43 Then came Joseph of Arimathea, a distinguished councilor, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, and took courage, and went in to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate marveled that he had died so soon; and he called the centurion to him, and asked him, “Has he been dead for some time?” 45 When the centurion found out, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So he bought linen, took him down, wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone to the door of the tomb. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched where he was laid.
16:1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 And they said to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?” 4 And when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. For he was very great. 5 And when they entered the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed. 6 But he said to them, “Do not be amazed! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him. 7 But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he said to you.’” 8 So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
the explanation:
هكذا يروي الإنجيلي مرقس دفن يسوع وقيامته. والدفن والقيامة في هذا المقطع مترابطان ترابطا وثيقاً، لا من حيث الأسلوب فحسب، اذ تأتي الوصلة الزمنية “ولما انقضى السبت” بين دفن يسوع من قِبَل يوسف الرامي ومجيء حاملات الطيب إلى القبر دونما تركيز يُذكر، ولكن أيضاً من حيث اللاهوت، وذلك لأن إيمان الكنيسة هو أن موت يسوع ما كان في الحقيقة فقداناً للحياة بل انتصاراً على الموت.
أي إن يسوع لم يلبث في القبر. فلا زمان إذاً بين موته وقيامته. وهذا، في الواقع، أحد معاني “الأيام الثلاثة” في العهد القديم، حيث تشير، كما في كتاب هوشع النبي، إلى قرب حصول أمرٍ ما أو إلى سرعة حصوله. وهذا معنى قوله: “هلمّ نرجع إلى الرب، لأنه هو افترس فيشفينا، ضرب فيجبرنا. يحيينا بعد يومين، وفي اليوم الثالث يقيمنا فنحيا أمامه” (هوشع 6: 1-2).
This belief is expressed by Mark the Evangelist, who links the burial and the resurrection in one text, as if it were a single narrative. This is supported by the liturgy of our Church, where the time between the burial service of Jesus and the Easter service is eliminated in the Holy Saturday Mass. In ancient practice, the Holy Saturday Mass was celebrated on Saturday evening, and the time between the burial service and the resurrection service had no value. This is because the burial of Jesus signifies for believers his victory over death, and consequently his resurrection.
Mark tells us that there was a man from Arimathea, near Lydda, named Joseph, a devout Jew who knew the scriptures, practiced worship, and awaited the kingdom of God. He was also a disciple of Jesus, as the Evangelist Matthew says (27:57). He was a member of the Jewish High Council, but despite his prestigious position, he needed great courage to confront Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body, and perhaps to confront his fellow Jews who had plotted against Jesus.
Joseph took the initiative to carry out the provisions of the law because the body of a person who was executed was considered a curse and was not left hanging overnight (Deuteronomy 21:22-23), especially if it was a Sabbath night. Pilate was surprised that Jesus died so quickly because a crucified person usually remained 12 hours or more to die, as Josephus, the historian of that era, narrates, and Jesus did not remain more than 6 hours. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in linen and buried it according to Jewish custom. As for the tomb that was hewn in the rock, it was new and no one had been buried in it, and the Evangelist Matthew adds that Joseph had prepared it for himself.
The mention of the tomb carved in the rock is an introduction to what follows about the rolling of the rock from the door of the tomb. What strikes us in the account of the resurrection is that the evangelist does not describe it, but rather is content to speak of the empty tomb. The evangelist is not concerned with how the resurrection happened, but rather that it happened and that Jesus’ death was nothing but a victory over death.
When the Sabbath, on which the Jews rest according to the Law of Moses, had passed, and especially since that Sabbath was a great day because the Passover feast fell on that day, the women - who had come with him from Galilee (Luke 23:55) - began to work and bought spices to anoint the body of Jesus. Joseph wrapped the body and placed it in the tomb.
وعند فجر الأحد ذهبن إلى القبر وكن يجهلن التدابير الذي أقامه اليهود حول القبر وهو إقامة الحرس (متى 27: 62-66)، وكن يتساءلن من يدحرج لهن الحجر عن باب القبر. وعندما وصلن رأين الحجر قد دُحرج وكان عظيما. فدخلن القبر فرأين شابا لابسا حلة بيضاء فارتعبن. تدل الثياب البيضاء على أن هذا الشخص من السماء، ومن هنا الرهبة التي أثارها والتي سكّنها بنفسه بعد ذلك بأن كشف لهن البشارة السارة بأن يسوع الناصري المصلوب قد قام. إن الترجمة الأصح عن اللغة اليونانية هي “أُقيم”، وصيغة المجهول هذه تعبّر عن عمل القدرة الإلهية كما هي الحال في جميع الآيات التي استعملها الرسل في كرازتهم بقيامة السيد (أعمال الرسل 2: 23-24 و3: 15). تشكّل هذه الكلمة ” قام” أساس البشارة في العهد الجديد. وهي موضوع كل الصلوات الفصحية التي نرددها في الكنيسة، فنحيي بعضنا بعضا بها “المسيح قام”.
يؤكد الملاك الحدث التاريخي بإشارته إلى الأكفان الموضوعة كبرهان على أن المسيح كان ميتاً في القبر وانه قد قام من الموت: “هوذا الموضع الذي وضعوه فيه” (مرقس 16: 6). تأكد حدث القيامة أكثر بظهور يسوع المسيح مرات عدّة لتلاميذه بعد القيامة كما نقرأ في أقدم نص عن القيامة عند الرسول بولس: “فاني سلّمت إليكم في الأول ما قبلتُه أنا أيضاً أن المسيح مات من أجل خطايانا حسب الكتب وانه دُفن وانه قام في اليوم الثالث حسب الكتب وانه ظهر لصفا ثم للإثني عشر وبعد ذلك ظهر دفعة واحدة لأكثر من خمس مئة أخ أكثرهم باقٍ إلى الآن ولكن بعضهم قد رقدوا، وآخر الكل كأنه للسقط ظهر لي أنا” (1 كورنثوس 3: 8).
The angel gave the women a mission, which was to inform the apostles of the Lord’s resurrection, and he emphasized informing Peter to confirm that his denial of his Lord had been forgiven.
“فخرجن من القبر وفررن”. رغم التأكيد والتشجيع والثقة التي أشاعها كلام الملاك ظل الخوف مسيطرا على قلوب النساء. ولذلك أسرعن في الخروج من القبر، وفررن وقد سيطر عليهن الخوف والدهش، وأخفين خبر القيامة.
The Gospel text ends with mentioning the resurrection of Christ without describing the event of the resurrection itself, because no one can see the resurrection as an event because it is not subject to the law of this age. The believer sees and meets Christ risen from the dead in the sacraments of the Church as happened to the disciples of Emmaus (Luke 24:30-31).
This Gospel chapter is the same Gospel of Matins at Easter. Its repetition on the second Sunday comes from the fact that the Church wants us to pay attention during the Easter period (40 days) to everything surrounding the Resurrection.
About my parish bulletin
Sunday, May 14, 2000