John 19: 38-42 (NIV)
38Later, 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. 39He 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.
40Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the
spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish
burial customs. 41At 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. 42Because it was the Jewish day
of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus
there.
Last week in our series on People Jesus Touched, we looked
at Simeon—the man who met our Lord when Jesus was
only eight days old.
This week we rush ahead over 30 years to the day of Christ’s
death. This morning we look at a man named Joseph—not
Joseph, the husband of Mary and earthly father of Jesus—but
Joseph of Arimathea—the man who buried Jesus.
To learn about Joseph we need to delve into all the Gospels
for information. A little bit from one Gospel. A little bit
more from another.
For instance, Matthew 27 tells us Joseph was a rich man.
Mark 15 notes Joseph was a prominent member of the Sanhedrin—the
ruling body of the Jewish people. Luke 23 gives us the
information that Joseph had not agreed with the railroading
of Jesus
that had taken place in the Sanhedrin which led to the
crucifixion.
So we know that Joseph was a person of power and some influence.
He was wealthy and a prominent member of Jewish society.
By earthly standards he seemed to have it all—success,
money, position, power. And yet he put all that on the
line by disagreeing with the way his fellow Sanhedrin
members
dealt with Jesus. Why on earth would he take such a risk?
Our answer lies in John’s Gospel. In our lesson this
morning we are told that Joseph was a disciple of Jesus.
This man of position and power believed that Jesus was the
Christ—the long awaited Messiah.
Joseph was a believer—yet for a long time he had kept
his faith a secret. His faith certainly wouldn’t have
fit in with the majority of the Sanhedrin. We are told he
was fearful of losing their respect—of losing his
position and power. But when the Lord was brought before
the Sanhedrin
on that fateful night before the Cross, Joseph could no
longer be silent. His faith came to light as he went against
the
majority.
On that night Joseph must have stuck out like a sore thumb.
It was time to take a stand.
He knew he was right.
So, he put everything on the line.
Yet his intervention proved unsuccessful. His influence
was unable to stop the inevitable.
They didn’t listen.
Christ was killed.
Once his faith was out in the open, Joseph did what he
could. He couldn’t stop the crucifixion but he could
provide for the Lord in death. Mark tells us that Joseph
boldly approached Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body.
He took the body, and with the help of Nicodemus, prepared
it
and placed it in his own tomb.
From secrecy to boldness.
From accumulation of wealth to generosity.
From power and prestige to service for the Lord.
Such was the journey of Joseph of Arimathea. A life touched
by Jesus. A faith deepened and brought to the fore by desperate
circumstances. A new found purpose to follow the Lord, come
what may.
Scripture tells us no more about Joseph. Tradition has
it that he founded the first Christian community in Britain
around 63 AD, but we just don’t know for sure how
things ended up for this man who risked all.
We do know that Joseph had great courage. And yet there
is a very real human side. His courage bursts forth out
of a time of secrecy—perhaps even
cowardice. Fearing what others might think—fearing the loss of power
and prestige, Joseph’s initial response to faith was to keep it to
himself. He followed Jesus but it took outside pressure to bring his faith
to light.
Some might be disappointed in Joseph’s secrecy, but
if we emphasize that we’re missing the point. Joseph’s
lesson for us has to do with taking a stand when it was
the most difficult and dangerous for him. When his Lord
was challenged,
Joseph spoke up He came forward to show the world what
he believed. When his Lord was killed, Joseph stood up
and acted.
Jesus touched Joseph and when the chips were down, Joseph’s
faith shone.
Courage.
Courageous faith.
There are two things which bring about courageous faith. The first thing is
a sincere and deep love of God. The second is a challenge to that love.
We talk a lot about God’s love for us. We don’t
seem to talk as much about our love for God.
Human love takes time to develop. It deepens as experience
affirms it. In the same way our love for the Lord will
develop as time goes on. But first we have to be able to
recognize
the touch of God in our lives. When we’re able to see
God in the experiences of our lives then we see God and those
experiences in a different light. We can learn to recognize
God’s hand in the situations we have faced. With
that as a base, we can look forward to God being there
for us
in future times of trouble or celebration.
Each time we can relate God to an experience we can develop
a deeper love.
Think back over the past five or ten years. Try to see
how God has worked in your life.
Think about where you are now and the steps it took to
arrive there—the mistakes made—the lessons
learned—the changes that have taken place.
Think of how God has been of help in times of trouble—perhaps
help by way of others but ultimately a gift from God.
Think of the guidance in times of confusion.
Think of the joy in times of celebration.
Recall the answered prayers.
Recall the times when prayers weren’t answered as you
wanted and how glad you are now that they weren’t.
These experiences are the raw material we use to know God—to
realize how God relates to us—to begin to trust that
we do matter to God—to gain confidence that there
is a purpose behind the seemingly random events of our
lives.
As we see God’s actions we begin to trust Him more.
As we trust more we love more.
As we love more we see more clearly how God touches our lives.
It’s a beautiful circle!
A young soldier during World War II, jumped into a foxhole
just ahead of some bullets. He immediately tried to deepen
the hole for more protection and frantically scraped away
the dirt with his hands. He unearthed something metal and
brought up a silver crucifix, left by a former resident of
the foxhole.
A moment later another leaping figure landed beside him as
the shells screamed overhead. When the soldier got a chance
to look, he saw that his new companion was an army chaplain.
Holding out the crucifix, the soldier gasped, "Am
I ever glad to see you! How do you work this thing?"
Experience shows us how to work this thing called faith.
Experience and faith join together to become a circle that
feeds itself. Love for God develops and deepens.
When that love is challenged then faith develops a courage to deal with whatever
we face.
It’s been said that Christians are like teabags—the
best comes out when we are placed in hot water.
We all find our faith challenged at one time or another—in
one way or another.
Some find the challenge comes from being out of work or
being short of money.
Some find the challenge comes from health problems—their
own or problems effecting loved ones or friends.
Some find the challenge comes from facing a litany of circumstances
that always seem to take us where we don’t want
to go. We wonder: why on earth is this or that happening?
What
on earth is God doing?
But, if we can see these challenges as opportunities to
courageously affirm the love we have for God, then our
whole attitude towards them can change. Our past experiences
have
shown us how God has touched our lives. We can begin
to trust that God will help us deal with the challenges we
face now
and in the future—even as God has helped us face
them in the past.
Joseph must have been devastated to see everything around
Jesus falling apart.
The Sanhedrin wouldn’t listen.
They wanted Jesus dead.
Surely that wouldn’t happen.
The crucifixion began.
Surely Jesus wouldn’t die.
Jesus died.
But then, Jesus needed to be buried. Joseph could very
easily have back tracked on his support and tried to save
face with the people. But, he couldn’t. You see, he
knew Jesus. He loved Jesus. Jesus had made a difference in
his life. Joseph didn’t understand what was happening
but he knew that now was not the time to deny his love
and faith. Now was the time to grasp the courage that God
offered.
There’s a story about an old woman who was told to
flee her home because enemy troops were storming her village.
Instead, she grabbed a poker and headed in the direction
of the advancing army.
A neighbour said, "Are you mad? What do you expect
to do with that simple weapon?"
The woman answered fiercely, "I can show them which
side I’m on."
With God’s help, that’s what Joseph did.
He had been touched by Jesus.
With God’s help, may it be so with us—for we
too know the Master’s touch!
(1560)
© The Rev. Dennis Cook, St. Timothy’s Presbyterian
Church, Ajax, ON, Canada
