, one among countless in the Roman Empire, is of our Savior, the Lord of all, the One for whom we seek to live each moment and follow by taking up our own crosses.  His story is not yet finished and not yet complete, for it is the Resurrection that transforms all of this, everything, anything that came before and all things afterward.  It is the Resurrection that enters us into the end time, the sureness of His Return, and the way in which we also watchfully live our lives.  Let us prepare, as do the women, and understand the true place in which we take our rest, even through all things, and remember why.