OFFERING - JOHN 19:38-42
38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
39 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.
40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand. KJV
In the Apostle John's account of the burial of Jesus Christ we find out some information that was not revealed in the others. For starters we learn in verse 38 that Joseph was not a bold man of faith by the indication that he was a “secret disciple”. Although many would only see the negative in this description we at IHLCC have found a very positive point to make. The point is that there is no new thing under the sun. I know that is a great revelation but here's what we mean. Joseph was just like many of us today, we lack the confidence to boldly confess Jesus before our peers and family and yet the Lord still calls us a disciple. Now we know that many believers have fears of rejection by certain people which causes them to secretly worship Jesus. Although this devotion to God is private it is still accepted by God when their heart is sincere. Jesus taught that if you reject Me before men I will reject you before My Father in Heaven (Matthew 10:33) but that is not what typically happens with a “secret disciple”. The private disciple does not reject (deny) Jesus before men they only yield to quietness when His Name comes up. Some who are zealous for the full preaching of the Gospel of Christ often find this unacceptable but the truth is God still accepts them. Remember, friend we are saved by grace through faith it is the gift of God, not of works. We are not encouraging believers to be silent about God but we are stating that if you are quiet about your salvation God still accepts you and we do to. Notice that Joseph was quiet around the Jewish Leaders but he was out spoken enough to ask the Governor of Land, a Roman Leader, for the Body of Jesus. We read in verse 38 that Joseph came therefore, and then took the Body of Jesus. This is exactly what each disciple of Lord must do because one must be willing to come to the cross and then once you see the one who paid for your sins you must decide to take Him unto yourself. In verse 39 we see another fact that is not shared in the other accounts. Joseph had another person to help him with Jesus. Notice that secret Christians travel together when they are of the same profession. This allows for them to have good fellowship because they can relate to each other professionally and they can relate to each other spiritually. This camaraderie helps them to look out for each other on the job and it gives them good fellowship after work also. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes to prepare the Body of Jesus in the manner of their customs of that day. The mixture is noted to be about an hundred pounds in weight which translates to roughly around 10 gallons (1 gallon of water = 8.4 lbs., 1 gallon of honey = 10.85 lbs.). This means they had sufficient mixture to cover the whole Body of Jesus with complete absorption of the mixture into the linen clothes. These two brethren did a very noble deed by their actions proving they were true disciples. They were stating that we will honor Jesus even when our Jewish religious family did not. This tells us that they were not in agreement with the High Priest and other Jewish leaders. In verse 41 we notice a great paradigm because the place of death (crucifixion) is generally not associated with God's Handy Work of natural beauty. Remember that death speaks of isolation and destitution but the place of Jesus death was in a garden. This speaks of the insensitivity of men, people came from near and far to watch an actual killing of a person and because men does not like to ponder the reality of death they make the picture more pretty by the scenery. We know according to Genesis 2:15 that God started man in a garden but as soon as man chose the pathway of death God expelled man from His garden. The garden always represents the glory of God upon the earth but the crucifixion only represents the judgement of God for sin. This is a perfect picture of the balance of between God and man. Yes, Jesus represented the payment for sin upon that cross but the atmosphere still reflected that God was still surrounding Him with grace. Although, some looked upon the cross and missed the supreme sacrifice of Jesus it would be hard to walk into that complete garden and not think of the grace of God in the earth. As Christians we all know Jesus Christ is the only person on this earth that we can find the grace of God in both the payment of sin upon that cross and the beauty of God inside of that garden. One representing our new life because He was our substitute and the other representing God reoccurring new life in the natural during the right season. The statement of verse 41, “wherein was never man yet laid” simply speaks about the pureness of God because this sepulchre was specifically ordained for Jesus Christ and Him alone. No one else could do what He did and no one else could be put in His place, thus it still remains the sepulchre of Jesus Christ alone. We are not sure when this sepulchre was bought but we can rest assured it was ordained by God for the time of Jesus death. If this tomb could not have been secured the Roman guards and Jewish leaders would of dismissed the fact that Jesus rose from the grave. However, with multiple witness (which they insisted be there) they played right into God's Plan because God establishes His Work in the mouth of two or three witness. Christians all throughout the ages and all over the world count this “offering” by Joseph and Nicodemus as sacred and precious in the History of Jesus of Nazareth. Their offering of time, care and physical assets proved to be essential to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. In verse 42 we learn that the crucifixion was close to the sepulchre because the Father God had this perfectly planned. People who came to see the death of a man could walk just a little distance to find out death has no hold on Jesus. Jesus is alive, yes, He is risen and He lives forever more. The “offering” of Joseph had significant value and the “offering” of Nicodemus had eternal worth because the Lord will always be remembered for the events that took place during His death, burial and resurrection. Dear Believer, when you give your “offerings” always know that just like the Body of Jesus received the offering and the resurrected Lord Himself raised it up unto our Heavenly Father. Likewise, when you give an offering unto Body of Christ the Lord Himself still lifts this offering up to present it holy and acceptable to our Heavenly Father God. Amen!
In His Love, Eric & Angela Foster