Step 48

Mark 15:40-47 What the Women Witnessed

About Mark: This section further shows Mark's respect for the Roman centurion and for women, in each case overcoming an entrenched Jewish prejudice. Of course he is writing for a Roman audience. While Mark casts the Roman procurator Pilate in a bad light, the Roman centurion is cast in a good light. Mark shows Pilate taking without question his centurion's experienced judgement.  

The importance of the women's testimony is mentioned below. The commonness of the name Mary in the first century makes it necessary to distinguish them. Mary Magdalene is identified by her place of origin, Magdala. Mary "the mother of James the younger and of Joses" (15:40) is identified by her obviously well-known sons, as was Simon earlier. It was more usual to identify people as the children of their parents (as in Mark 3:17-18 James was the son of Zebedee and James the son of Alphaeus), but most parents have also been identified by their children's acquaintances as "the father and mother of ...."
 
Obviously Mark is writing from a position in James' and Joses' generation, reminding us that every succeeding generation must reinvestigate the evidence for claims about Jesus. Clearly, Mark expects that, and identifies his original sources for the verification of his first readers.

Bible: Mark 15:40-47
40 There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

The Burial of Jesus
42 When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. 45 When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.

Comment: WHAT THE WOMEN WITNESSED
MARK painstakingly records the details of the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus; knowing that each part of the story is important. While the apostles are apparently dispersed and confused, the roles of others are noted: Simon of Cyrene (21), the Roman centurion (39 & 44-45), and Joseph of Arimathea (43). Any suspicion that Jesus was not dead is allayed, for the discussion between Pilate and the Centurion explicitly investigates this question.   

But the continuing thread of the account is the observant presence of the women followers of Jesus, who have been followers throughout (41). They are named as observers of his death (40), again as witnesses of his burial (47), and once more as the witnesses who attest his resurrection (16:1). Clearly it was important to record that the tomb which they later find empty, is precisely the one in which they had seen Jesus laid.
 
Mary Magdalene is the principle witness, but she is not the only one. Mary - mother of James the younger and Joses - is also present, and on two occasions Salome - wife of Zebedee (Matthew 27:56) and therefore mother of James (the "elder") and John.

The prominence of these women in Mark's story must not be underrated. For Mark, the multiple, congruent, and reliable evidence upon which the veracity of his story depends is located in the experience and testimony of these women. Their importance is all the more highlighted by the shadows into which for the time being the male followers of Jesus have retreated.

Discipleship today: Through these dark hours of profound disappointment and despondency, various people handle the situation differently. Nothing is said of the men who had followed Jesus for so long from Galilee, but their confusion and fear can be imagined. Meanwhile, the older women are perhaps less conspicuous, more observant of important details, and are staunch in the hours of distress. It takes all types to follow Jesus, each in our own time and place a significant person for the purposes of God. Yet at the beginning none of us can know exactly when or how that will be.

The darkest hours often reveal where our hearts lie. Do we reach out for God’shelp, knowing we need his help more than the help of others?  

Similarly in our finest hours, we may also know that we did well because of the grace of God. For if truth be told, we know that as humans alone we ARE imperfect and flawed.

It is in declaring these realisations to God Himself, that we take the most important step in our journey to Christian faith. We make the deliberate act of faith that joins us to God, by which we enter into the people of God. 

For many people it is formalised in a prayer like the following:

O God, I know I fail and am often faulty in how I think and act. I thank you for Jesus Christ, your one true Son, by whose life and death I am ransomed from sin, and reconciled to you. I pledge myself to you, to follow Jesus Christ as Lord of my life. I receive your forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Fill me with your Spirit to live for you each day. Amen!
 
Such a prayer, as a commitment of loyalty to God, will be highly significant in your relationship with God. If this is the first time you have made this commitment in this way, you may wish to place record this prayer, your signature, and the date of your decision. In the future, you are likely to look back to this moment as one of the most important in your life. 

A private decision for Christ must in due course be followed by a public profession of faith, and commitment to the community of Christians. More about in Step 49.