(Mark 15:42-47 ESV)
And now it is time to lay him to rest, the Sabbath is coming so there's a bit of a time crunch.
Someone had to step forward to take care of business, and Joseph of Arimathea gathered up his courage and approached Pilate for permission to bury Jesus.
Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus had already did, confirmed the truth of the statement, and therefore released the body.
Joseph, taking the body, wrapped in a linen shroud he had purchased for the task. He then laid Jesus in the tomb, cut out of rock. He sealed the tomb with a large rock rolled in front of the entrance.
Mary Magdaline and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
So just who was Joseph of Arimathea?
- wealthy enough to own a tomb
- seeker after the kingdom of God
- a respected member of the council
- a Jewish man
- A man of courage
Knowing that tempers will still running high.
Knowing that he was risking being identified as a Jesus follower and all that meant.
Feeling that need to hurry because the Sabbath was approaching.
And yet, that is what he did. He laid that aside to care for the body of our Saviour. He didn't yet have that boldness of the Holy Spirit within him. He was simply a man of faith doing what needed to be done.
So the query to me is this: am I, as a woman of faith, doing what needs to be done? Regardless of risk involved, am I doing what needs to be done?