A Man Named Joseph

And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the Kingdom of God; this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

And he took it down and wrapped it in linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.

It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. They returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Luke 23:50-56

Jesus was gone. All that was left was the shell of His body. And, God sent a man named Joseph to care for the body and to bury it in a tomb.

Everyone saw it, everyone knew it: Jesus was dead. His disciples and followers mourned.

But that was not the end of the story.

 

The Punishment

When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.

But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves….

It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two.

And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”  Having said this, He breathed His last. 

Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God saying “Certainly, this man was innocent.”

And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts.

And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.

Luke 23:33-34, 44-49

Today is Good Friday.  Not because good things happened, but because on this day, Jesus, The Son Of God, was crucified - one man - for all our sins.  The ultimate sacrifice by God for our redemption.  

Now, we contemplate all God has done for us, and wait for Jesus' resurrection. 

The Same Arguement Over And Over

Now the serpent was craftier than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?”

The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees in the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it or you will die.’”

The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die.”

Genesis 3:1-4

It’s the same argument over and over, “Oh, come on, what is it going to hurt?”

Those who want to destroy our lives, think we don’t know what they are doing. But we do, and so we can give them the answer they don’t want to hear “No thank you.”

And, if we get too much heat for doing what is right, we can walk away. Walking away from evil makes a powerful statement.

It is better to be right with God than wrong with mankind.

 

Get Moving

 

He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

Ecclesiastes 11:4

There is never a time when everything is perfect. There will always be things which can get in the way of us doing what God is calling us to do. If we always defer to difficulties or shortcomings, we will never do anything.

We can trust God that if He is calling us to do something, that He will take care of the things which are standing in our way.

The time is right and the time is now to answer God’s call.  Get moving.