Enough Oil and Spices for a King’s Burial

October 4, 2016

Enough Oil and Spices for a King’s Burial

And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

John  19:42

Jesus was dead. John supplies several more important details as he describes the burial of Jesus.  First, the other two named eyewitnesses are identified: Joseph and Nicodemus, Secondly, in preparation for placing Jesus’ body in a tomb, a huge amount of oil and spices, enough for a King’s burial, are used: “(Nicodemus) brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth” (John 19:39-40). Next, John tells us the tomb was in a garden. Humankind fell out of a right relationship with God in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus committed his will to God so that humankind could be redeemed by God. In this unnamed Garden, Jesus, crucified and dead, is laid in a tomb.

Jesus was laid in a tomb so that he could spend the seventh day in a Sabbath rest; but God wasn’t through. The first day of the new week was coming. Sunday promised to be the first day of God’s New Creation.

Both Joseph and Nicodemus were out-of-sight, or secret disciples. Yet when the need presented itself, they answered the call. Their response was not marked by hesitation or doing just enough to get by; it was marked by extravagance with enough oil and spices for a king’s burial. Our churches are in the season of stewardship commitment. Will my response be marked with extravagant generosity? Will yours?

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.