Myrrhbearers

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Mileševa monastery in Serbia
.
Kizhi
, Russia, 18th century).
Icon of Mary Magdalene as a Myrrhbearer.
Hagiography, fresco, of Saint Salome the Myrrhbearer in Greek Orthodox Church.

In

aloes, wrapped it in clean linen, and placed it in a new tomb.[a] In Western Christianity, the women at the tomb, the Three Marys
or other variants are the terms normally used.

Narrative and tradition

The women followed Jesus during his earthly ministry in Galilee, providing for him and his followers out of their own means.[b] They remained faithful to him even during the most dangerous time of his arrest and execution, and not only stood by the cross, but accompanied him to his burial, noticing where the tomb was located. Because of the impending Shabbat (Sabbath), it was necessary for the burial preparations to be brief. Jewish custom at the time dictated that mourners return to the tomb every day for three days. Once the Sabbath had passed, the women returned at the earliest possible moment, bringing myrrh to anoint the body. It was at this point that the Resurrection was revealed to them, and they were commissioned to go and tell the Apostles. They were, in effect, the apostles to the Apostles. For this reason, the myrrhbearing women, especially Mary Magdalene, are sometimes referred to as "equal to the Apostles."

Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly.

kingdom of God.[f] Luke describes him as "a good man, and just".[g]

Nicodemus (

apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus
that purports to be written by him.

Names of the Myrrhbearers

The Myrrhbearers are traditionally listed as:[1]

There are also generally accepted to be other Myrrhbearers, whose names are not known.

Liturgical references

winding sheet
and napkin.

In the

Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches, the Third Sunday of Pascha (i.e. the second Sunday after Easter) is called the 'Sunday of the Myrrhbearers'. The Scripture readings appointed for the services on this day emphasize the role of these individuals in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus: Matins Gospel, Divine Liturgy, Epistle and Gospel.[k]

Since this day commemorates events surrounding not only the Resurrection, but also the entombment of Christ, some of the hymns from Holy Saturday are repeated. These include the Troparion of the Day: "The noble Joseph ..." (but with a new line added at the end, commemorating the Resurrection), and the Doxastikhon at the Vespers Aposticha: "Joseph together with Nicodemus ..."

The week that follows is called the Week of the Myrrhbearers and the Troparion mentioned above is used every day at the

Canonical Hours and the Divine Liturgy. The Doxastikhon is repeated again at Vespers
on Wednesday and Friday evenings.

Many of the Myrrhbearers also have separate feast days on which they are commemorated individually in the Menaion.

There are numerous liturgical hymns which speak of the Myrrhbearers, especially in the Sunday

Church Slavonic
: Ўпаκои), which means 'sent', in reference to the Myrrhbearing women being sent to announce the Resurrection to the Apostles.

There are several prominent Orthodox cathedrals and churches named after the Myrrhbearers. They celebrate their patronal feast day on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers.

In 2022, Joanna, Mary, and Salome were officially added to the

Episcopal Church liturgical calendar with a feast day as the "myrrh-bearing women" on 3 August.[2]

Role

In the Gospels, especially the

Eduyot 3:6) indicate that women could give testimony if there was no male witness available. Also, Josephus used women as witnesses to his claims.[8] In addition, Paul does not mention the women. Bart D. Ehrman argues:[9]

One of Mark's overarching themes is that virtually no one during the ministry of Jesus could understand who he was. His family didn't understand. His townspeople didn't understand. The leaders of his own people didn't understand. Not even the disciples understood in Mark—especially not the disciples! For Mark, only outsiders have an inkling of who Jesus was: the unnamed woman who anointed him, the centurion at the cross. Who understands at the end? Not the family of Jesus! Not the disciples! It's a group of previously unknown women ... the women at the tomb ...

All three Synoptics name two or three women on each occasion in the passion-resurrection narratives where they are cited as eyewitnesses: the Torah's required two or three witnesses[l] in a statute that had exerted influence beyond legal courts and into situations in everyday life where accurate evidence was needed.[3]: 218 [4]: 49  Among the named women (and some are left anonymous), Mary Magdalene is present in all four Gospel accounts, and Mary the mother of James is present in all three synoptics; however, variations exist in the lists of each Gospel concerning the women present at the death, entombment, and discovery. For example, Mark names three women at the cross and the same three who go to the tomb, but only two are observed to be witnesses at the burial. Based on this, and similar examples in Matthew and Luke, Richard Bauckham argued that the evangelists showed "scrupulous care" and "were careful to name precisely the women who were known to them as witnesses to these crucial events" since there would be no other reason, besides interest in historical accuracy, not to simply use the same set of characters from one scene to another.[4]: 50–51 

Mark's account (which is the earliest of the extant manuscripts) ends abruptly and claims that the women told no one.[α] The Gospels of Matthew and Mark do not present any further involvement at the tomb. Luke describes Peter as running to the tomb to check for himself, and John adds that the Beloved Disciple did so too, the beloved disciple outrunning Peter.[β]

See also

Notes

Biblical verses cited

  1. ^ See Bible verses:
  2. ^ Mark 15:41
  3. ^ John 19:38
  4. ^ Matthew 27:57
  5. ^ Luke 23:50
  6. ^ Mark 15:43
  7. ^ Luke 23:50
  8. ^ John 3:1–21
  9. ^ John 7:45–51
  10. ^ John 19:39–42
  11. ^ Scripture readings:
  12. ^ Deuteronomy 19:15

Explanatory notes

  1. Beloved Disciple
    , an individual that is usually considered to be a self-reference by the author of the gospel John.
  2. ^ To answer the question of running speed: It is never explained why the disciples moved from merely traveling to running, and it has often been speculated that running only occurred on the last stretch once the tomb had come within sight. John Calvin instead speculated that the rush was due to religious zeal. In particular, John describes the Beloved Disciple as outracing Peter, though waiting for Peter to arrive before entering the tomb, with some scholars seeing the out-racing as a metaphoric elevation of the Beloved Disciple above Peter. However, many Christian scholars object to this interpretation, instead arguing that since the Beloved Disciple is usually interpreted as a reference to the author of John, it would be necessary for him to be considerably younger than Peter, and hence his speed could be due simply to youthful vigour. Another question is why John the Beloved Disciple pauses outside the tomb. While many view it as being due to his not wanting to violate death ritual by entering a tomb, in contrast to Peter who has no such qualm and instead enters immediately, most scholars believe John is simply deferring to Peter, particularly since the Beloved Disciple enters the tomb once Peter is inside. There is some scriptural variation as to whom the women told and in what order.

References

  1. ^ "Learn about the Orthodox Christian Faith - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America".
  2. ^ "General Convention Virtual Binder". www.vbinder.net. Archived from the original on 2022-09-13. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  3. ^
    ISBN 9780934718981
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0802863904
    .
  5. ISBN 3-16-147305-1
    . Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament Jerusalem Talmud 123.
  6. ^ Ben Witherington III, What have they done with Jesus (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2006), p. 50.
  7. ^ C. H. Dodd, The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1953)
  8. ^ Flavius Josephus. The Wars of the Jews. Book VII section 389. and IV:81
  9. ^ Ehrman, Bart D. (March 28, 2006). William Lane Craig and Bart Ehrman Debate "Is There Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus?". Dr. Ehrman's First Rebuttal. Held at College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts: SMU Department of Physics. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Apologetics Ehrman Archived 2019-05-30 at the Wayback Machine

External links

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