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Joseph of Arimathea - Luke 23
Joseph of Arimathea - Luke 23
Joseph of Arimathea was part of the ruling body of the Jews. Mark states he was a 'respected member of the council' (Mark 15:43). These Jewish leaders had begun opposing Jesus almost from the beginning and now, at the end of Luke, were responsible for his death. They had met in the middle of the night to arrange for Jesus' death. They DEMANDED that Pilate have him crucified. They stood at the foot of the cross and reviled Jesus while he died. Joseph was a member of this group... BUT.
While 'all' voiced their consent to have Jesus put to death, Joseph did NOT join them. Was he excluded from this meeting because of his 'softness' toward Jesus? Was he out of town? Did he refuse to attend? John says that he was a disciple but secretly (John 19:38). Was his secret not a secret after all? We know that he was joined by Nicodemus in the care of the body of Jesus, was he friends with him before this night? Was their friendship known by the rest of the council? After he cared for the body, was he kicked out of the council? Was he shunned from the synagogue? (cp. John 9:22; 12:42) Did he join himself to the disciples after the events of Acts 2?
While I can't answer the above questions, I do know that Mark says 'he took courage and asked Pilate for the body of Jesus' (Mark 15:43). He shows respect for Jesus before Pilate and the whole council. He joins with Nicodemus and they take the body and having wrapped it in linen and spices, place it in his own tomb. This burial is witnessed by the women who were watching the death of Jesus. He acted against the whole disposition of the council.
You do not have to follow a multitude in doing evil, you can be different. Being different in fact means going against the norm. In everyone's life there are times when we must act upon our beliefs. Discipleship is more than believing, it is following the teachings. Joseph takes courage and does what none of the apostles were doing. He took his stand though the numbers appear 2 against 68 (the council usually being reported as having 70 members). It was time to act even if it gained the ire of the rest of his peers.
Robert Kennedy said, “Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence, yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change the world, which yields most painfully to change." It was this very moral courage that Joseph exercised.
If you had been there, would you have shown such moral courage? In what ways are you showing it NOW?
Hugh DeLong
