A possible "harmony" between Luke's and John's account of Jesus Burial

Friday, March 6, 2009, 11:35 AM

Photographic negative of the face on the Shroud of Turin

Let’s look closely at The Burial of Jesus, concentrating on Luke as representative of the three Synoptics, on one side, and on John, on the other side. These are the relevant passages, respectively

Jesus’ Burial [Luke-synoptic] 50 Now there was a man named Joseph who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man. 51 (He had not consented to their plan and action.) He was from the Judean town of Arimathea, and was looking forward to the kingdom of God. 52 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth [sindon], and placed it in a tomb cut out of the rock, where no one had yet been buried. 54 It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning. 55 The women who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they returned and prepared aromatic spices and perfumes [or “ointments”]. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. (Luke 23:50-56)

Jesus’ Burial [John] 38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he went and took the body away. 39 Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus at night, accompanied Joseph [N.B. the text ONLY says êlthen, "arrived"], carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about seventy-five pounds. 40 Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, in strips of linen cloth [othonia] according to Jewish burial customs. 41 Now at the place where Jesus was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried. 42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus’ body there. (John 19:38-42)

Let’s now examine the essential points of the two accounts:

[Luke] Jesus’ body was wrapped in a linen cloth [sindon]; the women “saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it” but DID NOT anoint it with the “aromatic spices and perfumes” (which "they returned and prepared" at home) and DID NOT wrap it in “strips of linen cloth”[othonia] because there was not time, as “it was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning”.

[John] The text does NOT mention the women, nor that Jesus’ body was  wrapped in a linen cloth [sindon]; it only says that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who "arrived", “took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices (a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about seventy-five pounds), in strips of linen cloth [othonia]”. They managed to perform the task, presumably rather laborious, in spite of the fact that it was late, because “it was the Jewish day of preparation”, when all activity had to be interrupted by the start of the Jewish Sabbath, beginning approximately at 6 p.m.

Quick exam

It is quite evident that Luke’s (synoptic) account of the Burial of Jesus (without anointing and without wrapping of the body in “strips of linen cloth” [othonia]) and John’s account (with anointing and with wrapping of the body in “strips of linen cloth” [othonia]) are severely incompatible.

One of the two MUST be inaccurate. Actually, calling things with their name, one of the two should be false.

This is a real enigma (at least, of course, for those who believe in the reality of the Resurrection)

Hint: perhaps the key is in Luke, who uses both words: sindōn (Luke 23:53, before the Resurrection) and othonion (Luke 24:12, after the Resurrection).

New exam and Final Conclusion

Tatian the Assyrian (c. 120–180) was an early Christian writer and theologian of the second century.

Tatian's most influential work is the Diatessaron, where he attempted to provide harmony of the four gospels, that were already perceived as having discrepancies in many points.

With reference to the problem of trying to "harmonize" the discrepancies beteen Luke and John on the Burial of Jesus, it is instructive to go to Section 52 of Tatian's "Harmony of the Four Gospels", The Diatessaron:

[28] ... And Pilate wondered how he [Jesus] had died already: and he called the officer of [29] the footsoldiers, and asked him concerning his death before the time. [Mark 15:45a] And when [30] he knew, he commanded him to deliver up his body unto Joseph. And Joseph bought for him a winding cloth of pure linen, and took down the body of Jesus, [31] and wound it in it; and they came and took it. And there came unto him Nicodemus also, who of old came unto Jesus by night; and he brought with him perfume [32] of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. [John 19:40] And they took the body of Jesus, and wound it in the linen and the perfume, as was the custom of the Jews to bury. [33] [John 19:41] And there was in the place where Jesus was crucified a garden; and in that garden [34] a new tomb cut out in a rock, wherein was never man yet laid. [John 19:42] And they left [35] Jesus there because the sabbath had come in, and because the tomb was near. [Matthew 27:60b] And they pushed a great stone, and thrust it against the door of the sepulchre, and [36] went away. And Mary Magdalene and Mary that was related to Joses came to [37] [Arabic, p. 199] the sepulchre after them, [Luke 23:55b] and sat opposite the sepulchre, [Matthew 27:61b] and saw the [38] body, how they took it in and laid it there. And they returned, and bought ointment and perfume, and prepared [Luke 23:56] it, that they might come and anoint him. [39] [Luke 23:56c] And on the day which was the sabbath day they desisted according to the command. -- Tatian, The Diatessaron, Section 52, 28:39 (@ newadvent.org)

It is quite evident that, far from being a "harmony", the above quotation form The Diatessaron makes the problem of the discrepancy between the Synoptics (and Luke in particular) and John's account of Jesus' Burial even more problematic.

In particular: how is it possible that ...
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"Mary Magdalene and Mary that was related to Joses came to the sepulchre after [Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus], and sat opposite the sepulchre, and saw the body, how they took it in and laid it there." [36:38]

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IF
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Joseph of Arimathea [NOT "they" - see Mat 27:60 - NET] pushed a great stone, and thrust it against the door of the sepulchre, and went away." [35:36]

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Obviously, the women would have known that Joseph of Arimathea [and Nicodemus?] had already completely and thoroughly "finished the job", as (according to John) ...
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"they [Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus] took the body of Jesus, and wound it in the linen [NOT in the "linen cloth" (sindon) BUT] in the "strips of linen cloth" (othonia)] and the perfume, as was the custom of the Jews to bury." [32 - John 19:40 - NET]

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It is quite significant that the NET puts Matthew 27:61 (within parentheses): like an afterthought, or rather a later clumsy attempt at "harmonizing" the manifest discrepancies between the Synoptics and John.

If we believe (as I do), in the substantial agreement between the different accounts, a possible explanation for the otherwise intractable discrepancy is that:

A. The women saw only Joseph putting the body wrapped in the sindon in the tomb and then rolling the stone to close it, without having washed, anointed and wrapped Jesus' body in the othonia.

B. Later Nicodemus arrived (#) unbeknown to the women, who had gone home "because it was late", opened the tomb again with Joseph of Arimathea, they washed, anointed and wrapped Jesus' body in the othonia. Then Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus went, having once again closed the tomb with the heavy stone.

 (#) The greek text only says ηλθεν, elthen, "arrived": the words “accompanied Joseph” are NOT in the Greek text.

The above hypothesis is in perfect agreement with Luke's often overlooked and misunderstood account of Peter's reaction on his arrival at the Empty Tomb ...

But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He bent down and saw only the strips of linen cloth [othonia]; then he went home, wondering what had happened. (Luke 24:12 - NET)

... and explains perfectly why Peter "went home, wondering what had happened".

Every Christian believer, reading about Peter's "wonderment" from the perspective of the faith in the resurrection, thinks immediately that Peter is puzzled at the disappearance of Jesus' body, because he still does not believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. But, in fact a much more immediate explanation for Peter's "wonderment" is given by the comparison of Luke 24:12 with Luke 23:53:

Then he [Joseph of Arimathea] took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth [sindon], and placed it in a tomb cut out of the rock, where no one had yet been buried. (Luke 23:53 - NET)

Knowing that Jesus' body had been left in the tomb wrapped in a "linen cloth" (sindon), and NOT knowing about Joseph of Arimathea's and Nicodemus' second visit to the tomb (when they discretely washed, anointed and wrapped Jesus' body in the "strips of linen cloth" (othonia), he was "wondering what had happened": how was it possible that Jesus had been left in the tomb, wrapped in a sindon, and now, NOT ONLY was Jesus' body missing, BUT there were, lying in the tomb, some unexplained othonia.