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Author: Stephen Weller
542 words, 3 minutes read time

Three Women

Scripture: Mark 16:1

With the previous lesson we covered a short section about making the tomb containing the body of Jesus as secure as possible by sealing it and placing a guard before it. With this lesson we will cover a section consisting of only one verse which indicates that three woman obtained spices that they might go and properly anoint Jesus.

^{Mk 16:1} When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.

There is no question that the Sabbath mentioned here is Saturday and it ended at sundown on Saturday evening, which means that Sunday started at that time. Thus, any time after sundown on Friday the women would be able to go to the tomb, without violating the Sabbath, and purchase the oil needed to embalm Jesus after sunrise on Sunday morning.

The verse mentions three women: (1) Mary Magdalene, (2) Mary the mother of James, and (3) Salome. Mary Magdalene was a Jewish woman who traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness of his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. From Luke 8:1 – 2 we learn that Jesus cast seven demons from her. There is no clear evidence that she was the one who wept at his feet and wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them (Luke 7:37), nor is there clear evidence that she was the sister of Lazarus. However, those are possibilities. For an interesting article on this use this link.  

Mary the mother of James watched the crucifixion from a distance (Matthew 27:56) and was one of the women who went to the tomb (Mark 16:1). She was the mother of James and Joses. James was chosen by Jesus as one of his twelve disciples and became one of the three with John and Peter. Some writers identify her as “the other Mary” (Matthew 27:61), or as the wife of Cleopas or Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3; Luke 24:18), or as a sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus. We do know that she was one of the women who followed Jesus and, having sufficient wealth, ministered unto Him and His disciples in material things thereby assisting them in their work (Luke 8:2, 3).

According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Salone was the daughter of Herodias and the stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. A common interpretation identifies Salome as the sister of Jesus’ mother, thus making her Jesus’ aunt” (Topical Bible: Salome including Smith’s Bible Dictionary, ATS Bible Dictionary, Easton’s Bible Dictionary and International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.”). This would make James and John cousins of Jesus. The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) concludes that the Salome of Mark 15:40 is probably identical with the mother of the sons of Zebedee in Matthew.

Conclusion

This very short section of only one verse named three women who bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus. It was interesting to research these women and learn some things about them. An article I found on Mary Magdalene provided insight on more than I expected to uncover. Check out the links in the lesson.