And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a member of the council and he was a good man, and just:
All Commentaries on Luke 23:50 Go To Luke 23
Maximus of Turin
AD 423
Someone might say of last Sunday’s sermon, in which we preached that there was no less glory in Joseph’s grave receiving the Lord than in holy Mary’s womb begetting him, “What comparison can there be between the womb and the grave, since the one brought forth a son from its innermost bowels while the other only gave him a place of burial?” But I say that Joseph’s love was no less than Mary’s, since she conceived the Lord in her womb and he did so in his heart. She offered the secret place of her inmost members to the Savior; he did not deny him the secret place for his own body. She wrapped the Lord in swaddling clothes when he was born; he wrapped him in linen cloths when he died. She anointed his blessed body with oil; he honored it with spices. Each one’s service is similar and each one’s love is similar; hence each one’s reward must also be similar. But there is this difference: an angel called Mary to her service, but righteousness alone persuaded Joseph.
