38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. 39 Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Message: Joseph and Nicodemus Bury Jesus
Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."
What the Lord is Saying: Jesus has died. Now he is to be buried. Ancient Jews and even Jews today, have great respect for the body of the deceased. My father currently practices orthodox Judaism and it is very important that a body is buried and not cremated. He also believes it very important to bury a body in a wooden casket, with holes. He thinks the body I think should return to dust and the creatures of the earth should be allowed to get to the body, rather than being in a sealed coffin. And in this case, it was no different. With the day of the week as it was, coming upon Passover, the body would not stay on the cross. Normally, it seems it would have stayed and vultures would be allowed to get at it. But with it being Passover, it violated Jewish law to leave a body hanging overnight (Deuteronomy 21:22-23).
The disciples were last seen in the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas has taken officials and soldiers to arrest Jesus. It was here that the disciples did not go along or follow Jesus but stayed behind, in a way showing not their allegiance to him, but their cowardice (John 18:1). But now, after Jesus has died, maybe in them coming to Jesus, 2 disciples come back to bury Jesus, maybe feeling a little bit of remorse for not going along with him previously. These two - Joseph and Nicodemus - were members of the Sanhedrin, an administrative body of Jews that met at the temple of Jerusalem. perhaps I can understand how when Jesus was arrested and it included Jewish officials at his arrest that these two would have not added to the commotion but let things go.
Perhaps at the time of Jesus' arrest they never imagined that he would be crucified, and so upon Jesus being crucified they had compassion for him and now they came forth. Or perhaps in their roles as members of the Sanhedrin and His disciples that it made most sense or they had a felt responsibility to tend to the burial of Jesus.
Reading this and seeing this makes me wonder about myself. How often do I say these words, "I am a Christian" or acknowledge that I am a Christ follower. How quick I am to show my allegiance especially in situations where it might end up being ridicule that comes my way. Or rather how quick am I to go along instead with the crowd.
I am not sure if I would have made a big deal of the burial and been careful to bury Jesus. Sometimes I am not good at those things and being careful. And I am probably one to wait for someone else to be responsible for this.
I enjoy the word of Alexander MacLaren (1826-1910) and here he speaks -- "The sight of the Cross not only leads to courage, and kindles a love which demands expression, but it impels to joyful surrender. Joseph gave a place in his own new tomb, where he hoped that one day his bones should be laid by the side of the Master against whom he had sinned-for he had no thought of a resurrection. Nicodemus brought a lavish, almost an extravagant, amount of costly spices, as if by honour to the dead he could atone for treason to the living. And both the one and the other teach us that if once we gain the true vision of that great and wondrous love that died on the Cross for us, then the natural language of the loving heart is- ‘Here, Lord! I give myself away; ‘Tis all that I can do.’"
Those are great words about Joseph and Nicodemus whereby their cowardice changed to allegiance and pride towards Jesus.
Summary: Jesus has passed away and Joseph and Nicodemus come forward now to bury Jesus. Once ashamed or hiding from his arrest, now they take his burial serious and with honor.
Promise: From Tabletalk -- It is sin to hide our allegiance to Christ (Matt. 10:32–33), but it is not unforgivable. The key is that we repent of being ashamed or afraid of our identification with Christ and publicly declare that we are His disciples. This is what Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus did when they took Jesus’ body for burial. If we have been ashamed of Jesus, let us repent today and ask the Lord to give us the courage to be known as disciples of Christ.
Prayer: I want to be proud always to be a disciple of Jesus. I need courage Lord and conviction always, in the company of anyone. Help me be true to myself.
Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.
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