There were also women looking on from afar

 

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, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.  So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.  Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen.  And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.  And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

 

- Mark 15:40–47 

 

On Saturday we read:  Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"  Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, "Look, He is calling for Elijah!"  Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down."  And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.  Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, "Truly this Man was the Son of God!"

 

 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, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.  My study Bible comments that the faithfulness of the women shows that in Christ, divine order is being restored to the fallen world.  In the context of spiritual history, Eve was created to complete Adam (Genesis 2:18), but instead led him to sin (Genesis 3:6).  But now the women disciples of Christ remain faithful while it is the men who flee and hide.  It is the women who bring the message of the Resurrection to the men (Mark 16:9-11, Luke 24:9-11), thereby restoring that which had been broken through sin.

 

 Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.  So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.  Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen.  And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.  And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.  My study Bible explains that if the apostles had buried Christ, doubters could claim His body was simply hidden away.  But Joseph of Arimathea, being both a prominent council member, and one who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, refutes any possibility that the Lord's body was deceptively hidden by the apostles.   A tomb hewn out of the rock would be one of great expense.  Luke's Gospel tells us that it was one where no one had ever lain before (see Luke 23:53), signifying that Christ died a dead unlike any person who had ever died.  That is, a death without corruption, and one leading to victory over the grave itself.  We note again the abiding faithfulness of the women, who keep Christ's word to take heed, watch, and pray.  Their dutiful and mindful behavior, even in a time of great panic and fear, is a model for all of us who await Christ's return.

Yes, the women in today's story model the behavior for us that Christ has espoused in His teachings on the end times (such as in this reading), times He prophesied would be terrifying, and signs of which without doubt have been present in the world throughout the Christian era.  Both Joseph and the women teach us what it means to "Take heed, watch, and pray" as Jesus has taught must be our disposition through this period of "end times" as we await the Second Coming.  Contrary to some popularized novels and theories, the "end times" constitute all of the history of the Church to the present time and are ongoing.   That is why His words apply always to us and throughout the centuries; it is not simply a period which occurs imminently before His Second Coming.  In His prophecy of end times, the time of Christ's return was deliberately left vague, meaning that it is not our job to make timetables, but our job to do and to be precisely as He took pains to repeatedly teach:  we are to keep His commandments while He's gone, we are to be alert and aware of who we are and what we are to be about, not sleeping on our watch.  Joseph and the women perfectly exemplify such dutiful, awake, and alert behavior.  Joseph takes great courage in going to Pilate and requesting the body of Christ.  He holds a prominent seat on the Council, whose leaders decided to put Christ to death and manipulated the crowds to demand His crucifixion before Pilate.  Matthew's Gospel tells us he was a rich man (Matthew 27:57), so we understand not only that he shares his wealth to honor Christ in burial (and perhaps this tomb was made for himself), but as both a wealthy man and a prominent council member, he had a lot to lose by claiming Christ's body publicly.  Early church historians mention Joseph playing a prominent role in the Church.   But the women, as my study Bible points out, give us models of discipleship that signify spiritual transformation and a setting aright of history in a very important sense.  Note that the very fact that they are women plays a role here in establishing Christianity and its meanings and teachings, contradicting the image of Eve from the Old Testament.  Among these women we also must include Mary, the mother of Jesus, who although stricken with grief is understood to have been among the women going to the tomb, as we will discuss in tomorrow's reading and commentary.  We recall that in addition to Jesus' teachings as to what kind of discipleship He desires as we await His return, in Gethsemane He also requested the disciples watch with Him, and pray (see this reading).   During Christ's agony, His closest disciples failed in this task, sleeping from sorrow, we're told (Luke 22:45).  But here it is the women who remain steadfast models of what it is to keep one's head, to do the duty needed in the circumstances, and to "watch and pray" -- even to "watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation," as Jesus told Peter at Gethsemane.  It is the women who exemplify alacrity and coolness in a time of panic and terror for all of the disciples of Christ, and we who follow in their footsteps as faithful must be very grateful to the Gospels for reporting this to us and giving us the tremendous role they play for all of us.  Let us consider what we are to be in times of great distress, and how we can be more like them as they turn an ancient story of sin on its head, giving us both their courage and their faithfulness.