Friday Thought -- August 26, 2011

Good Morning Friends,

“Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.” (Luke 23:50-54)

There is a detail Joseph of Arimathea that Luke does not mention. To find it you have to read this same account in the Gospel of John. “Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews.” (John 19:38)

Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus. That is, he was a secret disciple until Jesus died and then he exposed his secret by going to Pilate and asking for the body of Jesus and then he put Jesus’ body in his own tomb. His secret was out. It was out to Pilate. It was out to the Jewish leaders. They knew whose tomb it was in which Jesus had been laid.

I don’t know when Joseph because a disciple of Jesus, the Bible doesn’t tell us that. But the whole time he was a disciple of Jesus while Jesus lived, he kept it to himself. It took Jesus’ death to bring the news out into the public. That seems incredibly sad to me. Jesus knew that Joseph was a disciple because Jesus saw into men’s hearts. But Joseph never had the chance to tell Jesus and never had the chance to express his love and devotion to Jesus – not until He was gone.

Joseph was afraid he would be rejected or afraid he would be ridiculed. There is always a risk in loving someone else – but it is a risk worth taking.

Gandhi said, “A coward cannot exhibit love, it is the prerogative of the brave.” Joseph was a coward – at least until Jesus was dead. Fortunately, Jesus is still alive and Joseph has now had ample opportunity to show his love for Jesus. It’s too bad he didn’t show his love while Jesus was on earth.

There are ways in which it is frightening to love Jesus. We may be rejected by others because of our love for Him. We may be ridiculed for loving Him. But it’s a risk worth taking. Jesus is worth loving. It’s worth letting Him know it. It’s worth letting others know it, too.

His, by Grace,

Steve