John Calvin 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)

As the custom of the Jews is to bury. When Christ had endured extreme disgrace on the cross, God determined that His burial should be honorable, so that it might serve as a preparation for the glory of His resurrection. The money spent on it by Nicodemus and Joseph was very great, and may be thought by some to be excessive; but we should consider the design of God, who, by His Spirit, even led them to render this honor to His own Son, so that, by the sweet fragrance of His grave, He might remove our dread of the cross. But those things which are out of the ordinary course should not be regarded as an example.

Besides, the Evangelist explicitly states that He was buried according to the custom of the Jews. By these words he informs us that this was one of the ceremonies of the Law. For the ancient people, who did not receive such a clear statement of the resurrection, and who did not have such a demonstration and guarantee of it as we have in Christ, needed such aids to support them, so that they might firmly believe and expect the coming of the Mediator. We should, therefore, pay attention to the distinction between us, who have been enlightened by the brightness of the Gospel, and the Fathers, for whom the figures compensated for the absence of Christ.

This is the reason why a greater display of ceremonies could then be allowed, which, at the present day, would not be free from blame. For those who now bury the dead at such great expense do not, strictly speaking, bury dead men, but rather, as far as it is in their power, bring down Christ Himself, the King of life, from heaven and lay Him in the tomb, for His glorious resurrection abolished those ancient ceremonies.

Among the pagans, too, there was great anxiety and ceremony in burying the dead, which undoubtedly originated from the ancient Fathers of the Jews, in the same way as sacrifices. But, as no hope of the resurrection existed among them, they were not imitators of the Fathers, but mere mimics of them; for the promise and Word of God is, as it were, the soul that gives life to ceremonies. Take away the Word, and all the ceremonies which men observe, though outwardly they may resemble the worship of godly people, are nothing else than foolish or mad superstition. As for us, as we have said, we should now maintain sobriety and moderation in this matter, for excessive expense diminishes the sweet fragrance of Christ’s resurrection.