I went to see the Passion of the Christ movie this weekend and one scene puzzled me. I thought the source of confusion might be because Mel Gibson is a catholic and I am a protestant. The scene in question is right after the flagellation scene and has Mary mopping up the the blood of Jesus off of the floor with some towels. Why would she do something like this?
I vaguely recall reading somewhere prior to the film’s release that this was a Jewish custom of the time. I can’t find anything on it now though. I’m thinking possibly that they would bury the gathered blood with the body. ??? If so, it would be the same reasoning that would lead one to gather up something more solid like a severed finger to bury with the rest of the body.
As for why Gibson put it in the film – it is another detail that comes out of Emmerich’s Dolorous Passion.
A few weeks ago there was a Law & Oder episode in which an Orthodox Jewish jeweler was shot and killed on the city sidewalk. His wife, in her grief, told the detectives “Make sure they get all the blood. He needs to be buried whole!” I inferred that there is a Jewish custom to make sure all the body is buried together, including spilled blood. I was reminded of that scene when I watched the movie.
Yeah, I get all my knowledge from TV.