Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds — Nicodemus, the Pharisee who earlier visited Jesus by night (3:1-2), now appears openly with an extravagant burial ointment (smirnēs kai aloēs, myrrh and aloes—the same spices offered to the infant Jesus by the Magi [Matthew 2:11]). The hundred pounds (roughly seventy-five kilograms) of spices represents an extraordinary quantity, typically reserved for royalty. Both secret disciples—Joseph and Nicodemus—go public at the cross.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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