Truth 10: The Healing Herbs …
Truth #10: HEALING HERBS WERE BROUGHT TO JESUS …
Admittedly, while the Bible seems to have Nicodemus (see John 19:39) & several women (see Mark 16:2 & Luke 24:1) bring spices to anoint the body of Jesus for burial, in all probability this was not the case. Rather, Biblical evidence somewhat decisively suggests that these herbs & spices were brought to the tomb instead to help heal Jesus’ wounds &/or revive him.
Feel free to consider the following Biblical evidence in support of this theory:
* Proof A) First of all, the women who had purchased their spices at market specifically for Jesus’ burial (Mark 16:1), would have had to have done so before the Sabbath; namely, BEFORE Jesus was sentenced and crucified – implying that they, too, knew ahead of time what was going to happen – implying that they, too, were in on Jesus’ plan.
* Proof B) Secondly, while the “anointing” of a body for burial was indeed a traditional facet of the Jewish culture (see 2 Chronicles 16:14 & Sirach 38:16 et al), this practice was not relevant in Jesus’ case, because in the sacred traditions of 1st-century Israel (and even today among the Orthodox Jews) the blood spilled on the day of one’s death it is not to be separated from one’s body. The Jewish people of Jesus’ time (especially the Pharisees) believed in a bodily resurrection. As such, if a person spilled their blood during their death — for any reason — then that blood was to go into the tomb along with the body for the day of resurrection. Orthodox believers of Jesus’ time were so serious about this that they would sweep up the very dirt around a body to capture the blood of a victim and bury it with his/her corpse. The blood that Jesus spilled while on the cross was still there after he was taken down and placed in his tomb. With this all in mind, we can now see that it is extremely unlikely that Nicodemus would have brought roughly $200,000 worth of herbs & spices to a dead body upon which he knew he couldn’t use them … unless, of course, he knew that Jesus was not actually dead, and that those same herbs & spices were going to be used for healing &/or rejuvenative purposes.
* Proof C) Thirdly, while there is some indication that myrrh was indeed used by the wealthy for burial (and there seems to be little doubt that both Nicodemus &/or Joseph of Arimathea would indeed have had the means to procure the large amount “spices” mentioned), myrrh was also a common medical remedy of the day – having known healing properties, and being seen as a traditional “blood moving” agent. Myrrh also made/makes an effective liniment against bruises, aches and sprains. Note as well that myrrh has been used to heal open wounds since the time of China’s Tang Dynasty.
* Proof D) Fourthly, Jesus’ extra-special treatment received after his “death” – the one hundred pounds of myrrh & aloes (John 19:39-40) – was enough for roughly one hundred traditional lay Jewish burials. Apparently, the more respected a person was, the greater the quantities of these very expensive embalming materials were used when they were buried. While it is true that Josephus recorded that the highly respected Jewish elder Gamaliel had fifty pounds of similar spices used at his funeral, the one hundred pounds that Nicodemus brought to Jesus was clearly over the top.
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