John 19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly,
for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and
Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.
While Joseph kept his belief in Christ private out of fear, when the “fullness of time”
came for him, he boldly stepped up and requested the Lord’s body.
We could see this as an example of “whom He foreknew, He also predestined”.
No mention of having to contend for the Lord’s body, as did the angel Michael
with Satan for the body of Moses. When called upon, he served the Lord.
Luke 23:
50 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member,
a good and just man.
51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from
Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting
for the kingdom of God.
52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
In Luke we find further that Joseph himself was a council member who abstained
from condemning Christ. Arimathea corresponds to Ramah in Hebrew and was the
birthplace of Samuel and referred to here as “a city of the Jews”.
This suggests that residing to the north in the land of Ephraim, he may have been
considered an “outsider” by the Jews of Judea and Jerusalem proper. When John
states that he was a disciple secretly, “because of fear of the Jews”, it was literally
a type of peer pressure. Even by not consenting to the council's decision and deed
concerning Christ, he would have called attention to his loyalties.
Mark 15:
42 Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day,
that is, the day before the Sabbath,
43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself
waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went into
Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
44 Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion,
he asked him if He had been dead for some time.
We find in Mark an acknowledgment that Joseph was taking a considerable risk
to appear before Pilate, he states that he “took courage”.
Also, the early death of Christ came as a surprise to Pilate, and he first learns
of his death at Joseph’s report.
Matthew 27:
57 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea,
named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.
58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded
the body to be given to him.
59 When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled
a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.
Finally in Matthew, we learn two important and startling facts.
First, we see that Joseph was a rich man. While he had become a disciple secretly
for fear of the Jews,could he have been the rich young ruler who approached Jesus
to inquire of the means to inherit eternal life?
Matthew 19:
21 Jesus said to him, If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give
to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he
had great possessions.
Secondly, we find that Joseph had used that great wealth to procure a burial tomb
for himself in a garden near Jerusalem. How luxurious! Little did he know at the time
he was purchasing the tomb for his Savior. Isn’t that amazing! Christ buried in the
place of His secret disciple.
As we meditate on these truths, I call to mind times in the past when I felt hopelessly
locked away. Giving in to fretting, and asking, why aren’t you using me Lord? If you
consider this with an honest and pure heart, you will quickly acknowledge that it is our
carnal nature that craves attention and acknowledgment. Today there are many that
cannot seem to get enough of the limelight and media attention(often to their hurt),
and wide public respect.
Could this be why the saints of the Lord are called His hidden ones?
Psalm 83:3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and
consulted against thy hidden ones.