57 When
it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also
was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He
went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be
given to him. 59 And Joseph took the
body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and
laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a
great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.
Matthew
27:57-60
It was a dark day. In fact, it was the darkest day of all the
days the world has ever seen or will ever see.
The death of the Son of God happened on the 14th day of the
month of Nisan or the month of Aviv. It
was Wednesday, a day before the annual Sabbath day, which was the Passover
day. Many people misunderstood the
annual Sabbath day that time with the weekly Sabbath day that always took place
on Saturday. And so many assigned the
death of Jesus Christ to Friday. But it
was Wednesday and it was the gloomiest day ever. This truth is extremely important because it
affects the precise calculation of the number of days Jesus died. If Jesus had died on Friday, and was resurrected
on Sunday morning, then Jesus could not have been dead for three days. He would only be dead for one and a half
day. But since He died on Wednesday
before sunset, then he remained dead for full three evenings and three days,
before finally rose up from the dead on Sunday morning before daybreak. Thus the prophecy was fulfilled that Jesus
was to be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights (Matthew
12:40; cf. John 2:19-22). And secondly,
the significance of the death of Christ on Wednesday right before the annual
Sabbath at that time (the Passover) is that Jesus IS the Passover Lamb. As John the Baptist declared in John 1:29: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away
the sin of the world!”
In that darkest day, when all his
friends, closest disciples (except for John), and families deserted him, a man
from Arimathea by the name of Joseph came out of nowhere, risking his life and
honor, in order to respect his secret teacher and master (John 19:38). This was the only occasion Joseph of Arimathea
was mentioned by the gospel writers. All
four gospels record this event. It must
be important for all of us to pay attention to.
No, the gospel of Matthew is the only gospel that recognizes Joseph as
“a rich man.” Why did Matthew think
highly of this piece of information?
Many theologians immediately referred to Isaiah 53:9 that prophesied:
9 And they
made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although
he had done no violence,
and
there was no deceit in his mouth.
The
fulfillment of the prophecy is extremely important to confirm that Jesus is the
Messiah. So Matthew took this matter
very seriously and direct his Jewish audience to this undeniable fact. Not only that Joseph was rich, but he also
was a member of the Jerusalem council as mentioned in Luke 23:50-54 and Mark
15:42-46. The fact that he could come to
the governor was proof that he must be a very important man and known to the
political rulers of the day. John 19:39
records that Joseph did not come alone, but he was accompanied by Nicodemus,
another member of the council – Sanhedrin.
But it was not that simple for Joseph to request for Jesus’ body in
order to be buried. James Montgomery
Boice pointed out in his commentary that Joseph risked a lot by doing so:
The Romans
did not normally allow crucified persons to be buried, least of all traitors.
The fact that Joseph approached Pilate is a testimony to his courage.
It is an interesting fact that this is
the first and only time we hear of Joseph. He has not been mentioned before in
the Gospels, nor does his name appear again after this event. Yet at the very
moment when Christ’s other disciples (save John) had forsaken him, he alone
came forward boldly to identify with Jesus. He did it at great personal cost
too, for if Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, as Mark and Luke say he was,
his care for Jesus’ body must have ended his career with that court. The
Sanhedrin would have had no use for him once he had shown an interest in their
enemy.[2]
Let me unpack that a bit and show you
that Joseph’s risk was twofold. First, Pilate
could be mad at him and have him punished for boldly asking for a criminal to
be buried – an act of respect. Crucifixion
was the worst death sentence reserved only for the worst criminals. Treating a dead crucified criminal with
respect would ridicule the Roman court decision in sentencing the “criminal” to
death. Second, Joseph also risked his
prestigious status in the council by doing such thing. The second he publicly honored the enemy of
the council, he declared that he opposed the council’s decision. Thus, his political and religious positions
were at stake. So, why did he do it? –
Knowing all the risks!
There is a lot to learn from Joseph
in this significant event. But what
struck me the most was the fact that Jesus would risk everything as he was
rejected, mocked, persecuted, and betrayed by His own people, and then bullied
by the ruler of the land before He was handed over to be crucified without any
shred of evidence of His crime. There on
that cross He died a most painful and humiliating death, rejected by man and
God, hung between heaven and earth. He
did not have to do that. He could have
opted to pass the cup. He had every
right as the Son of God to stay in heaven.
He could have just chosen to not to enter into the sinful world. And even when He was on earth, he could just
overthrow the world upside down, destroy it altogether, and be done with
it. But yet He let Himself to be
sacrificed. The pure Lamb of God was
slaughtered without mercy. He died on
that cross when all the world did not realize the significance of His
sacrifice. He was nailed to the cross
when the whole wide world did not appreciate His act of redemption. Why did He do that? – Knowing all the
risks!! Moreover, knowing all the
rejection, the suffering, the humiliation, the unjust judgment, and so
on!! Why?
Have you ever thought of this
seriously? Not just accepting the
information of Jesus’ sacrifice like it is the same with any other information
you read in the news. I mean very
seriously thinking of Jesus’ sacrifice in light of the fact that He did not
have to do it. He could have just walked
away from it and still be righteous. And
try to ponder it in a more personal way.
Why did Jesus do all that for me? – And if we seriously evaluate
ourselves we will find a sinful person, who does not deserve any kindness from
God, how much more Him sacrificing His most precious Life for a walking dead
who deserves to be sent to hell for all eternity.
We are all somehow afraid of the
tomb. When we go to a cemetery, even
though we have confidence in Christ, we still feel the terror of death. Our imagination could go wild as we look at
the grave of the dead people. A cemetery
is always a dreary and gloomy place. We
do not go to the cemetery to celebrate or to have a party. We go there to mourn. We go there to remember in sadness and in silence. Jesus went down to the tomb and be buried in
it for a full period of three evenings and three days. The Author of Life experienced death. This is unfathomable. I can’t understand it. Boice quoted Herman Ridderbos:
“Jesus
endured not only pain and suffering and the curse of death but even the terror
of the grave, so that he could save his people from this forever.”[3]
The
tomb is a powerful symbol of death. Yet
Jesus took it. And it’s all for the sake
of us. For me it is like this, when I go
down to my grave, Jesus is there to take me with Him. Jesus won’t let me rot in the tomb for all
eternity. The grave has no power anymore
over me for it has been overcome by the power of Jesus my Savior. Brothers and sisters, this is salvation for
you and me. Jesus is not merely looking
at us being buried in the tomb. But He was
buried in the tomb for real. And when we
come to Jesus’ resurrection, it’s the sure sign of Jesus’ victory over death
and thus the grave. Do you truly
believe?
I don’t know how Joseph took Jesus’
sacrificial death, but what he did to Jesus was written for all of us to learn
from. What Joseph did was proof of his
affection to Jesus. Taking all the risks
upon himself, he chose to honor “the enemy of the state.” I believe Joseph loved Jesus. Perhaps with the love of friends, the Philea,
like Peter’s love to Jesus. But love
nevertheless. And this love prompted him
to do the daring action. The twofold
risks were not enough for Joseph. One
more thing he did, he provided his own personal tomb to be used for Jesus. Leon Morris observed:
This was
an action of some generosity, for a rock tomb was expensive, and it was not
permitted to bury a criminal in a family grave (Sanh. 6:5; cf. Daube, pp. 310–11); the tomb could probably not be
used afterward for anyone else.[4]
A
personal sacrifice indeed and an act of kindness. When it was supposed to be the family who
took care of the burial, they were nowhere to be found, providing an opportunity
for Joseph to step in. What Joseph did
was beyond his comfort zone for sure. He
certainly had set an example for us to follow.
Doing things for Jesus’ sake is worth the risks no matter how great they
are.
If we observe carefully we will find
that there were two sacrifices being done back to back here. The greatest and ultimate sacrifice was done
by Jesus. And this kind of sacrifice can
and must be done only by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. No one else could drink that cup. But there was another sacrifice, a smaller
one, done by Joseph of Arimathea. And
this kind of sacrifice is not exclusive to Joseph. But instead, this kind of smaller sacrifice
can be done by any of us. We do not need
to do a big sacrifice. It’s good if we
could and would. Often the smaller
sacrifice does not require us to shed our blood. It is many times just a little
inconvenience. But like what we have
learned, for Jesus’ sake any risk is worth taking. For Jesus’ sake, a small sacrifice is worth
it, because even the greatest sacrifice we can make is worth it. Will we be the Joseph of Arimethea from this
day and age?
Let me tell you about David
Livingstone and his perspective on sacrifice.
Livingstone was a Scottish missionary who ministered in Africa for
thirty-three years. After receiving his
status as medical doctor from a prestigious medical school in London,
Livingstone did not choose to stay in London, but he set sail for Africa to do
missionary work. Livingstone eventually
died in Africa, suffering from malaria and dysentery. And since he loved Africa so much he
instructed that when he died his heart ought to be buried in Africa and to
return his body to England. In his own
words on sacrifice:
“People talk of the sacrifice I have made in
spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is
simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can
never repay? .... It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather
it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger now and then with a
foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us
pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink, but let this only
be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall
hereafter be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought
not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which HE made who left his
Father’s throne on high to give himself for us.”[5]
Livingstone
said it beautifully. And I hope this
will encourage us to serve our Lord with more joy and thanksgiving. Amen.
[1]
וְאֶת־עָשִׁ֖יר בְּמֹתָ֑יו
[4]
Leon Morris, The Gospel according
to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press,
1992), 727.
[5] Chambliss, J. E. The
Life and Labors of David Livingstone.
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