“38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. 39 Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. 40 They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there” John 19:38-42.
All four (4) Gospels mention Joseph of Arimathea who was one of the wealthy leaders of the Sanhedrin. He came to the cross after the death of Jesus and arranged to bury Him in a new tomb. Another member of the Sanhedrin, the Pharisee Nicodemus, who came to visit Jesus at night, also came to the cross after Jesus died and gave a very large amount of embalming spices to assist in the burial of Jesus. It is more than a bit confusing that Jesus was embalmed before His burial here in John’s Gospel, given the account of Mark and Luke who tell of the women who came on Easter morning with the spices to embalm Jesus’ body. While this is just one of other discrepancies between the Gospels, what encourages me is that the timid Joseph and Nicodemus coming to Jesus at this time suggesting that Jesus — even in His death — was attracting people to Himself, people one would least suspect.
And so dear friends, as we close this chapter, this very sad chapter in the life of Jesus, it calls us to reflect on the death of Jesus as a tragic event that attracted many more to Him. I wear a small cross necklace around my neck because of what it means that Jesus died for me in order to save me. I don’t deserve saving; I haven’t earned any saving; and yet I am drawn to love the man who died on the Cross to save me. And all the while I still sin.
Oh how I need to sit and pray with the Scriptures opened up on my lap.
I pray you consider doing the same today.
Oh dear Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner. Save me from my reckless life of sin and my corrupt thinking. Please have mercy on my sinful soul, and this I pray in Your holy name, amen.
From the Bible:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” John 6:44.
“But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid” John 6:20.
“For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will” John 5:21.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” John 1:1.
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one” John 17:20-22.
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