Mark 15:42-47 – The Burial of Jesus
- A pretty simple passage.
- Joseph is a member of the Sanhedrin. The council that dictates and rules over the religious and social life of the Jews under the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire.
- Joseph had not voted for Jesus death because he was a believer in Jesus. One commentary says he was a secret believer.
- Yet, while all the disciples had run off and a relatively short time after Peter had denied Jesus, this backroom disciple goes to Pilate and cheekily asks for Jesus’ body!
- This is unusual for two reasons:
- Crucifixion was only for the worst criminals and their bodies were not to be honored but instead either left to be eaten by wild animals and birds or at best put in an unmarked paupers grave.
- Bodies of generally criminals were only usually handed over to close relatives.
- What Joseph asked was both odd, bold but also would surely have led to questions being asked about his true loyalties.
- I am challenged by the fact that the rather showy, demonstrative right hand man of Jesus hid when things got bad and yet this less obvious follower of Jesus stepped up.
- It reminds me of Jesus parable:
- "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard. 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went."Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered
- Actions speak louder than words
- And our actions speak to us about what we really believe.
No comments:
Post a Comment