Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
In the account of Jesus’ burial in Mark 15:42-47, Joseph of Arimathaea has a primary role. He is “an honourable counsellor” (verse 43), a member of the ruling Sanhedrin. He opposed their illegal trial of Jesus: he “had not consented to the counsel and deed of them” (Luke 23:51a). His character is sterling: “He was a good man, and a just” (Luke 23:50b) and “waited for the kingdom of God” (Luke 23:51c). He is at this point already a believer in Jesus as the promised Messiah, “being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews” (John 19:38b). Before we accuse him of cowardice in his incipient faith, we must consider this bold and public act of faith. Jesus is dead on the Cross. Both Jewish and Roman leaders are directly responsible for this execution. To then go to Pilate to ask for the body is thus a dangerous demonstration of genuine faith. It would have been easy to do nothing. In fact, relatives were traditionally responsible for burial. However, since Mary is too distraught to quickly do all that needs to be done, Joseph steps forward, identifies himself to the most powerful people in the land as a follower of Jesus, and does the right thing. He places himself in opposition to the ones who condemned Jesus, and he is now in peril himself. Exercising faith is rarely easy; it is usually difficult.