Matthew 27:55

And many women were there beholding from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Mark recorded the name of the mother of Zebedee's sons as Salome (Mark 15:41). The women were the last to wait upon Jesus at the cross and the first to whom he revealed himself after the resurrection. Spiritual leadership naturally belongs to women. The disciples fled, but the women waited to watch and did not forsake the Lord even in the depth of his humiliation. The names of those women were introduced because they aided Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the Lord's body for burial.

THE ORDER OF PILATE TO BREAK HIS LEGS

Before moving to consider the next event recorded by Matthew, which was the burial, there was another extremely important event, recorded by John. To hasten the death of the condemned and to prevent their remaining upon their crosses over the Passover, the Jews begged Pilate for a detail to break the legs of the condemned. Such an order was given the soldiers by Pilate, and, in obedience, the soldiers broke the legs of the two robbers; but they came to Christ and found him already dead, they disobeyed their orders, thrust a spear into his side without orders, and thus fulfilled two prophecies at one time (John 19:31-37).

Psalms 34:20 prophesied of the Messiah that "He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken." Zechariah prophesied, "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced" (Zechariah 12:10). The manner of fulfillment of those prophecies, one that Christ would be pierced, another that none of his bones should be broken, is an amazing demonstration of the providence of God working at Calvary. The order from Pilate required that one of those prophecies should be broken, in the breaking of his legs; but there was not enough power in the Roman army to have broken the little finger of Jesus. The order under which the soldiers moved to break his legs was countermanded from on high; how else could a Roman soldier have violated his orders to fulfill one prophecy, and then, acting without orders, thrust a spear and fulfill another? Surely God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself (2 Corinthians 5:19).