Daily Blast - Easter: Day 2
Scripture
“38 Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. 39 With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds[a] of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. 40 Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. 41 The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. 42 And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.”
Reflection
Who was Joseph of Arimathea? Mark describes him as a prominent member of the council and Mathew describes him as a wealthy man.
Joseph was very important in the story of Jesus’ execution. Although he was only spoken about very briefly, his actions were a key part of one of the prophecies over Jesus’ death. So important in fact that he is spoken about in all 4 gospels.
Isaiah 53 prophecies about Jesus’ death, but particularly relevant to what Joseph did was verse 9 which refers to Jesus being buried amongst the rich. John says that Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus which is probably why he was allowed to take and bury his body. After requesting the body from Pilate, John writes that Joseph and Nicodemus bought spices and ointments weighing 75 pounds which they used to wrap Jesus in traditional Jewish style.
This amount of spice would have cost a lot of money, more than most could afford at the time. Therefore, Jesus was buried amongst the rich. Joseph and Nicodemus buried Jesus in a new tomb. It was custom at the time that a family would have a tomb where they were all buried together when they died. The fact that Jesus was buried on his own in a new tomb meant that his body could not be confused with another after the resurrection. There was only one possibility, he had risen.
What Joseph and Nicodemus did was costly to them both financially and could have been physically as well if they were identified as disciples of Jesus. Yet they did it willingly because they knew Jesus was worth it. Although he was only buried for 3 days, he was certainly given a rich man’s burial
Challenge
Here is a challenge for you; Are there areas in your life where you are holding back in your relationship with Jesus because it will cost you too much? I don’t mean it costing you money. Maybe you feel like it’s something that will cost you too much time. If there is can I encourage you, in a similar way to yesterday, write it down and pray that God will help you in that area.