John 19:39 - Exposition

But there came also Nicodemus who at the first came to him by night pointing back (as the evangelist also does at John 7:50 ) to the memorable converse with our Lord detailed in John 3:1-20 , when Jesus made clear to his visitor that he would be lifted up, even as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness." There is no proof that this "ruler of the Jews" and "master in Israel" had been encouraged by the act of Joseph; but it might seem that these two between them had arranged the costly cerements. There is a world of suggestion lying in this quietly mentioned fact. Doubtless there were many others of timid disposition, who had received deeper convictions than the narrative of the Passion seems to suggest. Nicodemus had said, "We know that thou art a Teacher sent from God." By reason of their unacknowledged faith, the way was prepared for the marvelous conversions of Pentecost and later days. Nicodemus came to the cross, in all probability aided by the loving cares of the women and the disciple whom Jesus loved, bringing a mixture £ of myrrh , an odoriferous gum, and aloes , a fragrant wood, prepared for the embalming process, about an hundred pounds weight . This was a vast quantity. It reminds the reader of "the myrrh and aloes" of the royal Bridegroom of the Church ( Psalms 45:1-17 .); of the frankincense and myrrh brought by the Wise Men of the East; of the lavish gift of Mary the sister of Lazarus; of the outburst of boundless love which, spite of all the cruel persecution and rejection to which the Lord was exposed, at length was lavished upon him. The myrrh and aloes were pounded and mixed for the purposes of resisting the decomposition of death. The method was entirely to cover the ὀθονίαι , with its pungent and purifying powder, and then to swathe the whole body with the grave-clothes thus enriched.