Faithful Farewell, Faithful Follower

By Deb Marsalisi

“As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.”—Matthew 27:57–61 (NIV)

There’s so much to unpack in these few verses. Maybe you’re like me and have read this area of Scripture many times and never really gave Joseph of Arimathea too much thought. He seems like a generous man who gave Jesus a grave, but who was he, and how did he go from a secret follower of Jesus to a man who gave up prestige, prominence, power, and wealth to give Jesus the honorable burial He deserved? God provides His Son with a new tomb and uses Joseph of Arimathea to fulfill a 700-year-old prophecy from Isaiah 53:9.

The Bible reveals quite a bit about Joseph of Arimathea from the four Gospels:

He was a respected council member of the Sanhedrin, the group of religious leaders that demanded the Lord’s crucifixion. He was opposed to the Council’s decision. John 19:38 tells us Joseph, like Nicodemus, was afraid of the Jews and followed Jesus secretly. He was “a good and just man” (Luke 23:50–51 NKJV). He was wealthy—unused garden tombs in the ancient world were a pretty penny. The value of the burial embalming mix according to present-day market values would've been between $150,000–200,000!

Mark 15:43 (NIV) describes the same interaction from today’s passage and tells us Joseph went boldly to ask Pilate for Jesus’ body. Approaching Pilate who was known for impulsiveness and violence was courageous. When contemplating his actions after Jesus' crucifixion, I tried to put myself in his shoes. I can only imagine being an outlier in a religious group is extremely difficult. Joseph's whole life was dedicated to learning, following, and honoring God’s Word. Realistically, openly declaring Jesus to be the Messiah would have been a metaphorical and, possibly, a physical death sentence—the death of influence, power, wealth, and position. What he may have feared most was the accusation of blasphemer, which would have meant death by stoning.

Seeing the highest form of deception, hypocrisy, and injustice at the hands of the Sanhedrin with Christ's death, he no longer cared what they thought of him. He was willing to publicly show his devotion to the Savior and lose it all. This is a great example of denying self and taking up one’s cross to follow after Christ (Luke 9:23).

In today’s passage we read, “Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock.” I so appreciate the beauty of God’s prophetic foreshadowing. There’s a unique parallel between Christ’s birth and death. At birth, He’s wrapped in swaddling clothing in a stone manger, which resembles a coffin. At death, He’s wrapped in linen burial cloths that resemble infant swaddling and laid in a new stone coffin.

I love commentator David Guzik's statement about Christ’s burial that ties this parallel up with a pretty bow: “He came into the world from a virgin’s womb; He came forth again from a virgin tomb. Nobody had ever been set in that tomb so that when a body came forth and the tomb was empty, there was no possible confusion as to which body came forth.”

God provided Jesus with a faithful farewell, and He’s calling us to be His faithful followers.

Pause: Jesus calls us to forsake all and follow Him. Joseph eventually did just that, but it took him a while to get to the point of ultimate surrender. But consider what his life would have looked like had he followed Jesus during His earthly ministry. Is there anything you’re holding on to that prevents your full surrender to the King of kings?

Practice: Sit down and journal with Jesus this week. Have Him walk you through the areas where you struggle with surrender.

Pray: Dear Jesus, please help me to be a faithful follower. Help me to surrender to Your will in all areas of my life. I want to be a courageous believer that is a God-pleaser, not a people-pleaser. In the precious name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.