Public Service
Opening Prayer
Lord, thank You that I can rest in the finished work of the cross. Thank You for what You have done!
Read Matthew 27:57-66
[57] As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. [58] Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. [59] Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, [60] and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. [61] Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb. [62] The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. [63] “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ [64] So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” [65] “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” [66] So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What do you have to offer Jesus?A wealthy man named Joseph has the courage to go to Pilate and request that Jesus’ body be given to him. Although John’s Gospel describes Joseph as a “secret disciple” (19:38), here he shows his commitment to Jesus by offering his own new tomb. (The wealthy prepared for their own death in advance, and this kind of tomb hewn out of rock would have been expensive.) Joseph also has the reverence for Jesus to take the body and wrap it in linen himself–an extraordinarily intimate act by a man who was not a relative. To protect the body against grave robbers, he rolls an enormous stone in front of the entrance of the tomb. And then he goes away (60). Joseph of Arimathea is a beautiful example of a disciple who uses the means at his disposal to honor Christ without perhaps fully understanding the significance of what he has done. A secret disciple he may be, but when the need arises, he is ready to serve wholeheartedly, publicly, and unashamedly.
Apply
Joseph’s act was done in a dark, unrecognized moment. Be faithful for God’s sake alone. He will be faithful to you.
Closing prayer
Lord, thank You that You recognize and remember every act of love done in Your name.
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