Little Bit of Joseph of Arimathea in All of Us

There are prison chaplains for the death row units in the U.S. in states like Texas.

One chaplain said that some of the condemned men who he had dealt with had truly come to faith, but there were others who were hardened to the gospel. As a death row chaplain, one of his responsibilities was to meet with each condemned man just before his execution. Whether or not they wished to speak with him about spiritual things, there were some other matters which had to be discussed. In particular, they had to discuss their burial arrangements. Unless other arrangements were made in advance by family or loved ones, the body of the executed criminal would be buried in what was, in effect, "boot hill"-a gravesite designated for executed criminals near the prison.

As we come to John's account of the burial of our Lord, I am reminded of the fact that in all likelihood, our Lord would have been buried in the "boot hill" of His day: Under Roman law, the bodies of executed criminals were normally handed over to their next of kin, but not so in the case of those crucified for treason as Jesus was.

They were left to the vultures, the ultimate in indignity and shame.

Ironically, most of the disciples were keeping their distance from Jesus at this point in time. It does not even appear to be possible for any of Jesus' disciples or family to secure His body and give it a proper burial.

But God had the details of Jesus' burial planned a very long time ago. The Old Testament had prophesied that the Messiah would be buried in a rich man's tomb: "He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth" (Isaiah 53:9, NIV). Somehow, the Messiah would be put to death as a criminal (Isaiah 53:3-4), with criminals (53:9), and yet He was also to be buried with the rich (53:9).

Let us take a look at the man Joseph of Arimathea. We know a few things about this fellow from the other gospels. The gospel of Matthew says Joseph was rich. He was wealthy, yet spiritually minded. One of the hazards of plenty of disposable income is a feeling that one does not need God, but not Joseph.

The gospel according to Mark says he was a man of honour. He was morally good; he had not been corrupted by his power. Again, an admirable quality. Mark adds he was looking for the coming Messiah. No doubt he pinned his hopes on Jesus being that Messiah.

I wonder if he was disillusioned with what had happened to Jesus? Mark and Luke tell us he was a members of the Sanhedrin; the ruling Jewish body concerning Jewish religious laws. Luke also states that he did not consent to travesty that was Jesus' trial. So determined are the Jewish rulers to get Jesus that there is a complete breakdown in law and order. Joseph of Arimathea knew there had been a miscarriage of justice.

Although Joseph of Arimathea was a man of honour he was also a man who lived in fear. It says, "Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews." One translation of the Bible (The Message) says he was "intimidated by the Jews."

But before we condemn him too harshly, take into account that he is a very influential man in their society. He has a lot to lose by sticking up for Jesus; prestige, popularity, security, political power, even wealth and property. Possibly he feared for his very life; if the Sanhedrin was out to execute Jesus, who is to say they wouldn't turn on his disciples, especially ones they would consider traitors.

Now Joseph does something odd to say he is a fearful man; he asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Mark's gospel also says that Pilate was surprised that Jesus was already dead and he sent a soldier to check to see if it was true. It usually took quite a long time to die on a cross, sometime 2 or 3 days. But Jesus had been so cruelly beaten before he had actually made it to the cross that he was already extremely weak. But I think there is even more; can you image the spiritual and emotional toll carrying the weight of the sins of the world upon himself would have been?
That alone would have caused him to die early. You will remember that the Roman soldiers had broken the legs of the other two crucified with Jesus to speed up their deaths. But they did not need to break Jesus' legs as he was already dead.

So with Pilate's permission then, Joseph came and took Jesus' body away. I think he truly loved Jesus and this is his last act of kindness that he can do for him.

I'm fascinated by the change in character I see Joseph of Arimathea; His change from fear to courage. Joseph of Arimathea was once living in fear but here he is showing courage and coming into the open and performing this last labour of love. Granted, he may have been less fearful to ask permission from Pilate, a representative of the Roman government than he would have been had it been the Jewish Sanhedrin from which he had to get permission. But that is speculation.

One writer (Barclay) says, "the death of Jesus had done for Joseph what the life of Jesus did not; he forgot his fear." "The cowardice, the hesitation, the prudent concealment were gone." Pg 263

In John 12:32 Jesus prophesies this about his own death: "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die."
When he was lifted up on the cross to die, his death would generate a power to draw people to himself.

Already the death of Jesus was drawing people to himself starting with Joseph of Arimathea.

A good lesson we can all learn from this story of Joseph of Arimathea is that the cross has the power to turn cowards into heros.