Luke 23:50-56

⁵⁰ Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, ⁵¹ who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵² Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body.⁵³ Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴ It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. ⁵⁵ The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.⁵⁶ Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

Waiting on the resurrection …

Joseph was a leader who didn’t agree with the majority of his colleagues; who acted from his heart and did something merciful, something kind, something lovely. And he obeyed the Law of Moses.

Joseph was waiting for the kingdom of God, and at this time, that meant he was probably waiting for a messiah who would overthrow the Romans and bring back the days of Solomon, days when Israel was well known and God was praised. Jesus probably was not the Messiah, if he died, in Joseph’s point of view, in his upbringing, in his “training” as a religious leader.

But! Maybe he had hope. Or maybe he was just a very “good and honest man.” We cannot know what he was thinking and feeling, but we can imagine. I invite you now to enter into the story and imagine yourself in this position as Joseph. What are you thinking and feeling? Why do you do what Joseph does? The why is very important, here.

How can I be like Joseph today, or in general?  What does this passage say to me? What do I need to tell God about this passage and my response to it?

Prayer

You see our hearts, Lord. Let your kingdom come and your will be done in us, and in IPC today. Amen.