All
four gospel writers record what he did.
“As
evening approached, 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… 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” (Mark 15:42b-46).
What
we
are not told is why he did it.
Why
come forward after Jesus was dead? Everyone
else had either run away in fear or
left in despair, so why bother? He
had
hidden until now. Why not
keep hiding?
Maybe
he
felt guilty. He did not
stand up enough for
Jesus when he was alive, so he figured he would do something now
that he was gone.
Maybe
the cross changed him. Hearing
Jesus’
words, seeing the darkness, feeling the earthquake and witnessing
his death
certainly changed the mind of a soldier that day. He ended up saying, “Surely
this man was the
son of God!” (Mark 15: 39). Maybe
a
similar thought motivated Joseph.
Maybe
this line says more than we realize: “[He] was waiting for the
kingdom of God”
(verse 43). That is in the
past tense
because the story is being told after the fact, but the meaning
is, “Joseph was
– at that moment still – waiting for the kingdom!” Present tense!
What
if
Joseph had not given up yet? What
if, despite
what had happened, he still believed that God was going to do
something? What if he took
charge of the burial, not
because he thought the promise was dead, but still to come?
Imagine
his surprise when he got the message that Sunday morning! Imagine how he must have felt
when he looked
around his now empty tomb! I
think he
would have been glad that he took a risk and did what he could do.
Remember
this: What looks like the
end may
actually be the beginning of something even better. Nothing is hopeless when God
is involved.
Joseph
of Arimathea would testify to that truth!
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