Hi a little help here please!

[elizabeth098]

Hi, recently my pastor was preaching how much it cost Joseph or Arimathea and Nicodemus to follow Lord Jesus.

In Mark 26:33-35
Peter said to him, "If they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away!"
34 Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, on this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times."
35 Peter said to him, "Even if I must die with you, I will never deny you." And all the disciples said the same thing.

And Peter did eventually denied him

And in Mark 26:56 " "But this has happened so that the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled." Then all the disciples left him and fled."

They all fled and went hiding.

However Nicodemus and Joseph, when Jesus was still alive, they were secretly calling Him Lord. When things were at a low and Jesus was captured and they wanted to nail him to the cross,

John 7:50-51

Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before and who was one of the rulers, said,
51 "Our law doesn't condemn a man unless it first hears from him and learns what he is doing, does it?"
Nicodemus stood up for Jesus our Lord!

38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he went and took the body away.
39 Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus at night, accompanied Joseph, carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about seventy-five pounds.
40 Then they took Jesus' body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, in strips of linen cloth according to Jewish burial customs.
41 Now at the place where Jesus was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried.
42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus' body there.

After Jesus died, Nicodemus and Joseph proclaim themselves disciples of Jesus,
Joseph being a wealthy, high ranked in the council and Nicodemus, a member of the ruling Jewish council. They had prices to pay for following Jesus, so did the 12 apostles.

But did the apostles sacrifice more? Or Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea?

 

[Bobinator]

Based purely on scripture, the Apostles all suffered horrible deaths, except John, whom many believe was taken body and soul into heaven. There's no record of Joseph or Nicodemas being persecuted and martyred if that were the case. Being an Apostle, I would imagine they would have had to go through the worse of the worse, not only as leaders, but as a testimony to their faith and endurance.

 

[silvia12345]

Well the bible is changeing. No wander that most people don't get it anymore. But yeah, thats what others said

 

[repelsteeltjie]

You are right, they were secret followers of our Lord because the couldn't pay the price- look at this scripture:

John 12:42 Some of the chief rulers believed in Jesus, but they did not tell anyone that they believed in him. They were afraid the Pharisees would put them out of the meeting place
John 12:43 For the praise of men was dearer to them than the approval of God.

 

[parsley]

Strong's and Thayer's defines Joseph's position -- bouleutḗs -- as an advising member of the Jewish Sanhedrin --a councillor (governing council), senator.

So he had authority, and would have been nervous about his peers, who had recently made the ruling on Jesus.

42 When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

I am curious about your question of sacrifice. Do you believe that God weighs our merit on how much we sacrifice for Him?

It is good to honor people who have given up a lot, so their sacrifice can motivate us to higher living. But God is our heavenly Father, who says the last shall be first. He runs and hugs the prodigal son after the devoted son worked so hard.

It is good that we aspire to give up our comforts and pleasures for higher ideals. But when this was taken to extremes, we stories like Medieval self-flagellation, or people starving themselves with fasts. We all have competitive spirits.

I am not saying you are leaning that way -- just explaining how it's good to keep a healthy balance. (In the context of a forum on teaching.)

 

[elizabeth098]

Hi, I don't fully believe that God weighs our merit on how much we sacrifice for Him. But sometimes when I do things, I actually feel that way. And yet again, God hugs the prodigal son and not the devoted one like you said. So sometimes it's hard for me to balance but I'm trying my best to slowly learn.

 

[StudenTeacher]

Your question is not uncommon among the people of the world. Search the Word and you will see that He has already answered your question. He gave a parable, in which there was a landowner who went out at different times of the day to find workers. When It came time to pay the workers, the worker who had worked all day was upset that his pay was the same as the worker who worked for very little time. Why do we care about who put in the most work for our Lord? It is not our concern how much any other person has suffered for our Lord. Our only concern should be that we are working as hard as we can for Him.