Three Nights: The Perfect Plan of Redemption

Day 4 – Friday: Spices Prepared – Faithful Women, Hope Persists

Matthew 12:40 NKJV For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Welcome back, BAC Fellowship family.

We have now reached Friday in our study of Passion Week. Jesus has been in the tomb since late Wednesday afternoon. Thursday was the High Sabbath with the tomb sealed and guarded. Today we see the quiet faithfulness of the women who followed Jesus.

1. The Women Prepare Spices (Friday, Nisan 16)

After resting on the High Sabbath (Thursday, Nisan 15), the women return to practical work on Friday.

Luke 23:55-56 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

Mark 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.

These women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James (and Joses), and Salome,  show beautiful love and devotion. They had watched Jesus die, seen Joseph and Nicodemus bury Him, and now they prepare spices and oils to anoint His body properly. This was an act of honour and care.

Here is the timeline in our Wednesday view:

• Wednesday afternoon – Jesus is buried hurriedly before sundown.
• Thursday – High Sabbath (they rest).
• Friday – They buy and prepare spices.
• Saturday – Weekly Sabbath (they rest again).
• Sunday morning – They go to the tomb very early.

2. The Sealed and Guarded Tomb

On Thursday morning the chief priests and Pharisees had the tomb sealed with a cord and wax seal and posted Roman guards (Matthew 27:62-66). The stone itself was very large.

Yet when the women prepare the spices on Friday, they only mention concern about the stone:

Mark 16:3 And they said among themselves, ‘Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?’

They do not speak of the seal or the soldiers. They may not have known about Thursday’s security measures (which happened after they left on Wednesday evening). Or perhaps their grief and love simply drove them forward in faith, trusting God would make a way.

3. They Did Not Go to the Tomb on Friday

The women did not attempt to visit the tomb on Friday. They prepared the spices and then rested on the weekly Sabbath (Saturday). They only set out very early on Sunday morning.

This clears up a common confusion. Luke 23:55-56 can sound like one continuous flow, but when we read all the Gospels together the order is clear: burial on Wednesday, High Sabbath rest on Thursday, spice preparation on Friday, weekly Sabbath rest on Saturday, and the visit on Sunday.

The tomb remained sealed and guarded from Thursday right through until God intervened on Sunday.

4. God Makes a Way (Sunday Morning)

When the women finally arrive at the tomb very early on Sunday, the problem they worried about is already solved — but not by human effort.

Matthew 28:2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door…

Mark 16:4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, for it was very large.

The angel rolls the stone away. The guards become like dead men in fear. The seal is broken by divine power. Once again, God shows that no seal, no guard, and no stone can stop His plan.

The women’s faithful love and patient waiting are wonderfully rewarded. They become the first witnesses to the empty tomb and the resurrection.

What This Teaches Us

These women show us quiet, persistent faith. Even when everything looked hopeless, their Lord dead, the tomb sealed and guarded, they still prepared spices in hope and love. They rested when God’s law required it, and they moved when the time was right.

In the same way, we can trust God’s perfect timing. What looks sealed and impossible to us is never a problem for Him. The third night is ending. Resurrection morning is coming.

The Lamb rested in the tomb, but death could not hold Him.