Matthew 27:59

59 And Joseph took the body [and] wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

Matthew 27:59 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 27:59

And when Joseph had taken the body
Down from the cross, with the assistance of others, or from the hands of those who had orders to deliver it to him:

he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth:
that is, he wound up the body in it round and round, as was the custom of the Jews; see ( Acts 5:6 ) ( John 11:44 ) . Nor was it usual to bury in any thing but linen: so it is said F13,

``let the wrappings, or grave clothes, be (Mynbl Ntvp lv) , "of white linen"; and let not the price of them be dear, for it is forbidden to bury in wrappings of silk, or broidered garments, even to a prince of Israel: for this is pride and destruction, and the work of the Gentiles.''

This clean linen cloth, in which the dead body of Christ was wrapped, may be an emblem of his purity and innocence, who did no sin; nor did he die for any of his own, but for the sins of others; and also of his pure and spotless righteousness, which is compared to fine linen, clean and white, and which he now had wrought out, and brought in; see ( Revelation 19:8 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F13 Juchasin, fol. 54. 2. Vid. Maimon. Hilchot Ebel, c. 4. sect. 2.

Matthew 27:59 In-Context

57 Now [when it] was evening, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who also was a disciple of Jesus himself.
58 This man approached Pilate [and] asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered [it] to be given [to him].
59 And Joseph took the body [and] wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 and placed it in his [own] new tomb that he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a large stone to the entrance of the tomb [and] went away.
61 Now Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("took") has been translated as a finite verb
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.