OFFERING - LUKE 23:50-24:1
23:50 And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:
51(The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.
52 This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
24:1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. KJV
This section of scripture recorded by the Apostle Luke speaks of the burial of our Precious Lord, Jesus Christ. According to verses 50 & 51 a godly man (good man) who was known as an upright (just) counselor from the city of Arimathaea was waiting for the Kingdom of God. During his watching and waiting for the Messiah the public ministry of Jesus Christ appeared on the scene. A good counselor, that is one who gives the counsel of God, would be knowledgeable about the attributes of the coming Messiah. There is no doubt that Joseph heard the rumors about Jesus and actually had an up close personal view of the ministry of Jesus. As a counselor of God his objective would be to accurately (scripturally) determine if Jesus was really the coming Messiah. The challenge we all have in the earth today as Christians is to determine what is God and what is not. Remember, we have all the historical evidence about Jesus to back up His existence and we have the witness of our parents (living elders) to confirm His validity. However, the Jews who watched the actual public ministry of Jesus had neither. Since the Jews are taught to be skeptical we can understand their reservations to except His claims to deity. The advantage they had that we don't is the very real visible power of God manifested right before their very eyes. People can always be persuaded to believe something, it just depends upon which path they choose to believe. Some people choose the path of understanding by sight to believe, while other choose the path of hearing God's Word to understand and believe. Some people desire the witness of logic (carnal reasoning) to confirm their beliefs while others desire the witness of God’s Spirit to establish their beliefs. The scriptures tell us in Romans 10:17, "that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God”. This means that when knowledge comes to our hearts and minds we have to make the decision to believe if this is God’s truth for us or is it not. This is why so many people miss God in our world today. It is not a problem with hearing it is their decision to ignore the message given to them. Oh yes, we know there are some in the earth who have never heard the message of Jesus and the Lord will give them an opportunity to receive Jesus as Lord. However, there is a very large percentage of people who have heard the message of Jesus and choose not to believe in Him. Thus, they stay trapped in sin until they change their mind to confess Jesus as Lord. It is said that those who look for God with a sincere heart will find Him. Joseph is one of those types of people who sincerely looked for the Kingdom of God so the Lord was obligated to show him The Way (Jesus Christ). The Kingdom of God comes through the door of Jesus, therefore our Heavenly Father gave Joseph the person of Jesus to receive the instructions (single pathway) into the Kingdom of God. It appears that Joseph started out as a just man but he needed to be justified by Jesus to obtain the Kingdom of God in it fullness. We notice in verse 52 the reality of Joseph being a true Disciple of Christ was made known to the readers. A true disciple of Jesus will do whatever is necessary for their Lord Jesus, even if it means looking foolish before men. Who among us has the audacity to go to an unbelieving governor of our land (Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea) to ask for the body of a dead (supposedly) religious leader. Remember at this time Jesus was not risen from the dead so His claims to conquer death was not proven at this time. We also see from that verse that Joseph did not just ask once and everything went smoothly. No he had to beg, begging implies that Pilate did not want to do it. This is a reality for us as Christians the unrighteous are going to fight against our plans but we must remain steadfast (unmovable) and persistent in our stand for righteousness to prevail. Joseph's faith prevailed because his actions were unwavering which caused his desire to be fulfilled. We all know that this was much more than just Joseph's desire but it was very much the will of the Father God. This shows us that even when the situation looks dire please continue to follow your heart because God is never dead. The lesson is, “when we have a God ideal if we will follow through with our obedience the Lord will do His part to confirm His Word with signs following”. The first “offering” by Joseph was his time. In verse 53 we see the second “offering” of Joseph which was his efforts (ability, physical service) to take down a dead man. This action took courage to perform and probably some measure of scorn to withstand. We know according to the Jewish law anyone who touched a dead man was considered unclean so I doubt that he had a lot of volunteer helpers. It is recorded in the Apostle John's Gospel that he did have at least one volunteer to help him.-Refer John 19:39 We also know that Jesus had blood, dirt and wounds on His body which would make anyone use caution on how they handled Him. Joseph took the care to wrap Jesus in linen, which meant that he wrapped his whole body possibly cleaning Him first. I know as Joseph delicately took hold to each part of Jesus body he could sense the Lord Himself touching his own body. Joseph probably felt the Presence of God in his heart and humbleness of God enveloping his soul. It is impossible to touch Jesus with a compassionate heart and not be touched by God with His same Compassion. This realistically took some time I can not image that Joseph rushed to do this. Doctors and nurses never rush to take care of their patients because doing so could be considered disrespectful and dishonorable, not to mention potentially harmful. Yes, even when coming to the scene of someone who is not alive the emergency care workers are still trained to handle their victims carefully and respectfully. While speaking of honor and respect we notice that Jesus was laid in a new sepulchre that was never used. This speaks of everything being done right for the Lord our God, it is never acceptable to treat the holy things of God as the common things of men. This shows us that Joseph's third “offering” was of precious value. Many will give an offering of extra (out of their prosperity) and that we encourage and endorse. However, this was a one time “offering” of immeasurable cost because it was an offering of sacred ground. Normally people are buried near their love ones, so for Joseph to put Jesus in his own grave site (Matthew 27:60) may have been offensive to other family members, especially those who did not believe on Jesus. We will mention that putting Jesus in that sepulchre brought all types of people (common and the poor) to this private place of serenity for the dead. Although, some might think of this as an honor to have a famous person buried in their own personal burying place, what would they think about a person who was considered by some to be an outcast and deceiver. No, my fellow Christians, Joseph gave his whole reputation in this offering because this could not be done in private but rather in public, before all. This is why this “special offering” is a one time offering that will never be repeated. It was placed in this lesson just to show others that they can give an "offering" of time, service and special property but things of sentimental value can only be measured by the heart of the giver. Verses 55 shows us that all of Joseph’s time, labor and assets were not given in vain because others started coming to see the Body of Jesus. We know our labor of love given toward Jesus is never in vain but in this instance Joseph begin seeing an immediate benefit of his efforts. Imagine how many saints of God (Christians) thanked Joseph for his act of kindness concerning the Body of Jesus. Imagine the honor it brought to the whole body of Christ and our Heavenly Father God. We all know that when you respect and honor one of God’s people you are essentially respecting and honoring all of us. The woman beheld the beauty of that sepulchre knowing the greatness of Him who laid within. Then since the Lord could now be touched because He was not hanging on the cross, they left to gather their own “offering” according to verse 56. The woman prepared spices and ointments, which took of their time and assets. Their natural “offering” for the Lord was noticed by Jesus in Matthew 28:1-10 but Jesus was more satisfied with their choice to believe His Words because a spiritual “offering” of your believing heart before God is better than your natural gifts unto God. The Lord Jesus is worthy of our praise and worship, which reminds us that all offerings are a form of our worship unto God. So be encouraged that when you give an “offering” of your time, resources (service) and personal property (assets) for funeral events you can rejoice because we are not giving unto the dead but rather to the living church of our living God. Those loved ones who have passed on from their earthly home to their heavenly home are just as alive in Christ Jesus up in Heaven as you are alive down here on this earth. Just like it is witnessed in Hebrews 7:8 that Jesus receives tithes because He lives remember that He also still receives our “offerings”. The Saints of God must know that when you give a “special offering” of love and care to one of God's children you are giving directly unto Christ Jesus. This is another example of whenever we give our service unto the Lord it is never done in vain. Jesus receives our “offerings” when done with a sincere and respectful heart because our Lord is forever alive and so are His People. Therefore know that the Lord is still receiving all “offerings” from you even when those in the world may mourn because it seems like a final moment, but in Christ Jesus all rise unto eternal life forever. It is the blessed resurrection of Jesus Christ that reminds us that all those in Him shall never die. Since we have this confidence in the power and testimony of our Lord Jesus we can give our “offerings” at any time and in any place in an attitude of rejoicing knowing that no “offering” given unto the family of God is ever too late or too little. Amen!
In His Love, Eric & Angela Foster