Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 19:40

"So they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury." — John 19:40 (ASV)

The burial of the body was hasty and had to be completed before sundown. The process is uncertain. The spices, being of somewhat gummy character, may have been laid in the folds of the cloth to provide a rigid casing for the body, or, more likely, they were ground and mixed with oil to form an ointment to rub on the body. “Strips of linen” refers to graveclothes, the sort that in the case of Lazarus were wrapped around him in such a way that he had to be released after he was raised (11:44–45).