FAITH IN THE SATURDAYS OF LIFE
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
John 19:38-42 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
Two very prominent and secret followers of Jesus step up to care for His body and burial. These men were willing to come public with their faith at a crucial time. It appears they had not publicly shown their faith in Jesus until this moment, now in a time of crisis they are willing to step out and act.
The burial of Jesus is an important part of the Easter story. It points to the reality of His death and sets the stage for His coming bodily resurrection. There were those even in the early Church who tried to question the bodily existence of Jesus. They tried to teach Jesus was just a spirit-being without a true physical body. The death and burial proved His physical being.
On this day we are between the crucifixion and the resurrection. This day represents those days of life where we wonder why God is not doing anything. We have experienced catastrophic disappointment. Fear, anxiety, and uncertainty are our only companions in the darkness of defeat. Saturday can last weeks, months, and sometimes years.
Faith is what gets us through the Saturdays of life. Without faith we give up and drop into the defeat. But with faith we step up and act. We become like Joseph and Nicodemus—we do what we can to honor our Lord. We act in faith even though others have run away in fear. Those disciples that had lived publicly with Jesus for three years are nowhere to be found. But two men of faith step up.
The act of love and respect for the body of Jesus was dangerous, costly, and without any personal gain. Joseph and Nicodemus didn’t act to receive some public applause or recognition. They sacrificed their money, time, and reputation to side with a dead Jesus. And yet, here we are two thousand years later reading the story of their bravery.
Let’s have more Josephs and Nicodemus. Let’s be them. Let’s have the courage to be sacrificial in our devotion to the Lord Jesus.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit please help me to be willing to have courage even in what seems like an impossible circumstance.
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