Week 11: Finishing Well

This week's Bible reading plan is as follows:

*Sunday: Numbers 15:17-16:40; Mark 15:1-47; Psalm 54:1-7; Proverbs 11:5-6
*Monday: Numbers 16:41-18:32; Mark 16:1-20; Psalm 55:1-23; Proverbs 11:7
*Tuesday: Numbers 19:1-20:29; Luke 1:1-25; Psalm 56:1-13; Proverbs 11:8
*Wednesday: Numbers 21:1-22:20; Luke 1:26-56; Psalm 57:1-11; Proverbs 11:9-11
*Thursday: Numbers 22:21-23:30; Luke 1:57-80; Psalm 58:1-11; Proverbs 11:12-13
*Friday: Numbers 24:1-25:18; Luke 2:1-35; Psalm 59:1-17; Proverbs 11:14
*Saturday: Numbers 26:1-51; Luke 2:36-52; Psalm 60:1-12; Proverbs 11:15

Scripture: Mark 15:43-46
"Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. (Joseph was an honored member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.) Pilate couldn't believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet. The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth. Then he took Jesus' body down from the cross, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance."

Observation:
I have never stopped to ponder the depth and strength of Joseph's faith. Mark's Gospel says that he was an honored member of the high council, the Sanhedrin. To the Jewish people, Joseph was one of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court. When Joseph asked Pontius Pilate for Jesus' body, he was not only putting his reputation and career on the line, he was risking his very life. And for what? Jesus was dead. Any hope of Messianic deliverance perished on the cross – or so it seemed at the time.

Joseph was a good man. He was also a wealthy man who generously extended an extraordinary level of hospitality to a person he believed in and respected from afar. Matthew's Gospel says that Joseph had become a follower of Jesus. Luke's Gospel says that he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. According to John's Gospel, Joseph was a disciple of Jesus. However, he had up to that point kept his belief in Jesus hidden because he feared the Jewish leaders. John's account says he actually removed Jesus' body from the cross. Jesus' lifeless body was still hanging on the cross when Joseph approached Pilate!

On the face of it, Joseph was merely honoring a man on whom an injustice had been inflicted. It was an ever-so-feeble attempt to right a grievous wrong. He was in essence giving a good man a decent burial. It was the least he could do. He purchased expensive burial linens. After finalizing the burial preparations, he rolled the large stone into its place and the grave was sealed. That was that. Or was it? Was that really all Joseph was doing...giving an honorable man an honorable burial?

We cannot know exactly what Joseph was thinking at the time. Yet both Mark and Luke include a telling statement: "...he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come." And Joseph's behavior after Jesus' death suggests that his hope did not die on the cross. When Jesus spoke of his impending death and subsequent resurrection, his closest followers simply could not hear it. Could it be that Jesus' disciple from afar, the one privy to all the scheming of his fellow religious leaders, not only believed what Jesus said about his death, but also believed what Jesus said about his resurrection? Did he pick up on something the other disciples missed? In the end, would Joseph have put his life on the line for anything less than the hope of resurrection and everlasting life?

Application:
How do I apply this insight? Joseph's secret discipleship is not exactly praiseworthy. But Joseph stepped up and did what none of Jesus' other disciples could have done. What would have happened to Jesus' body if Joseph had not intervened? Joseph's secure grave actually protected Jesus' body from the wiles of his enemies.

One takeaway is that God can use our mistakes and missteps to position us to do to what we otherwise could never do. In a real sense Joseph needed to be where he was in order to do what no one else could have done. I also learn from Joseph that how I finish the race is more important than how I start it or whether I stumble along the way. I want to finish my life well, which means, in the present moment, finishing this day well.

Prayer:
O Lord, thank you for redeeming even my failures for your purposes. I want to confess my faith in Jesus Christ freely and openly, whether it brings praise or persecution. It is easy to say that I would die for my faith, but Joseph of Arimathea lives in me. I pray that you would give me the strength to be true to you when it counts the most, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

Have a great week!

Faithfully,
Chuck