Lamentations. 3:1-9, 19-33

The following comments are repeated here from March 21, 2008 (Good Friday, Year Two), when comments built upon April 14, 2007 (Good Friday, Year One), including comments from April 9, 2004 (Good Friday, Year Two) in an email sent Thursday, April 8 to complete the notes for April 4-10.

The acrostic pattern continues, this time using each letter three times:

1.         I (Yn9xE. ’ ^a nî) am one who has seen (hx!6r!, rā’āh, 3^rd masc. sing. verb) affliction / under the rod of God's wrath;

2.         he has driven and brought me (yt9Ox, ’ôthî) / into darkness without any light;

3.         against me alone (j`xe, ’ēk) he turns his hand, / again and again, all day long.

Chapter 3 of Lamentations begins with the voice of an individual lamenting his “affliction, / under the rod of God’s wrath” (Lam. 3:1). According to Daniel Grossberg, “The male voice may represent a survivor, perhaps one going into exile. He may also be thought of as the collective voice of the people. (Later in the ch. the ‘I’ merges with the ‘we.’)” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Lam. 3:1). According to Grossberg, the “rod of God’s wrath” (Lam. 3:1) is a shepherd’s staff, but it is “used for divine punishment (e.g. 2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 89:33). F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp explains the words “driven and brought” as “like a flock (e.g. Isa. 40:11; Ps. 78:52-53. The rod is a shepherd’s tool (Mic. 7:14; Ezek. 20:37; Ps. 23:4) also used for beatings (Ex. 21:20; Prov. 10:13)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Lam. 3:2).

4.         He has made my flesh and my skin waste away (hL0!B9, billāh), / and broken my bones;

5.         he has besieged (hn!B!, bānāh) and enveloped me (yl1f!, ‘ālay) / with bitterness and tribulation;

6.         he has made me sit in darkness (MyK9w1HEm1B4, b ^emach ^ašakkîm) / like the dead of long ago.

Dobbs-Allsopp explains “darkness” here as “the netherworld (Ps. 88:18; cf. Job 10:21-22; Eccl. 6:4)” (op. cit., on v. 6).

7.         He has walled (rd1G0!, gādar) me (yd9fEB1, ba‘^adî) about so that I cannot escape; / he has put heavy chains on me;

8.         though (Yk09 MG01, gam kî) I call and cry for help, / he shuts out my prayer;

9.         he has blocked (rd1G0!, gādar) my ways with hewn stones, / he has made my paths crooked.

According to Grossberg, these verses “continue the image of the shepherd, but instead of protecting his flock and leading them to water and good pastures (as in Ps. 23), this shepherd leads his flock into danger, which seems to symbolize the exile” (op. cit., on 3:1-20). Grossberg identifies the “he” of verses 2-9 (and on through v. 16) as the LORD, “the implied subject of the actions,” and “the poet [as] the object,” and he calls this “a scathing condemnation of God the abusive shepherd (cf. 2:2-8 and Job’s laments)” (ibid., on vv. 2-17). “He has driven and brought me, / into darkness without any light” (v. 3). “He has made my flesh and my skin waste away, / and broken my bones” (v. 4). “He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; / he has put heavy chains on me” (v. 7). “Though I call and cry for help, / he shuts out my prayer” (v. 8).

19.       The thought (rk!z4, z ^ekār) of my affliction and my homelessness / is wormwood and gall!

20.       My soul continually thinks (rOKz4T9 rOk6z!, zākôr tizkôr) of it / and is bowed down within me.

21.       But this (txzo, zō’th) I call to mind, / and therefore I have hope:

Note the cluster of words based on the root rkz (z-k-r) (vv. 19-20). In verse 20, the infinitive absolute rOk6z! (zākôr) strengthens the verb, “continually thinks.” Werner E. Lemke sees here “an important transition from despair to hope (vv. 22-33) that is not uncommon in psalms of lamentation (see Pss. 42:5, 6, 11; 73:15-17). Here hope is restored through remembrance” (HarperCollins Study Bible, 1^st ed., 1993, on Lam. 3:20-21; so Lemke, revised by Kathleen O’Connor, HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Lam. 3:20-21). Grossberg notes the “expression of faith and hope” in verses 21-24 (p. 1596 on Lam. 3:21-24). He notes that “kindness . . . mercies, with grace (or ‘faithfulness’ in 3:23) constitute three of the Thirteen attributes of God . . . often cited in biblical texts [and] also recited on festivals and fast days” (ibid., on Lam. 3:22-23).

22.       The steadfast love (ydes4Ha%, chasdê) of the LORD (hvhy, YHWH) never ceases, / his mercies never come to an end;

23.       they are new (MYw9D!hE, ch^adāšîm) every morning; / great is your faithfulness.

24.       "The LORD is my portion (yq9l4H,, chelqî)," says my soul, / "therefore I will hope in him."

Dobbs-Allsopp sees verses 19-24 as “two transitional stanzas joined by the refrain therefore I have/will hope (3:21, 24)” (on vv. 19-24). These verses which emphasize the LORD’s “steadfast love” (3:22), his goodness, with the three repetitions of “good” (vv. 24-26) and the following hints of mercy, represent a bright light shining in a sea of darkness and despair. The acrostic pattern calls attention to this passage, which comes at the approximate center of the book. Grossberg comments on “They are renewed every morning–Ample is Your grace!” (NJPS 1985, 1999, for NRSV “they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness”). “It is only through God’s grace that the poet wakes up every morning from sleep, a mini-death. This verse is the basis for the Jewish prayer recited upon waking from sleep, ‘I thank You, everliving King, who has mercifully restored my soul within me; ample is Your grace.’ In Lam. Rab. 3:16, the midrash interprets, ‘Because You renew us every morning, we know that ample is Your grace to redeem us’ ” (op. cit., on v. 23). The Christian hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, words by Thomas O. Chisholm (c. 1923, renewal 1951) is based on Lamentations 3:22, 23. “Portion [yq9l4H,, chelqî],” according to Lemke and O’Connor, refers to “tribal inheritance of land (see Josh. 18:2-10), but here, symbolically, of the Lord, as in Pss. 16:5; 73:26; 142:5. Hope,” they add, “entails patient waiting and intense longing for God (cf. Pss. 40:1; 130:5-7)” (op. cit., on v. 26). According to Grossberg, “The word hope appears in both v. 21 and v. 24, framing and featuring bracketed verses” (op. cit., on v. 24).

In the following lines, the speaker offers advice on patiently bearing affliction:

25.       The LORD is good (bOF, tôv) to those who wait for him, / to the soul that seeks him.

26.       It is good (bOF, tôv) that one should wait quietly / for the salvation of the LORD.

27.       It is good (bOF, tôv) for one to bear (lyH9yo, yōchîl, BHS correction of lyH9yAv4, w ^eyāchîl) / the yoke in youth,

28.       to sit (bw2y2, yēšēv) alone in silence / when the Lord has imposed it,

29.       to put (NT2y9, yittēn) one's mouth to the dust / (there may yet be hope),

30.       to give (NT2y9, yittēn) one's cheek to the smiter, / and be filled with insults.

“Good, Heb. ‘tob’,” says Grossberg, “first word of each of three verses, suggests a benefit to trustful waiting, hoping (Pss. 27:14; 40:5; Prov. 20:22), and resigned suffering” (ibid., on vv. 25-27). Note that the NRSV punctuation combines verses 27-30 as one sentence. The Hebrew verbs in verses 27 (corrected as above) and 28-30 are imperfect (jussive), continuing the thought of “it is good” (cf. E. Kautzsch, ed., and A. E. Cowley, trans., Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, 2^nd English ed., 1910, reprinted 1985, sec. 107 q). Whereas the NRSV translates the jussive forms as infinitives, the recent Jewish translation (NJPS 1985, 1999) retains the jussive form: “Let him sit alone . . . Let him put his mouth to the dust . . . Let him offer his cheek to the smiter; . . .” (vv. 28-30 NJPS). “To put one’s mouth to the dust,” says Dobbs-Allsopp, is “in obeisance and humiliation (cf. Mic. 7:17; Ps. 72:9)” (op. cit., on v. 29).

31.       For (yK9, kî) the Lord will not / reject forever.

32.       Although (Mx9 yK9, kîm) he causes grief, he will have compassion / according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

33.       for (yK9, kî) he does not willingly afflict / or grieve anyone.

According to Grossberg, verse 33 is “rationale for accepting suffering with patient trust. Divine punishment is of limited duration; the LORD is ultimately compassionate; and the chastisement is not arbitrary” (op. cit., on v. 33).

Lamentations 3:1-18 has been compared to Psalm 56, “a psalm of personal distress and trust in God” R. B. Y. Scott, NOAB, 2^nd ed.1994, on Lam. 3:1-18). But as this brings us through only the first eight letters of the Hebrew alphabet (in the acrostic), that is, to three lines beginning with the letter heth, Scott recognizes this “lament” as the first of three parts, followed by verses 19-51 in which “a wise man counsels submission and penitence in acknowledgment of God's righteousness and mercy” (ibid., on vv. 19-51) and “an individual psalm pleading God's past mercies and praying for vindication and the requiting of the enemy” (ibid., on vv. 52-66). Lemke sees verses 1-39 as the speech of one “who through personal experience of God's wrath feels credentialed to impart valuable teachings to the community.” As such it is part of “a didactic poem that seeks to console Zion by sounding a cautious but unmistakable note of hope” (HarperCollins Study Bible, 1^st ed., 1993, on Lam. 3:1-39 and 1-66). In any event, this chapter contains a bright spot in what may otherwise seem a relentless expression of anguish. As noted above, our hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” has it's basis here. “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, / his mercies never come to an end; / they are new every morning; / great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23, cf. v. 24). When lifted out of context, these verses can be heard as a profound expression of trust in God. In context, they provide a glimmer of hope to those otherwise in deep despair. “But this I call to mind, / and therefore I have hope” (v. 21). And they are followed with advice. “The Lord is good to those who wait for him [he says as we wait in ashes!] to the soul that seeks him” (v. 25). “It is good for one to bear / the yoke in youth, / to sit alone in silence / when the LORD has imposed it” (vv. 27-28).

1 Peter 1:10-20

Salvation Prophesied and Proclaimed

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, 11 inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things into which angels long to look!

The Discipline of Living a Holy Life, Remembering the Cost of our Ransom

13 Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. 14 Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. 15 Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

17 If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. 18 You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. 20 He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. (1 Peter 1:10-20 NRSV)

The following comments are based on relevant comments on 1 Peter 1:1-12 and 13-25 of November 23 and 24, 2009 (Monday and Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year One), on comments of April 10, 2009 (Good Friday, Year One), on comments of March 31 and April 1, 2008 (Monday and Tuesday in the week of the Second Sunday of Easter, Year Two) on 1 Peter 1:1-12 and 13-25, and earlier comments as indicated there.

After the salutation in 1 Peter (1 Pet. 1:1-2), rather than a typical thanksgiving the author presents a blessing that describes our “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (v. 3), and what that salvation means for faith (v. 7) in the mists of trials (v. 6). “Although you have not seen him,” says Peter, “you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (vv. 9-10)

As today’s reading begins, Peter suggests that the Hebrew prophets “made careful search and inquiry” about this salvation, that is, “the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours” (v. 10). They were inquiring “about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory” (v. 11). However, “it was revealed to them,” says Peter, “that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven–things into which angels long to look!” (v. 12). “The prophets,” say Warren A. Quanbeck and Pheme Perkins, “and even angels, sought to understand what God was doing for the redemption of the faithful” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on 1 Pet. 1:12). According to David L. Balch, revised by Paul J. Achtemeier, “Christians understood Israel’s prophets to have been inspired by the Spirit of Christ and to have foretold events in the life of Jesus and in the history of the early church; see Lk. 24:25-27. Such continuity between Israel and the Christian community justified the author’s appropriation of the language of Israel to describe that Christian community” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 1 Pet. 1:10-11).

The reading continues with “A call to Holy Living” (NRSV heading). Details of how to live a holy life will come later, for example, “Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander” (1 Pet. 2:1), but chapter 1 continues to discuss the basis for holy living in the salvation described. “Therefore,” says Peter, “prepare (ajnazwsavmenoi ta;V ojsfuvaV, anazōsamenoi tas osphyas, participial phrase) your minds for action; discipline yourselves (nhvfonteV, nēphontes, participle); set ( ejlpivsate, elpisate, imperative) all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed” (1:13). According to M. Eugene Boring, “The first imperative (in Greek) in the letter is the command to live in the hope of Christ’s triumphal appearance” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on 1 Pet. 1:13). In the NRSV, the imperatives “prepare” and “discipline” represent Greek circumstantial participles–indicated above–the conditions within which we are to hope. “Prepare,” say Balch and Achtemeier, is “lit. ‘gird up your loins,’ i.e., gather your robes (see Ex. 12:11). At Passover Jews gird themselves for action; here the metaphor is applied to Christian eschatological hope” (op. cit., on v. 13). “Like obedient children,” says Peter, “do not be conformed (mh; suschmatizovmenoi, mē syschēmatizomenoi, participle) to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance” (v. 14). In Greek, the sentence continues. “Instead, as he who called you is holy ( a{gioV, hagios), be holy ( a{gioi . . . genhvqhte, hagioi . . . genēthēte) yourselves in all your conduct” (v. 15). Again the English imperative, “do not be conformed” (v.14) represents a Greek circumstantial participle, subordinate–for verses 14-16 are one sentence in Greek–to the imperative, “be holy,” in the following verse. According to Boring, “The second imperative [second in Gk.] to be holy means to live a life set apart for God’s service, though in the midst of the world” (op. cit., on v. 15). And the Greek sentence continues with the reason for being holy: “for it is written, ‘You shall be holy (  {Agioi e[sesqe, Hagioi esesthe), for I am holy (a{gioV, hagios)’ ” (v. 16). Peter’s new imperative echoes several texts from Leviticus (vv. 15, 16; cf. Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7). The holy one who called them is God, who “by his great mercy . . . has given us a new birth . . . through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1:3).

Peter continues: “If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live (ajnastravfhte, anastraphēte) in reverent fear (fovboV, phobos) during the time of your exile” (1 Pet. 1:17). Since Boring calls this “the third imperative,” he clearly implies that the call to be holy is the second. “The third imperative,” he says, “is to live in reverent fear of God rather than the oppressive culture (cf. 2:17; 3:14)” (ibid., on v. 17). The verb translated “live” here is defined as “to conduct oneself in terms of certain principles, act, behave, conduct oneself, live” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. ajnastrevfw, anastrephō, meaning no. (3) (b) ). According to Balch and Achtemeier, “The author differentiates the fear (reverent awe) due to God (see 1:17) from the honor due everyone, including the emperor” (op. cit., on 1 Peter 2:17, with ref. to 1:17). In the later verse, Peter says, “Honor (timhvsate, timēsate) everyone. Love (ajgapa:te, agapate) the family of believers. Fear (fobei:sqe, phobeisthe) God. Honor (tima:te, timate) the emperor” (2:17).

The readers are to live in the knowledge that they (we) “were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your (our) ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb (ajmnovV, amnos) without defect or blemish” (vv. 18-19). “Lamb,” say Balch and Achtemeier, “may recall Isa. 53:7 or Ex. 12:5 but the Greek word used suggests the OT sacrificial system in which only perfect animals were acceptable to God. Cf. Jn. 1:29; Rev. 5:6)” (ibid., on v. 19). “He [i.e., Christ, the Lamb] was destined before the foundation of the world,” says Peter, “but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake” (1 Pet. 1:20). Warren A. Quanbeck and Pheme Perkins say, “Redemption through Christ was not a sudden whim of God, but was planned before the foundation of the world (Col. 1:26)” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., on 1 Pet. 1:20). The assigned reading ends here, but the NRSV paragraph (cf. TNIV) includes another verse. “Through him [i.e., through Christ],” says Peter, you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God” (v. 21). Boring says, “Christian faith is theocentric, in God who has acted definitively in Christ” (op. cit., on v. 21).

John 13:36-38 [AM]; John 19:38-42 [PM]

Who lays down his life for whom?

36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times. (John 13:36-38 NRSV)

Jesus’ Burial by Two “Secret” Christians

38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. 39 Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. 40 They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:38-42 NRSV)

The following comments are based on those of April 10, 2009 (Good Friday, Year One), when comments were repeated from early Good Fridays, March 21, 2008, April 6, 2007, April 14, 2006, and March 25, 2005. A postscript was added in 2007 on the news at that time about a claim to have discovered the grave of Jesus’ family.

On John 13:36-38

At the Last Supper, when, according to John’s account, Jesus tells the disciples he is going away, where “you cannot come” (Jn. 13:33), and he gives his “new commandment, that you love one another” (Jn. 13:34, cf. v. 35), Peter asks about Jesus’ going away. “Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus answered, ‘Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward’ ” (v. 36). In light of his later denial, Peter boldly answers with what we see as an ironic twist. “Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you’ ” (v. 37). Peter does not realize that within hours precisely the opposite would happen. But “Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times” (v. 38; cf. Mt. 26:30-35; Mk. 14:27-31; Lk. 22:31-34). According to David K. Rensberger, revised by Harold W. Attridge, “The denial predicted here . . . takes place in 18:15-18, 25-27” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Jn. 13:38).

Jesus would lay down his life for Peter, as he had previously said: “I am the good shepherd” (Jn. 10:14); “And I lay down my life for the sheep” (v. 15). Peter’s realization of this irony probably added to his pain after his denials, but we know the end of the story and its reversal in which, addressing Peter as a “fellow Shepherd,” Jesus says, “Feed my sheep” (21:17, cf. vv. 15, 16). William Barclay sees something of Peter’s character in the fact that, after finding Jesus’ tomb empty, Mary Magdalene went to Peter as “still the acknowledged leader of the apostolic band” (The Gospel of John, vol. 2, rev. ed., The Daily Study Bible Series, 1975, p. 266, on Jn. 20:1-10).

It was to him [i.e., to Peter] that Mary went. In spite of his denial of Jesus–and a story like that would not be long in being broadcast–Peter was still the leader. We often talk of Peter’s weakness and instability, but there must have been something outstanding about a man who could face his fellow-men after that disastrous crash into cowardice; there must have been something about a man whom others were prepared to accept as leader even after that His moment’s weakness must never blind us to the moral strength and stature of Peter, and to the fact that he was a born leader. (ibid., pp. 266-267)

On Jn 19:38-42

“After these things,” says John [i.e., the report of Jesus’ crucifixion, Jn. 19:16-37], “Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus” (Jn. 19:38a). Mark calls Joseph “a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God” (Mk. 15:43). Matthew calls him “a rich man . . . who was also a disciple of Jesus” (Mt. 27:57). Luke says that Joseph, “though a member of the council, had not agreed to their plan and action” (Lk. 23:50b, 51a), adding that “he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God” (v. 51b). Joseph may or may not have been in the earlier meeting of the council when Nicodemus attempted to defend Jesus, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” (Jn. 7:51), but was silenced by the question, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you?” (v. 52). If Joseph was present, he apparently said nothing. But under the circumstances of the day of the crucifixion, they both acted bravely to give Jesus’ body a proper burial. Pilate responds to Joseph’s request, for “he [i.e., Pilate] gave him permission; so he came and removed his body” (19:38b). As a rule, those crucified by the Romans were left hanging for days, as a warning to any would be insurrectionists. But without such a burial, the first indications of Jesus’ resurrection–the discovery of the empty tomb (Mk. 16:1-6; Mt. 28:1-7; Lk. 24:1-12; Jn. 20:1-13)–would have taken a different form.

Nicodemus, we are told, joined Joseph of Arimathea in this task of burial. “Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night [chap. 3], also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds” (19:39). According to Rensberger and Attridge, “The myrrh and aloes (the latter is an aromatic wood) would have been in powdered form and were meant to reduce the odor of decay. The hundred (Roman) pounds (about 75 English pounds or 34 kilograms) of burial spices is much more than was necessary. It may represent either great honor or inadequate faith in Jesus’ resurrection” (op. cit., on 19:39). Joseph and Nicodemus “took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen clothes, according to the burial custom of the Jews” (v. 40). And we are told, “Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid” (v. 41). Rensberger and Attridge say, “The passion narrative ends, as it began, in a garden (18:1), which may also evoke the garden that began the story of human sin (Gen. 2:8)” (ibid., on v. 41). “And so,” says John, “because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there” (v. 42). The “day of Preparation” means preparation for the sabbath (cf. Rensberger and Attridge, ibid., on 19:31-33).

According to Isaiah’s prophecy, as understood by Christians,

They made his grave with the wicked

and his tomb with the rich,

although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53:9 NRSV; cf. 1 Peter 2:22)

The Claim to have Discovered the Grave of Jesus and his Family

This claim, recently proclaimed in network news programs, is not to be taken seriously. The following is from a longer article by a professor at the University of North Carolina, Jodi Magness. posted on the Internet in the SBL (Society of Biblical Literature) Forum (http://www.sbl-site.org/publications/article.aspx?articleId=640, accessed again April 1, 2010; you may have to copy and paste this URL in your browser):

The identification of the Talpiyot tomb as the tomb of Jesus and his family is based on a string of problematic and unsubstantiated claims, including adding an otherwise unattested Matthew (Matya) to the family of Jesus; identifying an otherwise unknown son of Jesus named Judah; and identifying the Mariamne named on one of the ossuaries in the tomb as Mary Magdalene by interpreting the word Mara (which follows the name Mariamne) as the Aramaic term for “master” (arguing that Mariamne was a teacher and leader). To account for the fact that Mary/Mariamne's name is written in Greek, the filmmakers transform the small Jewish town of Migdal/Magdala/Tarichaea on the Sea of Galilee (Mary's hometown) into “an important trading center” where Greek was spoken. Instead, as in other Jewish towns of this period, generally only the upper classes knew Greek, whereas poorer Jews spoke Aramaic as their everyday language. Taken individually, each of these points weakens the case for the identification of the Talpiyot tomb as the tomb of Jesus and his family. Collectively these points are devastating, since the statistical analyses presented in the film are based on certain assumptions made about these names.

To conclude, the identification of the Talpiyot tomb as the tomb of Jesus and his family contradicts the canonical Gospel accounts of the death and burial of Jesus and the earliest Christian traditions about Jesus. This claim is also inconsistent with all of the available information — historical and archaeological — about how Jews in the time of Jesus buried their dead, and specifically the evidence we have about poor, non-Judean families like that of Jesus. It is a sensationalistic claim without any scientific basis or support.

One significant point leading to the above conclusion is the following:

Jesus' family, being poor, presumably could not afford a rock-cut tomb, as even the more “modest” ones were costly. And had Jesus' family owned a rock-cut tomb, it would have been located in their hometown of Nazareth, not in Jerusalem. For example, when Simon, the last of the Maccabean brothers and one of the Hasmonean rulers, built a large tomb or mausoleum for his family, he constructed it in their hometown of Modiin. In fact, the Gospel accounts clearly indicate that Jesus' family did not own a rock-cut tomb in Jerusalem — for if they had, there would have been no need for Joseph of Arimathea to take Jesus' body and place it in his own family's rock-cut tomb! If Jesus' family did not own a rock-cut tomb, it means they also had no ossuaries.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net