April 10, 2022

John 19: 38, 39 (NIV)

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. . . . He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night.

All of God’s giants have been weak people.*

This story is included in all four gospels, each writer giving it his own twist. Matthew gives us “just the facts.” Mark includes a helpful adverb, informing us that Joseph went boldly to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body. Luke adds some information the others don’t include: Joseph was a member of the Council but he had not consented to their decision and action concerning Jesus. But it is John who gives us the most intriguing version of the event.

It is from John that we learn that Joseph was a secret but fearful disciple of Jesus; and that his partner in his new bold adventure is none other than Nicodemus, he who had once requested a clandestine audience with Jesus and went away sad. It was a gracious and brave gesture to provide a proper funeral for Jesus – and to fulfill prophecy – but Jesus is dead and apparently his cause along with him* - why come forward now? None of the disciples who had been faithful to Jesus in life seemed to understand that his death was not the end; are we to believe that these two covert followers did?

Church history paints Joseph and Nicodemus as heroes. We don’t know the consequences of their kindness and it is possible that they paid a high price for their actions. But . . . call me cynical, but I think Jesus’ enemies just shrugged and looked the other way. They thought they had won. As for our heroes’ sudden bravery – well, a dead revolutionary can’t ask any more of you, so they were free to go back to their rich and powerful lives. They remind me of those people who neglect their loved ones in life but show up at the funeral to mourn.

Here is what I learn from Joseph and Nicodemus: Give people a break! These men may have been slow in showing their faith in Jesus. They may or may not have had pure motives for their actions. But they finally did the right thing. As one commentator observes, “The heroism of faith is usually kindled by desperate circumstances.”* We should not condemn others just because they are in a different place in their Christian walk than we are. I look at these two heroes and ask myself, “Did they love Jesus?” and realize that whether his spiritual progress is great or small, a person who loves Jesus is on the right path.

Instead of being fishers of the lost, we become critics of the saved.*