[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Saturday, April 20, 2014

[Paul]

Hello and good day to most of you on this in-between day, between Christ's crucifixion and His resurrection.  You in Australia and New Zealand are probably now beginning your preparations to go to your respective houses of worship, at least as this is being written, to celebrate Easter in your own ways.  For me, I prefer the term "Resurrection Sunday," but I don't mind people using the word "Easter."

As stated yesterday in this space, we'll be looking at a little known hero of faith as examined by Pastor Robert Rathbun.  Today we focus on Joseph of Arimathea, rendered as follows:

Joseph of Arimathea was involved in the burial of Jesus.  All four Gospel writers speak of him, and while their testimonies agree, little details are found in each account that make them of special interest.  Because of this, I have chosen to record these four testimonies, one following upon another.  What you will read in the following 19 verses is all that we know about this man.

"When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:  He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.  And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock:  and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher:  and departed" (Matthew 27:57-60).

"And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honorable counselor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.  And Pilate marveled if He were already dead:  and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether He had been any while dead.  And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.  And he bought fine linen, and took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen, and laid Him in a sepulcher which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulcher" (Mark 15:42-46).

"And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counselor; and he was a good man, and a just:  (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews:  who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.  This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.  And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulcher that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.  And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on" (Luke 23:50-54).

"And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus:  and Pilate gave him leave.  He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.  And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.  Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.  Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulcher, wherein was never man yet laid.  There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulcher was nigh at hand" (John 19:38-42).

And this is all we know about Joseph.  Let's try to gather these facts together into some semblance of order.  First, we see him to be a man of character.  Mark tells us that he was an honorable man, while Luke declares him to be a good man and a just.  Certainly, these character traits and commendations speak eloquently about the value and worth of this man.  But there is more, much more.  Joseph was a rich man.  Matthew records this, and Matthew as a tax collector for Rome would be aware of such matters.  Also Joseph was a respected man, for he was a counselor (Mark and Luke tell us this), and counselor has reference to serving on the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish court of the land.

And Joseph was a religious man.  Mark and Luke tell us that he waited for the kingdom of God to come.  Perhaps in keeping with this expectation, Matthew and John tell us that Joseph was a disciple of Jesus.  John adds that he was a secret disciple for fear of the Jews (John 7:45-48).  And while such fear does not become a man of faith, Luke tells us that Joseph did not go along with the plan, scheme, and deed of the council regarding Jesus.  The plan of the Jewish leaders was to have Judas betray Jesus, and the ultimate deed of the Sanhedrin would have been its condemning of Jesus to death for blasphemy.  Joseph did not consent unto these things.  As the Sanhedrin's hatred of Jesus was being played out, Joseph apparently began to grow bolder in his defense of Jesus.  So it was that on the night of Jesus' trial, Joseph voted, "Not guilty." And following Jesus' death, all secrecy was scrapped, and Joseph went in boldly before Pilate to beg the body of Jesus.  Mark tells us that Pilate was surprised that Jesus was dead already, and he called for the centurion who was in charge of the crucifixion.  He would not release the body of Jesus to Joseph until he was sure of the death of Jesus.  When the centurion acknowledged the death of Jesus, then Pilate delivered the body to Joseph.  John tells us that Joseph was joined in the burial work by Nicodemus, the Jewish ruler who had come to Jesus by night (John 3:1-21, 7:45-53).  Joseph bought clean, fine linen, and Nicodemus brought along myrrh and aloes.  They wrapped the linen around the body of Jesus and the spices, and then they laid Him in Joseph's own sepulcher, which Matthew tells us he had hewn out of stone with his own hands.  Luke and John tell us that no one had been placed in that sepulcher until Jesus' body was laid there.  And finally, Matthew and Mark tell of the stone that was rolled to the mouth of the gravesite, and Matthew lets us know that the stone was great in size.

So now we know about Joseph of Arimathaea, a wealthy man of character, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, a man who came to believe in Jesus, but secretly for a time for fear of the Jews.  Ultimately, however, when the Sanhedrin cast a near unanimous vote for Jesus' death, Joseph stood up and voted, "Not guilty." It is not easy to stand up against the crowd, but this is what Joseph did to his everlasting credit.  May you and I have that same sort of courage when called upon by circumstances to cast our vote, to the glory of God.

And there you have the article by Pastor Rathbun which I hope you found a blessing.

There are some loose ends to tie up before we end today's daily thought.  Firstly, why was it only Joseph of Arimathaea and no one else who asked for the body of Jesus? According to early church tradition and not based on anything in the Bible, Joseph was Jesus' maternal uncle, and thus had the "right of redemption" over His body.  (See the situation regarding Ruth and Boaz).  I don't know how one arrived at that conclusion, but it was what it was.

Secondly, how did Joseph become rich? This to me sounds rather flimsy in evidence, but Joseph, according to legend, had invested in tin mines in, of all places, Cornwall on the west coast of England, and it is from there that he amassed his wealth.  Also legend has it that Jesus, during part of his "silent years" between Him being lost in the Temple at age 12 and when He began His public ministry, went with his uncle there after the death of his foster-father.  Again, this is all legend and I find no evidence to support this.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Lord willing, tomorrow we will have our weekly Bible game, so get prepared with your thinking caps.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul