After Jesus’ death, Joseph of Arimathea asked for permission to bury Him. This was a huge risk for him to take. Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, the ones who were responsible for putting Jesus to death. He could have been kicked out. He could have lost His place in society. All of his friends, his family, the people he worked with, they all could have turned against him. This was not something he could just cover up either. Handling a dead body meant he could not participate in the Passover festivities. They would notice that he was missing. Joseph even gave his burial tomb to Jesus. He didn’t care what the others thought. He loved Jesus more.
What about you? What are you willing to risk, to sacrifice, to give up for Jesus? How much time do you give to Him each day? What people or things do you put in front of him? Do you sit and watch TV or play video games instead of doing your Bible Study or praying. Do you want to stay home and sleep instead of going to church on Sundays? What can you do this week to really make Jesus your heart’s #1 desire?
The Pharisees knew that Joseph had placed Jesus in his tomb. Realizing that Joseph was a follower of Jesus too, they must have been worried that Jesus’ disciples were up to something. They remembered that Jesus said he would rise again in 3 days, and they wanted to do everything they could to prevent that from happening. So they went to Pilate and requested his help. They told him the disciples would try to trick us all by stealing the body and telling others that Jesus had overcome death. Pilate ordered a guard to keep watch over the tomb, and the Pharisees sealed the stone covering it.
The Pharisees hated Jesus because He challenged their way of thinking. They worked so hard to live a life of righteousness on their own, and they didn’t like it when Jesus told them they were doing things wrong, that they were sinners just like the rest of us. The Pharisees didn’t want to believe in Jesus because it meant changing and that scared them. There are a lot of people today who don’t want to believe in Jesus because they don’t want to change either. They don’t want to give up their selfish desires. They’re scared too.
When Jesus died on the cross and took the punishment for all our sins, we were granted forgiveness before God. And the power of sin in our lives was broken. That is why we call Him our Savior. Jesus died in your place, giving you His righteousness through faith. He gave up His life for us. But now we have the chance to give up our lives for Him. And that means changing. When we make Jesus our Lord and the Holy Spirit enters our lives, we start to let go of our selfish desires, to place God first in our lives, and to put others before ourselves. It may not always seem easy, but the love and joy we receive in return makes it worth it. Do you believe that? Have you received His gift of salvation and sanctification? How will you use it this week when you feel tempted to do something that is wrong, when sin threatens to overpower you? What guilt are you carrying that you need to take to the Cross?
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