APRIL 11th
John 19:31-42
Secret Disciples
Scripture records that after Jesus had died, a man called Joseph of Arimathea asked permission to take the body of Jesus and bury it. Permission was granted and a burial took place quickly as the next day was the Jewish Sabbath. There is nothing recorded in John’s gospel about the Jewish Sabbath, which was the Saturday. The next event in Johns record is on the first day of the week, our Sunday, which became resurrection day!
I want to share something else today before we get to the resurrection in tomorrow’s devotion.
I missed out an important statement that Scripture says about Joseph of Arimathea, did you notice it in v38 – he was a disciple of Jesus, but SECRETLY for fear of the Jews. We read earlier in John’s gospel of another man who possibly may have been a secret disciple, because of who he was as a ruler of the Jews and who didn’t want to be seen decided to come to see Jesus at night, Nicodemus in John 3:1-2.
I wonder how many SECRET disciples there are today. In some nations of the world, such as North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and others we could mention, it is very difficult to be open about your faith as a Christian, it is high risk to be bold in declaring your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, for it can lead to imprisonment, torture and even death. And yet so many have great courage and spiritual strength to do it. In these circumstances we can understand there wanting to be secret and to ‘go underground’ as we say.
But what about in the nations which we would call free nations, where being a Christian doesn’t carry the same risk? How many secret disciples are there? It is possible that we could be described as secret disciples without realising it. Yes, we go to Church regularly, our close family know we are Christians especially if they are Christians as well, but when it comes to the work place or the college, or university and school we cower away from letting our colleagues and fellow students / companions from knowing that we are Christians having a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It can be for a variety of reasons, but most commonly because we want to be accepted, we want to fit in, we don’t want to be mocked or laughed at and more so today we don’t want to be thought of as out of touch. Joseph of Arimathea must have fallen into one of these category’s, for he was a secret disciple as it says ‘for fear of the Jews’.
But when it mattered, he must have overcome his fear, for he was willing to go to Pilate and ask for the body of Jesus for burial. I am assuming in my thoughts today, that like others he would have witnessed the horrific crucifixion. Why didn’t he let one of the other disciples who had been more public in their following of Jesus arrange the burial? I like to think that something happened in his heart when he looked at Calvary, when he saw Jesus hanging on the cross, bloodied and dying, I like to think (yes I am a thinker!) that something was triggered in the depth of his soul that caused him to marvel and wonder at the love that Jesus must have had to be willing to suffer and die in such an awful, brutal, cruel way to save sinners. We don’t know how much he understood but he knew enough. He may have heard the conversation between Jesus and the dying thief, ‘today you will be with me in paradise’, he may have heard Jesus cry out ‘Father forgive them for they know not what they do’, he may even have heard Jesus cry out ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He may have heard Jesus as he breathed his last breath cry out ‘It is finished.’
After visiting the cross, If he was secret before, he was not secret afterward, he was bold enough and brave enough to go to Pilate, he took the body, he buried it in a fresh, unused tomb, he cared for the One who had died. And did you notice who was with him? John 19:39 ‘NICODEMUS also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night . . .’
Secret believer? I can only answer for myself, but the challenge I bring to us all today is that over this Easter weekend we take a fresh look at Calvary, visit the cross once again, contemplate the wonder of the love of God, meditate upon what Jesus was willing to do as he suffered on our behalf, taking our sins, our sorrows making them as if they were his own. He took the punishment we deserved; he bore the wrath of God on our behalf, he was beaten, he was mocked, he was disgraced, he was tortured, he took our shame so that we can have forgiveness and eternal life. And as we ponder afresh, may God grant us boldness not to be afraid, not to be secret in those places where we may be but willing to be counted as one of his disciples.
Can we take an Old Testament promise and make it ours today? Joshua 1:9 ‘Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.’
Another Scripture I quoted in an earlier devotion; ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.’ (Romans 1:16)
‘Give me a sight, O, Saviour, of thy wondrous love to me; Of the love that brought thee down to earth, to die on Calvary. Oh, make me understand it, help me to take it in; what it meant for thee, the Holy One, to bear away my sin.’ (Katherine A. M. Kelly)
I hear the Saviour say, Thy strength indeed is small
Child of weakness watch and pray
Find in me thine all in all
Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow
Lord now indeed I find Thy power and Thine alone
Can change the leper’s spots and melt the heart of stone
And when before the throne I stand in Him complete
Jesus died my soul to save, my lips shall still repeat
Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow
He washed it white as snow, He washed it white as snow
Bridge 1
O praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead
Bridge 2
O praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead
Alex Nifong, Elvina Hall, John Grape 2006 worship together.com songs CCLI 778682