FROM TODAY’S READING (4/1/2021)...
EASTER THOT...
Some thoughts about Joseph of Arimathea...
- He had a common name...Luke 23:50 (NLT) Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council...
- He was wealthy...Matthew 27:57 (NLT) As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea...
- He was a follower of Jesus...Matthew 27:57 (NLT) As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus...
- He experienced understandable societal challenges...John 17:38 (NLT) Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body...
- He was respected in community...Luke 23:50 (NLT) Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council...
- He sought the Kingdom of God...Luke 23:51 (NLT) He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.
- He personally and passionately embraced Jesus...John 19:38-42 (NLT) Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. Image: CC (Public Domain: Christ buried by Joseph of Arimathea (Giacinto Brandi) - Nationalmuseum - 19087)
