Designs of My Life

Are you a “Disciple…but…”?

We’ve been going through a Wednesday night series in the month of March to go along with our Gospel Meeting that starts Sunday. (Shameless plug! You should come! More info in another post soon!) Our series is titled “At the Cross” and each Wednesday we have studied the cross from the perspective of a different person who was there. Last week was Joseph of Arimathea. Chuck Morris did an awesome job.

Joseph of Arimathea is not someone you hear sermons on very much. But apparently he played an important enough role for God to inspire all 4 Gospel writers to include him in their narrative. Each writer presents him in a slightly different way, but he’s there nonetheless. Here are the passages: Matthew 27.57-61. Mark 15. 43-46. Luke 23.50-55. John 19.38-42.

Here are a few things that we know about Joseph:

• He was from Arimathea. (Mark, Luke, John) It was a Judean town (Luke) that was apparently pretty small.
• He was a member of the Council. (Mark, Luke) This was the same Council who had deemed that Jesus was a blashpemer, “condemned Him as worthy of death (Mark),” and turned Him over to Pilate to be crucified.
• Not only was a member, but he was a prominent member. (Mark) While we are told that he “had not consented to their decision or action,” (Luke) we are not told whether he actually stood up to them and defended Christ, or just sat back and let it all happen.
• He was a disciple of Jesus. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
• He was wealthy. (Matthew)
• He asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
• He took down the body and prepared it for burial. (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
• He laid the body in his own tomb. (Matthew)

There were a few points that Chuck made from these facts that we know about Joseph that really hit home for me.

First of all, read this verse:

“Now Joseph was a disciple, but secretly because he feared the Jews.”

-John 19.38b

How many people do we know who are “disciple…but”s? “He’s a disciple…but you couldn’t tell it by the way he acts at work.” “She’s a disciple…but I never would’ve guessed with the language that she uses.” “They are disciples…but you should see the kinds of movies they watch.” It’s sad, isn’t it?

Now read these verses:

“Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb…”

-Luke 23.52-53a

What all is involved in taking a body down off of a cross. Picture that for a moment. How do you go about doing that? Do you pull the whole cross out of the ground somehow and lay it on the ground? Do you take the cross beam off? Do you leave the cross standing and take the body off while it is still in the air? Joseph took down the body of Jesus. He pulled those spikes out of His wrists and ankles. He took the crown of thorns off of His head. On his hands was the blood of our Savior, the very blood that was shed for Joseph. For me. For you. Can you imagine that? And what if Joseph had just sat idly by while the rest of the Sanhedrin sentenced Jesus to death? What is going through his mind? That’s powerful. I had never looked at the cross from that perspective. And I’m so glad that I’ve seen it now.