Real Hope: The Passion - Week 3Sample

Jesus Is Placed In The Tomb

Jesus is hanging lifelessly on a cross. We know how the story ends and how much was going on in the spiritual realm ‘behind the scenes,’ but to many, at the time, it seemed it was over. A sense of hopelessness and despair hung thick in the air. Confusion, panic, denial. People running in all directions. Amidst this, we are introduced to an individual ready to courageously play his part in moving God’s divine plan forward. This was Joseph’s moment in history.

Joseph of Arimathea is mentioned briefly in all four Gospels. He was rich, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin, and a good and just man who sacrificed his tomb for Jesus. Perhaps it would be easy to see him as a ‘minor player.’ But in the Gospel of John, he is called a ‘… disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders’. In his world, boldly going to Pilate alone was a big deal. Despite the enormous and embarrassing consequences and the possibility that this would ruin him, this man knew it was his time to rise above his fear and bravely ‘play his part,’ fulfilling his role in the story.

Like Joseph, all of us are sometimes called to play our part diligently and obediently in God’s grand narrative. When you reflect on the life-changing Easter story, surely, it’s the least we can do.

Written by ROBBIE PARKIN