A disciple of Jesus, but secretly...

John 19:38-40, After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.

It’s amazing to see the boldness of these two disciples of Jesus, both in prominent positions in the religious order that so viciously opposed Jesus and his teaching. And this establishes by two or more witnesses, the fact that Jesus had died on the cross as they prepared His body and entombed it. Had they feared man more than they feared God, they could have simply turned away, thinking that this was a lost cause for discipleship to a dead Jesus. Yet they boldly declared their faith by their actions, even before He had risen from the dead! We are blessed to know that He would not be contained by the burial cloths or even the sealed stone over the rock-hewn tomb, for in three days He would declare His power over death for all who believe in and receive Him!

We thank You for these witnesses preserved for us in scripture, that we may always be ready to make a defense to anyone who asks us about the reason for our hope in Him!

ESV Lectionary