Luke 24:1 Commentary: The Women's Dawn Visit to the Tomb

The burial of Jesus followed Jewish customs but was constrained by the approaching Sabbath. The synoptic gospels record that Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council, asked for Jesus' body and laid it in a tomb (Luke 23:50-54). John's Gospel adds that Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds (John 19:39-40). However, this preparation was done quickly because the Sabbath began at sunset. The women who had followed Jesus from Galilee observed where he was laid and then 'prepared spices and ointments' (Luke 23:55-56) but rested on the Sabbath as commanded.

Now, on the first day of the week, they return to complete the task. The Greek 'first of the sabbaths' (μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων) uses the plural 'sabbaths' as a standard Jewish expression for the week, the day after the Sabbath. The time 'at early dawn' (όρθρου βαθέως) literally means 'at deep dawn,' the darkest part of the morning just before the sun breaks. Vincent compares it to Plato's usage in the Crito where Socrates asks the time and is told 'the dawn is deep,' i.e., just beginning to break. Gill notes that the women set out from the city while it was still night, arriving at the tomb at sunrise (Mark 16:2). This shows remarkable courage: women traveling outside the city walls at that hour, alone, with expensive spices.

The spices themselves (ἀρώματα) were aromatic substances used to honour the dead and mitigate odour. The women's act was an expression of love and respect, but also of social obligation. Their devotion would be rewarded not with a body to anoint but with an empty tomb and an angelic message. As Lange's Commentary (cited in Cambridge Bible) puts it, the Easter music is not 'a monotonous chorale' but 'an impassioned fugue', each gospel contributes a different voice to the same glorious truth.

The phrase 'and certain others with them' (καί τινες σὺν αὐταῖς) is absent from important early uncials including Codex Vaticanus (B) and Codex Ephraemi (C), as well as many ancient versions (Coptic, Ethiopic, Vulgate). The Cambridge Bible and Adam Clarke note its omission, and most modern critical editions exclude it. The variant likely arose to harmonise Luke's account with other gospels that name additional women (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1). Some later manuscripts and the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions include it, but the weight of early evidence favours the shorter reading.

Early Christian writers emphasised the women's role as the first witnesses, countering cultural norms that dismissed female testimony. The phrase 'first of the week' was seen as marking the Lord's Day, the Christian day of worship. In medieval exegesis, the spices were often allegorised as the virtues that believers bring to Christ, faith, hope, charity, and devotion. Reformation commentators such as John Calvin noted the contrast between the women's simple, faithful service and the disciples' unbelief. Modern scholarship examines the historical plausibility of the women's visit and the textual history behind 'certain others with them.' Across traditions, this verse is read on Easter morning, reminding the church that the resurrection meets our best intentions with a greater reality.

Three-point outline

1. The Journey of Devotion: The women set out in the dark, carrying spices as an act of love. Their devotion persisted even after the crucifixion.
2. The Problem of Unfinished Business: They came to complete what had been left undone. The hurried burial meant there was more to do, and they were ready to do it.
3. The Surprise of the Empty Tomb: They found the stone rolled away and the body gone. Their service was not needed; a greater work had already been accomplished.

Five-point outline

1. The First Day of the Week: A new beginning after the Sabbath rest. The resurrection inaugurates a new creation.
2. The Early Hour: They came at deep dawn, showing eagerness and determination.
3. The Spices: Symbols of their love and their expectation of death. They had not yet understood Jesus' predictions of rising.
4. The Women: Often overlooked in society, they become the first witnesses of the empty tomb.
5. The Others: The disputed phrase reminds us that the details of the gospels are passed down with historical texture, not mechanical uniformity.

Illustration hooks

• A family baking bread for a neighbour who recently passed away, only to discover the neighbour's family has already arranged everything.
• An athlete waking up before sunrise to train for a competition that gets cancelled, but finds unexpected opportunity instead.
• A group of volunteers arriving to clean a park after a storm, only to find the work has already been done by someone else.

Questions your congregation is asking

• Why didn't the women remember Jesus' promise to rise on the third day?
• What does it mean that the resurrection happened on 'the first day of the week'?
• How can we show devotion to God even when we don't fully understand his plans?

Luke 24:1 begins the resurrection story with a simple action: women going to a tomb with spices. They expected to find a dead body; they found an empty tomb and angels. This passage invites us to consider what we expect when we approach God, and how God often surprises us.

Discussion questions

1. What do the women's actions tell us about their love for Jesus?
2. Why do you think they came to the tomb despite knowing the stone was rolled across it?
3. The text says they came 'at early dawn.' What does the timing suggest about their priorities?
4. How does their preparation of spices connect to the earlier burial by Joseph and Nicodemus?
5. In what ways do we sometimes try to 'anoint' a dead hope, only to find God has already brought new life?
6. The women were the first witnesses of the empty tomb. Why might God have chosen them?
7. What is one area of your life where you are acting out of love but without full understanding? How might this story encourage you?