Common Questions and Answers About The Myrrhbearers
Who is commemorated
the 3rd Sunday of Pascha? Name ALL the names.
The Church commemorates seven myrrh bearing women on
the third Sunday of Pascha: Mary Magdalene, Mary, another Mary, Martha, Salome,
Joanna, Susanna, as well as Righteous Joseph of Arimathia and Nicodemus.
Who was the myrrh bearer who was the mother of two of
the apostles?
Salome was the
daughter of St. Joseph the betrothed, the wife of Zebedee, and the mother of
the holy apostles James and John.
One of the myrrh
bearers was married to one of the seventy apostles, who saw the risen Lord
Before the eleven. Who was she, and who was her husband?
Mary was the wife
of Cleophas, as the Holy Evangelist John reports: "Now there stood by the
cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas,
and Mary Magdalene". (John 19:25). He was a brother of St. Joseph the
betrothed, and, along with St. Luke, met Jesus on the day of the resurrection,
while on the way to Emmaus. This incredible story is recounted in the 5th matins
gospel: Luke 24:12-35, (number 113 according to the Russian Gospel numbering).
After long enlightening discourse with Him, they finally recognized him after
he broke bread and blessed it.
Mary and Martha, whose brother was Lazarus.
One myrrh bearer
was demon possessed and cured by Christ. Who? How many devils? What Pascha
tradition is she responsible for?
Mary Magdalene was
formerly possessed by seven devils (demons):
"... And
certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary
called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils ..." (Luke 8:2)
St. Mary Magdalene
showed a red egg to a Roman Emperor as proof of the power of Christ, and to
this day, it is traditional to have red eggs at Pascha.
What was the
contribution to the burial of Christ of the men commemorated today?
The Righteous
Joseph obtained the body of Jesus, and along with Nicodemus, anointed Him as
best they could and buried him in a tomb that Joseph had intended for himself.
"When the even
was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself
was Jesus' disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then
Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body,
he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he
had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the
sepulchre, and departed. And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary,
sitting over against the sepulchre. (Matthew 27:57-61)
"And after
this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of
the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate
gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came
also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture
of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of
Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews
is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in
the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they
Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was
nigh at hand." (John 19:38-42)
The women wanted to
anoint the body of Jesus, since they did not have enough time before the
Passover began. They were going to the grave to anoint a dead man. They as yet
did not understand that He would rise from the dead.
The Gospels mention
a "Mary the mother of Joses", and "Mary the mother of James the
less". Who was this Mary?
According to the
witness of the majority of the Fathers, "Mary the mother of James"
was none other than the Theotokos. Blessed Theofylact, in his commentary on St.
Luke chapter 24 states this quite plainly: "Mary the mother of James is
the Theotokos. They gave her this name as the apparent mother of James the son
of Joseph, whom also they called James the Younger, that is, the brother of the
Lord. For there was also James the Elder, one of the twelve, the son of
Zebedee" (Blessed Theofylact, Commentary on St. Luke, Pg. 317). Holy tradition
and the gospels place the Theotokos at the cross of Christ, as St. John states:
" Now there
stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife
of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene." (John 19:25)
The Evangelist Mark
mentions the mother of God by this other, more cryptic name when he describes
those who were near the cross:
"There were
also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the
mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; (Who also, when he was in
Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which
came up with him unto Jerusalem." (Mark 15:40-41)
The Holy church
often refers to the Theotokos quite cryptically, from the old testament
prophesies into the New Testament evangelical writings.
As an aside, we
take note that Blessed Theofylact wrote his commentary, a compendium of all of
the thought of the fathers from Pentecost onwards, in the 11th century. This
was well before any impious innovators would suggest that the mother of God,
the Theotokos, the ever virgin Mary, had children other than Jesus. The
knowledge that the Holy Theotokos was and is a virgin was so fixed in the mind
of the church that one could be so bold as to say that one cannot be Orthodox
and believe otherwise. The innovations of the Protestants, in reaction against
the corruption of the schismatic and later heretical Latins, would not come for
many more years. They have much explaining to do if they are to prove that the
Theotokos is not ever virgin, when so many prophesies, the testament of the
Fathers, and the mind of the church stand as a united witness against their
arrogant folly.
The women were
mostly concerned about the great stone in front of the tomb, and seemed to not
even be considering that the tomb was guarded by an elite contingent of
soldiers!
"And they said
among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the
sepulchre?" (Mark 16:3)
They saw the stone
rolled away from the tomb, and were met by an angel when they entered it. it:
"And when they
looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And
entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side,
clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted." (Mark 16:4-5)
The angel told them
to tell the apostles, but especially singled out Peter:
"And he saith
unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified:
he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your
way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there
shall ye see him, as he said unto you." (Mark 16:6-7)
It had only been a
few days since Peter had denied Christ three times. He was in a bewildered
state, with his conscience pricking him terribly, and needed to be encouraged.
A sessional hymn sung in matins expresses what surely must have been Peter's
feelings:
"After Thy
Resurrection on the third day / and the act of worship of the Apostles, / Peter
called out unto Thee: / "The women ventured while I was afraid; / the
thief confessed God while I denied Him. / Wilt Thou continue to call me a
disciple? / Wilt Thou not make me again a fisher of the deep? // Rather accept
me repenting, O God, and save me." " (Sessional Hymn after the second
reading from the Psalter, Sunday matins, fifth tone)
Blessed Bishop
Nicolai Velomirovitch has a wonderful commentary on this subject (Sermons, page
235)
Which myrrh hearer
was affiliated in some way with Herod?
Joanna was the wife
of Chuza, Herod's steward.
"And certain
women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called
Magdalene, out whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's
steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their
substance". (Luke 8:2-3)
Source: http://www.orthodox.net/questions/myrhh_bearers_1.html
