Today is Easter Sunday, when Jesus is said in the Gospels to have emerged from the tomb, alive, his wounds evident.
John 20:24-26Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
In the latter 1980s, many people became interested in near-death experiences (NDE). People medically died, were pronounced dead, then they were not dead and were talking about having had a luminous experience. They were in the light, there were other beings, they were told things, they came back, and they were changed.
Around 1990, I read a book called, The Jesus Conspiracy, which used this next passage from the New Testament to convince me that Jesus had a near death experience (NDE).
John 19:38-40
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
That's a heap and perhaps pricey amount of aloe and myrrh ointment to put on a dead man, who had said:
Luke 10:59:
Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.” The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60ButJesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You,however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
And then:
Matthew 27:59,60Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.
Matthew 28:1-4
Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the big stone from the door, and sat on it.
The man rolled big the stone over the tomb entrance, but an angel rolled the big stone away.
The authors of The Jesus Conspiracy explained what I already knew, but had not considered:
Aloe is a powerful wound healer, myrrh incites leukocytes to fight infection, and linen can be used as a sterile bandage. The known disciples of Jesus were in hiding, and Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus risked their lives by going to Pilate. Would they have done that if they believed Jesus already was dead?
In the fall of 1995, in my mother's church, St. Luke's, in Mountain Brook, Alabama, an esteemed visiting Episcopal theologian said something like:
When Jesus summoned several-days dead-Lazarus back from the dead, that was a resuscitation, whereas Jesus coming back from the dead, was a resurrection.
I thought that was about the dumbest thing I had heard in a while.
The audience in the nave of St. Luke's were invited to speak, if we wished.
I stood and said that I'd had some training in herbs. Aloe is a powerful wound healer and myrrh incites white cells to fight infection. Linen can be used as a sterile bandage.
The theologian said he didn't know how to answer me.
One of the church clergy read out loud the end of the above passage: "This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs."
The visiting theologian said that settled it, then.
Although perhaps not in the Episcopal universe, there was a lot of interest back then in reported near-death (NDE) experiences.
Moreover, many people are convinced Jesus ended up in India, and this website favors that view: https://www.tombofjesus.info/
An aloe and myrrh article from that website:
Aloe and Myrrh
For thousands of years the herbs Aloe and Myrrh have held special relevance in the Christian world. Even modern day encyclopaedias mention the events of the Crucifixion of Jesus in their analysis of the herbs. These herbs are mentioned as being used in the burial of Jesus, for instance we find an entry for Myrrh stating:
“Myrrh is a constituent of perfumes and incense, and was highly prized in ancient times. Myrrh was one of the gifts of the Magi to the baby Jesus in the story told in the Gospel of Matthew. Myrrh was used as an incense in funerals and cremations, a fact alluded to in the Christmas carol We Three Kings” (www.Wikipedia.com – online encyclopedia)
Other sources outline how Aloe was thought to have been used during the embalming process of the Egyptians 1 What becomes interesting, however, is what is actually said about the medicinal properties of the herb. It is often cited that one of its famous occurrences is in the Gospel of John during the burial of Christ and this event may have shaped people’s perceived view of its uses. Upon examination of its documented properties all sources talk about its remarkable healing properties. It is accepted that even the Greeks and Romans as early as 300BC were aware of the healing properties of aloes:
“Aristotle was aware that the healing properties of aloe would be invaluable to soldiers wounded in battle and advised his student Alexander III (“the Great”) to conquer all lands that grew it, especially the island of Socotra off the coast of eastern Africa… Pedanius Dioscorides, a physician in the Roman army, mentioned medicinal aloes in his encyclopedic Greek herbal De Materia Medica (Approximately around 75 BC). ” 2
“The healing benefits of aloe were recognized in the ancient Indian, Chinese, Greek, and Roman civilizations. It is traditionally used to heal wounds, relieve itching and swelling, and is known for its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.” 3
Myrrh also is a herb that although often linked to Jesus and his burial was clearly recognised at the time as a healing agent. Aloe is talked about as having properties that help wounds heal and aid the reformation of skin, where as Myrrh is used more for anti inflammatory and anti bacterial reasons:
“In the past myrrh was used by many cultures for religious ceremonies and as a healing agent. It was mentioned in the Bible as a gift at the birth of Christ. The Egyptians believed in its healing powers: they burned it every day as part of their worshipping rituals. In the Greek culture when soldiers went to battle is was an essential part of their combat gear because of myrrhs extremely high antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. It was used to clean wounds and to prevent infection. It was also used to prevent the spread of gangrene in already infected parts of the body. ” 4
Embalming
Were the herbs not used for embalming the body of Jesus? From the sources seen so far the idea of embalming using aloe has only surfaced in the Egyptian world. It is thought that pharaohs were buried along with aloes. Was Jesus being embalmed? The problem occurs when Jewish burial practices are examined. Jewish burial involved simply washing the body and burying it, there was no embalming. For a body to be embalmed incisions needed to be made. This was understood by the people of the time, and for Jews to make such incisions would not be acceptable. Upon the advent of the passing away of Judah, one of the ancestors of modern day Jews, he is recorded as having stated:
“I die this day at the age of one hundred and nineteen years before your eyes. None shall bury me in a costly garment, nor shall ye cut my body to embalm it, but ye shall carry me to Hebron.” Having spoken these words, Judah sank into death.5
It seems unlikely that the aloes present were for embalming, also having myrrh there also in large quantities was not consistent with this hypothesis. If the viewpoint is taken that Jesus could possibly have still been alive at this point, and that Joseph of Arimithea and Nicodemus who were tending to him had knowledge of herbs, then the possible role of these herbs becomes clear.
Could they have been used to treat Jesus and to help him recover from his ordeal?
Modern Day Use
Today there is an increasing amount of usage of Aloes in products. Gillette series shaving foam now contains what the can calls “Soothing Aloes”, and a wide range of aloe-based creams and gels are available mainly for healing of the skin 6.
Perhaps the most definitive answer on the properties of aloes comes from a book written by medical experts. “Aloes: The Genus Aloe (Medicinal & Aromatic Plants S. – Industrial Profiles)” edited by Tom Reynolds represents the most details study yet in to this fascinating herb. Detailed analysis of the herb is presented and an entire part is devoted to exploring “therapeutic activity and includes chapters on aloe’s role in wound healing, skin cancer, and the immune system.7
Diane Gage has chosen to title her book on the subject “Aloe Vera: Nature’s Soothing Healer” and her text discusses the biological properties of aloe vera, explaining its power to heal the human body, and traces the ways the plant has been used throughout history.
Conclusion
Aloe and Myrrh appear to be ideal herbs for treating someone who had suffered an ordeal such as crucifixion. Their reported presence at the crucifixion does arouse some suspicion as to the events that followed Jesus’ removal from the cross.
Were they used simply for embalming or fragrant use as is traditionally understood, or were their excellent healing and antiseptic properties employed instead to help heal Jesus’ wounds and to aid his recovery from an ordeal he survived?
Aloe's wound-healing function is well known.
What does science say about Myrrh?
National Library of Medicine
National Center for Biotechnology Information
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3730704/
Effect of Commiphora molmol on leukocytes proliferation in relation to histological alterations before and during healing from injury
Abstract
Myrrh, Commiphora molmol has been used as anti-inflammatory and wound healing commercial product. Leukocyte count had been reliable indicator for clinicians to monitor progress of healing for their patients. We hypothesized that myrrh supplement participate in the activation of leukocyte proliferation pathway prior and post skin injury and gastric ulcer. The purpose of the present study was to examine long-term effect of myrrh on leukocytes proliferation before injury and during different stages of healing. Results showed that all types of leukocytes were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the myrrh-treated groups before and during healing. The pretreatment with myrrh offered a time-dependent rise in leukocytes proliferation. Microscopic examination of blood smear from myrrh-treated rats with skin injury, showed an elevated count of middle-sized lymphocytes and neutrophils that were characterized with well-defined nuclear lobules and rich-granules cytoplasm. Furthermore, the microscopic examinations of the spleen and lymph nodes of myrrh-treated rats with skin injury, showed an increased thickness of lymphatic sheath around the arterioles in the white pulp that was associated with high density of the medium-sized lymphocytes in the secondary lymphoid follicles in the lymph nodes with engorged sinusoids. As myrrh enhanced leukocytes proliferation before injury, it can be concluded that myrrh posse’s antigenic-driven responses and that indicated some foreignness or toxicity of some constituents of myrrh. Because myrrh helped to maintain the relative rise of leukocytes counts throughout healing period and that implied it activated late steps of both proliferation and differentiation pathways for all types of leukocytes during effective phase of the specific immune responses.
What are luekocytes?
leu·ko·cytenounPHYSIOLOGYplural noun: leukocytes
Again, around 1990, I became convinced Jesus had a NDE. Not once since then did the angels on my case, one of whom is Jesus, tell me that I had it wrong.
sloanbashinsky@yahoo..com
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