Waiting for the kingdom of God
Matthew 27:57-61
"When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body. Then Pilate ordered that it be released. So, Joseph took the body, wrapped it in clean, fine linen, and placed it in his new tomb, which he had cut into the rock. He left after rolling a great stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were seated there, facing the tomb."
From the other Gospels we learn that Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy and prominent member of the High Council (Mark 15:43). The information we have about him is loosely related to the gospels and wasn't always included in the manuscripts. But it seems to have become important that Joseph of Arimathea be included in this book. Luke's gospel tells us that Joseph of Arimathea was a good and upright man. He also records that Joseph had not consented to the decisions and actions of the High Council to put Jesus to death (Luke 23:50-51). John's gospel refers to him as a secret learner, and follower of Jesus (John 19:38).
Joseph laid Jesus in his own new tomb – a "borrowed tomb", and that's significant for prophetic purposes. But it was more than just a tomb. It was a prison cell. Jesus wasn't just laid to rest in the grave, he was locked up behind a large stone sealed and watched over by armed guards answerable to Pilate himself. There was to be no opportunity for his body to have been taken away by His disciples. And why would they have? Those "followers" of his ran off and didn't come back, not even to bury their friend. But for a few, most didn't stick around to watch him die, or help the others mourn him at his tomb. They hid themselves from "The Jews". The very same Jews that Joseph of Arimathea feared might discover he was a secret disciple of Jesus. Apparently, Joseph’s mind and heart had been so moved by these events that his fear was finally overcome. He went boldly to Pilate begging for our Lord’s body.
He begged for him.
Before he hid his love for Jesus Christ. Now, before all men of every station and authority, he begs for him. Any fear of repercussion is gone. Now he only wants to serve the Lord in this seemingly final chapter of his ministry. His faith had melted away the cold fears that had kept him from publicly expressing his love for Jesus Christ. Now his faith is alive enough to hold him in Christ no matter what may come.
Joseph carefully tends to our Lords body. And that couldn't have been easy to do. Jesus was brutally murdered on that Roman cross. His body would have been unrecognizable. Shredded flesh, pierced, beaten, bruised and swollen. Blood everywhere. His limbs would have been disjointed by the very painful dislocation that happens as the man hangs there and his own weight destroys his ligaments. This was a gruesome experience no doubt. It didn't just take courage to fess up to being one of Jesus' disciples, it would have been very difficult to tenderly tend to his body as he was preparing him for his tomb.
And so, Matthew's gospel, by including this work of Joseph of Arimathea, proves the prophecy in Isaiah 53:9.
"He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave."
Do you think Joseph understood this?
I bet he did. He was High Council. He would have had knowledge about those scriptures. And he no doubt didn't want Jesus' body to be thrown along with the other criminals' corpses like trash to be burned in the Hinnom Valley.
If Joseph had not been a member of the Sanhedrin High Council, it's doubtful that Pilate would have paid much attention to his request to preserve Jesus' body for the grave. He summoned his courage, "gathered up his courage", it is said in the gospel, and he begged Pilate to give Jesus to him. Pilate asked the centurion if Jesus had already died, probably surprised that he had perished so quickly. The centurion confirms the successful execution, and so Pilate grants his request.
The scripture doesn't say that the rich man Joseph sent his servants to take Jesus' body from the site of the crucifixion at Golgotha. It says, "Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock"
I think about these words a lot.
Was Joseph really this hands-on? Did he wrap and carry Jesus? Did he actually carve out of the rock a tomb with his own two hands?
Maybe he did, and maybe he had help.
We do know from John's gospel that another secret disciple from the High Council had joined him at the grave.
John 19:39
"Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight."
First of all, that's a lot of herbs. I bet he had help carrying that, it would have been bulky. Now we've got Joseph and Nicodemus and probably their combined hired staff to help tend to the Jewish burial customs. Two wealthy secret disciples who are boldly and openly identifying with Jesus by going to get his body, while all the other disciples, except John who stayed at a distance, were in hiding. It is simply Joseph, and Nicodemus doing the work, and the two Mary’s who watched.
So, we've witnessed here a variety of different expressions of faith, faithfulness, worship, and love. We've seen it all and most of it is extremely disappointing. And I think that's okay. I think it's ok to get it wrong. I think it's ok to screw it up. I think it's ok to just be okay. What happened was extremely frightening and dangerous for all parties involved. It's not surprising that most hid themselves from it. And this also highlights the courage and faith it took to overcome that fear.
Both Joseph and Nicodemus were shy about their faith in Jesus Christ prior to this. But then they witnessed his crucifixion and all the events that transpired during and after. They would have heard about the torn veil in the Holy of Holies and felt the earthquakes. They would have likely seen the dead rise and walk around the city, especially since they were hanging around a graveyard. They saw the sky go dark for hours at midday which could not have been an eclipse because it was Passover and a full moon.
No doubt they, like the centurion, finally and fully realized that Jesus was indeed the "Son of God" whom they were waiting and watching for.
And this brings me to my final thought on Joseph of Arimathea.
I love this guy. I love what people said about him. Not the rich guy things. I love that people said he was a disciple of Jesus', and I love that he eventually found his courage.
No, he didn't find it...he gathered it up! He had to fight himself to get it up there. He had to overcome his fear and find that courage out from where it was hiding, and FORCE it to obey his faith. And we all have to do that. Sometimes daily.
I wonder what the trigger for him was. What was his last straw. What happened to finally get him to take his faith seriously enough to find his courage to openly admit he loves Jesus.
At any rate, I'm glad he did. I've watched many men and women wrestle with this, and it's always a blessing when someone finally comes round to living their faith boldly and openly. It's a blessing to see it and hear about it.
But the one thing I appreciate most about Joseph of Arimathea, the thing I love most that they said of him was, he was "waiting for the kingdom of God."
Mark 15:43
"Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself also waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus."
I want that on my memorial marker or in my obituary.
"He was waiting for the kingdom of God".
And under that I want it inscribed,
"He gathered up his courage"
"He became a disciple of Jesus"