Secret Disciple

Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.

Mark 15:43

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.

John 19:38

As we approach Good Friday and Easter Sunday, two objects take center stage in the Christian consciousness: the cross and the empty tomb. The cross belonged to Rome; the tomb to Joseph of Arimathea. 

Mark's gospel reveals to us that Joseph was a “prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God.” That means that Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin… the very body of religious leaders who had Jesus crucified! But Joseph didn’t agree to their decision. In fact, John’s gospel tells us that Joseph “was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders.”(John 19:38)

So, understand this… Joseph believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but up until this time he had been unwilling to openly associate with Jesus for fear of what it would cost him. He was a man of high rank, wealth and privilege. Joseph knew how much he stood to lose by associating with Jesus. That's why he had kept his faith a secret... until now.

Good Friday, the day Jesus died, was the day that Joseph of Arimathea stopped being a secret disciple. Mark says he “went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.” Joseph wasn’t related to Jesus. He wasn’t asking to bury a family member. He was a member of the very ruling body that had accused Jesus of treason against Rome. And now Joseph approaches Rome and asks if he can give Jesus a proper burial?! This was a highly unusual request that was sure to draw attention.

More than that, Joseph likely had to publicly go up to Jesus’ cross and take His body down. Surely, word would get back to the Sanhedrin that he had done this. And then how could Joseph deny what he had done when Jesus was buried in his own tomb?! He couldn’t. Joseph’s actions “amounted to an open confession of personal loyalty to the crucified Jesus... He was a secret disciple no longer.”*

What about you? Are you a secret disciple of Jesus? You believe but you don’t tell your family or the people you work with or your friends because you are afraid of what it will cost you. If you're keeping your faith a secret, then why not follow Joseph’s example this Easter and openly follow Jesus no matter the cost. Go public with your faith. It’s time for Christians to stop being secret disciples.

* John D. Grassmick, “Mark,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 191.

It's Never Too Late!

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Luke 23:39-43

Jesus hung on the cross, naked, and suffering, for six hours. Six hours of agony compounded by the flogging and all the beatings that came before it. But even then Jesus wasn’t allowed to suffer in peace. People gathered to revel in His misery. The chief priests and teachers of the law came by to admire their handiwork, to gloat in their victory, and dance on His grave. They insulted and mocked Him. The soldiers likewise mocked Him and gambled for His clothes. The crowds of people that passed by spewed hate at Him. Even, one of the other criminals being crucified with Him hurled insults at Jesus. But there was one man there who looked at Jesus and saw Him for what He really was.

One of the robbers who hung beside Jesus looked over at Jesus, broken and bloody on the cross, and saw His Messiah. This man acknowledged his sin. He said, “I deserve what I am getting.” And he believed in Jesus. He said, “this man has done nothing wrong.” And he confessed him as lord, as king. He said, “remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This criminal, in the midst of his own execution, has to be perhaps the least likely convert in all of Scripture. But what does Jesus say to him? “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

This story proves once and for all that NO ONE is beyond hope. Maybe you thought it was too late for you to ask for forgiveness. Maybe you thought you had nothing to offer. Maybe you thought you were too far gone. Scripture records this man’s deathbed conversion as a testimony to the fact that it’s never too late! That no man is ever too bad! That there is no such thing as being too far gone for God’s grace. 

And we find this truth presented not only here but all throughout the pages of Scripture. Rahab was a prostitute whose people had been marked for death by God, but because of her faith she not only became a child of God but an ancestor of Jesus as well. Gomer was a prostitute who became the wife of a prophet. Saul was a murderer, a persecutor of Christians. He became an apostle, church planter, and biblical author. I could go on. I could tell you about how David was an adulterer and a murderer. Or how Abraham was a coward and a liar. I could tell you about the church in Corinth and how it was full of people who had been idol worshippers and criminals and addicts. Yet God changed them all.

You are NOT too far gone for Jesus to save! It is NOT too late! You haven’t done anything so bad that God can’t forgive you! Just like the robber on the cross, right up to the moment of your death you can be saved! You can acknowledge your sin, believe in Jesus, and confess Him as your King. Do that today, and God will forgive you.