Tag Archives: Joseph of Arimathea

WATCH THIS SPACE!

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WATCH THIS SPACE!

“Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He 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. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.” John 19:38-40.

The wind tugged at a wisp of hair, coated with blood and sweat that strayed from the matted tangle

on the head of the bloodied corpse. A few soldiers stood guard around the crosses in the eerie twilight that had settled prematurely over the landscape, waiting for the order to take down the bodies and deposit them in the smouldering fire in the Valley of Hinnom.

Two men appeared out of the gloom, accompanied by an official from Pilate. A quiet word from the Roman officer and the soldiers heaved the centre cross from its hole in the rock and lowered it to the ground. The body was removed from the wooden torture stake and wrapped in a linen shroud.

Joseph and Nicodemus lifted Jesus and carried His heavy weight to a rocky cave in the nearby hillside. In silence they completed their burial ritual, packing the body with the spices Nicodemus had brought with him, rewrapping the body in the linen cloth and lowering onto the raised platform carved out of the rock. The sun was just beginning to set behind the clouds when they had completed their task and said farewell to the Master they had followed in secret.

According to Matthew, their handiwork was closely supervised by Roman soldiers who rolled the huge circular stone across the entrance and sealed it with Pilate’s official seal because the Jewish religious leaders were afraid. Afraid of what? They had heard a rumour that Jesus had threatened to come back again. Just in case His disciples schemed to steal His body and hide it elsewhere, to fuel the rumour and stir up more trouble, they had demanded a Roman military guard to make sure that it didn’t happen.

Joseph and Nicodemus walked slowly back to the city in silence, heads bowed, each lost in his own thoughts. They were out in the open; they had burnt their bridges. Everyone now knew where their allegiance lay, but it was too late. Jesus was dead. Had they not just laid Him out, covered His body with spices, bound His face with a burial cloth, wrapped Him in a shroud and said their last goodbye?

The Jewish leaders were satisfied. Their tormentor was dead. No more would they hear His accusing voice, pounding on their awakened consciences, keeping them out of sleep at night. As much as they believed they were right and He was wrong, they could not silence the sound of His voice, the sight of His tenderness towards the ones they despised. He was dead and buried and that was that!

And what of the soldiers? They were just doing their job – but were they? Was it their job to bully the accused? Were they expected to beat Him in the face with their fists? Was it their duty to mock Him and spit on Him? Were they detailed to crown Him with thorns? What they did was above and beyond the call of duty. How did they handle that when they lay in bed at night, especially because they could not get a rise out of Him, not matter how hard they tried! He was gone and they couldn’t change what they had done!

But was He? Before He left them, many times over in spite of their unbelief He had told His disciples, “Watch this space!”

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – “I’LL BE BACK!”

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“I’LL BE BACK!”

Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid. Mark 15:40-47

Mark is careful to record the activity of the women around the cross. No mention of the disciples – they were probably hiding, but the women were present, watching what was happening and planning their next move. So was Joseph of Arimathea. According to Mark, he must have anticipated Jesus’ death since he was a non-consenting member of the Sanhedrin. He had decided to take charge of Jesus’ body and had brought the linen cloth in which he would wrap the body.

By this time. the hostile crowd had melted away. Their sport was over. Jesus was beyond their taunts and jeers. Besides, the strange events in the heavens made them restless and uneasy. Only the women, Joseph and soldiers kept vigil. When Joseph was sure that Jesus was dead, he made his way quickly to Pilate to request His body for burial. He did not want the body of His Master to be thrown on the city garbage heap where the bodies of criminals were burned. Pilate consented after ensuring from the centurion that He was really dead – something unusual because victims of crucifixion could hover between life and death for days.

The women watched – Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James the less and Salome. According to John, there was a third Mary, the mother of Jesus, held by her love for her son. Matthew also mentions the mother of James and John and Luke adds Joanna. They were all loyal women who had trailed Him all the way from Galilee and who were always hovering in the background, seeing to His needs and serving Him and His disciples.

Unlike the disciples, they were no threat to anyone, least of all the Roman soldiers. They were not afraid of associating with Jesus. What a beautiful ministry they had, just being there! They followed Joseph so that they could see where His body was being buried. The Sabbath was only hours away. They would rest and then pay Jesus their last respects by anointing His body with oils and spices.

There is an atmosphere of sorrow that hovers over this scene.  Everything has slowed down. The panic is over. Time seems to have stopped! It’s as though heaven and earth are holding their breath, waiting for something to happen. Only His friends mourn, unaware of a new drama to unfold un three days. In the pain of their loss they had forgotten His promise, “In three days I’ll be back!”

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – JOURNEY TO COMPLETION

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JOURNEY TO COMPLETION

“There was a man by the name of Joseph, a member of the Jewish High Council, a man of good heart and good character. He had not gone along with the plans and actions of the council. His hometown was the Jewish village of Arimathea. He lived in alert expectations of the kingdom of God. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Taking Him down, he wrapped Him in a linen shroud and placed Him in a tomb chiselled into the rock, a tomb never used. It was the day before Sabbath; the Sabbath was about to begin.” Luke 23:50-54.

Enter Joseph of Arimathea! Luke gives his reader a thumbnail sketch of this man who made a brief appearance in history and will always be associated with the burial of Jesus. He owned a tomb which was yet to become a family crypt. Isaiah had written, centuries before, that Messiah would be buried in a rich man’s grave – and this rich man, Joseph, in this poignant moment, donated his tomb to Jesus. No doubt it remained unused after the resurrection.

The disciples could not have buried Jesus – they were Galileans and had been unemployed for the past three years. Joseph’s action prevented the body of Jesus from receiving the same treatment as all other criminals – cremation in the city garbage dump, the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem which burned perpetually.

Luke does not record the interaction of the Jewish leaders with Pilate over the body of Jesus. He said nothing about the sealing of the tomb and the Roman guard. His description is simple and clear. Joseph requested the body of Jesus, wrapped Him in expensive linen and buried Him in his own tomb.

There is symbolic significance in the mention of the Sabbath, the time of Jesus’ death and burial. According to the meaning of the ancient Hebrew language, the Genesis record of creation in not about making something out of nothing, but about bringing order into the shapeless, empty and dark earth and “filling it up” to be man’s home.

God rested on the seventh day, not because He was tired but because His work was complete. He blessed (gave it as a gift to mankind to be valued, protected and used for the purpose for which it was given) the Sabbath (meaning rest) and set it apart to fulfill its function which was to be the “full stop” at the end of every week. It was also symbolic of the “completion” of God’s work of creating a family for Himself.

God commanded the man and his wife to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with people. Everything He made had the capacity to multiply to complete what He had begun.

In John 19:30, Jesus’ last words were, “‘it is finished.'” And He was laid to rest in Joseph’s tomb at the beginning of the Sabbath! Just as God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit – all participating in creation) rested when their work was complete, so Jesus rested on the Sabbath because His work of redemption was complete.

But there is another rest into which He invites us. Because of sin, we are incomplete, but in union with Him, we have the potential to become whole again as we journey through life towards completion. There is another “Sabbath” for those who are united with Jesus in submission and obedience.

The writer to the Hebrews explains how the children of Israel, who were on a journey from slavery in Egypt, through the wilderness, to “rest” in their own land, failed to enter because of their unbelief. They were a type of the journey believers are on through this life to the completion of their re-creation into the image of Jesus.

Throughout this life, we are in the process of becoming whole again. Every time we respond in obedience to His leading, we reach another landmark on our journey towards completeness. Our final destination is “Shabbat”, eternal rest with Him because we have become complete again. God rested, Jesus rested and we will rest at the end of our journey.

Two Kind Men

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TWO KIND MEN

It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that He was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.

So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid. (Mark 15: 42-47)

Again we have Mark’s terse and unembellished account of Jesus’ burial. He included none of the paranoid instructions of the chief priests to try to secure the tomb. No Roman guard, no official seal on the stone. It was not his focus. His was the simple story of Jesus’ death and burial. Not that Matthew’s version of the events was exaggerated or even untrue. It was just a detail Mark did not include for his own reasons.

Who was the man who had the courage to ask for Jesus’ body which was destined for the city rubbish dump where His body would have been cremated in the valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem if it were not for his bold intervention. He was a member of the ruling council, Joseph of Arimathea. He would have been present at Jesus’ trial, a lone voice protesting Jesus’ innocence, but not even heard against the howling mob.

According to the Apostle John (John 19:38-39), he was not alone in this final deed of love. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the Pharisee who visited Jesus one night. Although these two men were members of the upper class, unlike their peers they were honest enough to evaluate Jesus without prejudice. When the crunch came, they boldly and openly took their stand with Him. One wonders what the rest of their associates thought of them, but they didn’t care.

It was evident that Pilate was still sympathetic towards Jesus otherwise, would he have released His body to Joseph? He was amazed that Jesus had succumbed to the torture so quickly. It was often a long drawn-out affair. Some of the victims of crucifixion lingered on the cross for days, hence the request of the Sanhedrin to hasten His death by breaking His legs (John 19: 31). Since Jesus was already dead, His bones were not broken but His side was pierced with a spear (John 19: 34). Amazing how accurately the Old Testament prophets predicted the exact details of His death!

Since Joseph was a wealthy man, he owned a yet-unused tomb which had been prepared for him and his family. He gladly gave it over to the body of the one he had come to recognise as his Master. He had to act in haste in order to be faithful to the requirements of the Sabbath, and he and Nicodemus moved quickly to have the body in the tomb before sunset. There was no time to give the body its proper treatment with ointments and spices but just to wrap it in cloth and place it in the tomb.

Again it was the Apostle John who noted that the next day was a special Sabbath. Traditionally, Jesus died on the day before the normal Sabbath, Friday but, according to John, this Sabbath was not on the seventh day of the week but the day before the Sabbath. Hence in that year, there were two Sabbaths, Friday and Saturday. Jesus would have been crucified on the Thursday and His body would have been in the tomb from Thursday before sunset to early Sunday morning, three days according to Jewish reckoning.

How accurately God arranged all the details to fulfil the imagery of Passover. Like the Passover lamb which had to be selected on the tenth day of the month and slaughtered on the fourteenth day after careful inspection for defects, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the first day of the week preceding Passover, put on public display and crucified on the Thursday, the fourth day of that week. He died at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, at the exact time when the high priest slaughtered the first Passover lamb.

When Joseph and Nicodemus walked away from the tomb at sunset that afternoon, did they ever dream that the empty cave would become the symbol of a mighty victory for the one whose body they had so tenderly placed there? Did they ever visit the empty tomb to see for themselves that the bloodied corpse they had left there had vanished? Was their faith forever confirmed by this silent witness to His resurrection?

This simple act of kindness would change the lives of these two men forever. They have the assurance in their hearts of the words of the writer to the letter to the Hebrews:

God is not unjust; He will not forget your labour of love. (Heb. 6: 10)

Their names will always be remembered for their kindness to Jesus.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Watch This Space!

Bible Study, , ,

WATCH THIS SPACE! 

“Later, Jospeh of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He 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. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.” John 19:38-40 NIV.

The wind tugged at a wisp of hair, coated with blood and sweat, that strayed from the matted tangle on the head of the bloodied corpse. A few soldiers stood guard around the crosses in the eerie twilight that had settled prematurely over the landscape, waiting for the order to take down the bodies and deposit them in the smouldering fire in the Valley of Hinnom.

Two men appeared out of the gloom, accompanied by an official from Pilate. A quiet word from the Roman officer and the soldiers heaved the centre cross from its hole in the rock and lowered it to the ground. The body was removed from the wooden torture stake and wrapped in a linen shroud.

Joseph and Nicodemus lifted Jesus and carried His heavy weight to a rocky cave in the nearby hillside. In silence they completed their burial ritual, packing the body with the spices Nicodemus had brought with him and rewrapping the body in the linen cloth and lowering into the raised platform carved out of the rock. The sun was just beginning to set behind the clouds when they had completed their task and said farewell to the Master they had followed in secret.

According to Matthew, their handiwork was closely supervised by Roman soldiers who rolled the huge circular stone across the entrance and sealed it with PIlate’s official seal because the Jewish religious leaders were afraid. Afraid of what? They had heard a runour that Jesus had threatened to come back again. Just in case His disciples schemed to steal His body and hide it elsewhere, to fuel the runour and stir up more trouble, they had demanded a Roman military guard to make sure that it didn’t happen.

Joseph and Nicodemus walked slowly back to the city in silence, heads bowed, each lost in his own thoughts. They were out in the open; they had burnt their bridges. Everyone now knew where their allegiance lay, but it was too late. Jesus was dead. Had they not just laid Him out, covered His body with spices, bound His face with a burial cloth and wrapped Him in a shroud and said their last goodbye?

The Jewish leaders were satisfied. Their tormentor was dead. No more would they hear His accusing voice, pounding on their awakened consciences, keeping them out of sleep at night. As much as they believed they were right and He was wrong, they could not silence the sound of His voice, the sight of His tenderness towards the ones they despised. He was dead and buried and that was that!

And what of the soldiers? They were just doing their job — but  were they? Was it their job to bully the accused? Were they expected to beat Him in the face with their fists? Was it their duty to mock Him and spit on Him? Were they detailed to crown Him with thorns? What they did was above and beyond the call of duty. How did they handle that when they lay in bed at night, especially because they could not get a rise out of Him, not matter how hard they tried! He was gone and they couldn’t change what they had done!

But was He? Before He left them, many times over in spite of their unbelief He had told His disciples, “Watch this space!”