Daily Scripture: John 19:38 After this, Yosef of Ramatayim, who was a talmid of Yeshua, but a secret one out of fear of the Judeans, asked Pilate if he could have Yeshua’s body. Pilate gave his consent, so Yosef came and took the body away. 39 Also Nakdimon, who at first had gone to see Yeshua by night, came with some seventy pounds of spices — a mixture of myrrh and aloes. 40 They took Yeshua’s body and wrapped it up in linen sheets with the spices, in keeping with Judean burial practice. 41 In the vicinity of where he had been executed was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been buried. 42 So, because it was Preparation Day for the Judeans, and because the tomb was close by, that is where they buried Yeshua.
Luke 23:50 There was a man named Yosef, a member of the Sanhedrin. He was a good man, a tzaddik; 51 and he had not been in agreement with either the Sanhedrin’s motivation or their action. He came from the town of Ramatayim, a town of the Judeans; and he looked forward to the Kingdom of God. 52 This man approached Pilate and asked for Yeshua’s body. 53 He took it down, wrapped it in a linen sheet, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, that had never been used.
Reflection Questions:Jesus’ trial was a travesty—the high priest pushed from the very start to condemn and execute Jesus. At least two council members, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, seem to have disagreed, but kept silent. But they “went public” after the crucifixion, asking the right to take Jesus' body and bury it decently. Their belated but real commitment and courage set the stage for the empty tomb on the resurrection morning.
- Joseph’s ownership of a new stone tomb, and Nicodemus’ provision of nearly 75 pounds of costly embalming spices, showed that, like most other council members, these men were quite wealthy. What role do you think their economic and social eminence likely played in their choice to keep their love for Jesus out of sight? What might have moved them to make that allegiance public after he had died on the cross?
- The Romans often dumped crucified bodies in the trash. The Jews, however, saw burying even crucified people as a religious duty, and the Romans tolerated their view. In providing a definite burial site (cf. Matthew 26:62-65, Luke 23:55-56), Nicodemus and Joseph rendered most unlikely the claim (which some still try to make) that the women went to the wrong place on Sunday morning. How did even these long-timid followers help to change history, by providing stronger evidence for the truth of Jesus' resurrection?
Lord Jesus, I thank you that it’s never too late to give you my open allegiance and love. Help me to move beyond any fear or embarrassment I might feel about being one of your disciples. Amen.Insights from Wendy Connelly
Wendy Connelly, wife to Mark and mom to two kids, is Community Outreach Director at the Leawood campus, a seminary student at Saint Paul School of Theology, and co-leads “Live and Let Think” dialogues at Leawood and RezDowntown.
Repentance. It’s a loaded word, conjuring images of doomsday prophets with picket signs and fiery billboards flanking the drive south on I-35. But the word itself, metanoia in the Greek, simply means to “think differently after” and, in Hebrew, to “turn around.” It is a change of consciousness, which manifests itself in a change of conduct. Repentance moves beyond mere spiritual confession; it physically repairs.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had demonstrated a gross lack of integrity at the public trial of Jesus. They saw the forces of evil swirling through the damning crowd.
And they remained silent.
Have you, like Joseph and Nicodemus, let fear of what others think–fear of being excluded from the tribe–trump your integrity? It’s not too late to turn around, and take real action.
Joseph and Nicodemus were all about saving face. But then, they did an about-face. They turned toward the Light, and in a dramatic gesture, buried him in a tomb that utterly changed the course of history.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Repentance. It’s a loaded word, conjuring images of doomsday prophets with picket signs and fiery billboards flanking the drive south on I-35. But the word itself, metanoia in the Greek, simply means to “think differently after” and, in Hebrew, to “turn around.” It is a change of consciousness, which manifests itself in a change of conduct. Repentance moves beyond mere spiritual confession; it physically repairs.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had demonstrated a gross lack of integrity at the public trial of Jesus. They saw the forces of evil swirling through the damning crowd.
And they remained silent.
Have you, like Joseph and Nicodemus, let fear of what others think–fear of being excluded from the tribe–trump your integrity? It’s not too late to turn around, and take real action.
Joseph and Nicodemus were all about saving face. But then, they did an about-face. They turned toward the Light, and in a dramatic gesture, buried him in a tomb that utterly changed the course of history.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
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