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February, 1940
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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that one may be rich and at the same time be a humble, devoted, and bold witness for the Lord. Joseph’s devotedness is revealed in that he gave his own sepulcher for the burial of the body of the crucified One. He could have provided another place, but he chose to give the very best he had. Probably he did not realize that in a few days the body which was so tenderly laid away would rise from among the dead, nor did he know that this despised One would soon be adored and worshiped by all the believing uni verse. But he did know that he had put his faith in Christ, and he was ready to proclaim that fact publicly (cf. Paul, 2 Tim. 1:12). II. T he T ragedy o f U nbelief (62-66) There are few passages in Scripture that are more tragic than these few verses. The men mentioned here were determined, against all evidence to the contrary, to prove the Lord to be a charlatan. He had declared that He would rise, and they now sought to prove Him a falsifier. Thus does the seed of unbelief grow and bear its •bitter fruit. In spite of the mighty miracles which these men must have beheld, they re garded the Author of them as “that deceiver.” Consequently, they would call upon the power of the Roman gov ernment to keep Christ’s body in the tomb. And why did they do this? It was because of their fear of the con sequences of the murder which they had committed. It is unbelief that breeds fear, and thei;e is no fear so dreadful as that which knows the truth and re jects it. ' Did they remember the words He had uttered when He,stood in the temple and spoke of the sign for which men asked—the sign of His resurrection from among the dead (cf. John 2:19)N? Unmistakably, the resurrection of Christ’s literal body was in question. There would be no real point in setting the watch and sealing the tomb if these men actually disbelieved entirely in a literal coming forth from the dead. Terrible Is the blindness and sin of these men in seeking to seal the tomb against the fulfillment of Christ’s own word; but more terrible is the tragedy of religious leaders today who persist in unbelief of the plain utterances of Scripture, and lead others to do the same. mi T he T riumph of L ife (28:1-6) The triumph came upon the first day of the week, when Jesus rose from among the dead. Thereafter, the first day of the week became the day for rest and worship, rather than the seventh day. It was the beginning of a new era, with new obligations and privileges. An angel of the Lord descended and rolled away the stone and sat upon it, and the guard of soldiers became as
dead men. The stone was rolled away in order that the disciples might enter the tomb, not in order that the Lord of glory and life might come out of it. He was already risen, and free of the tomb without the necessity of passing through an open doorway. His resurrec tion body was unhindered by any ma terial obstacles, and could pass through solids as easily as mortal bodies can pass through air. Then the full assurance of this stu pendous event was given to His dis ciples, and He left the scene to appear before them in Galilee. The disciples were now to have a share in His triumph. Points and Problems 1. “Named Joseph” (Matt. 27957). We have here a most interesting character about whom all the Gospel writers have supplied information. First, he was "a rich man” (Matt. 27:57). Second, he was from “Arimathea” (v. 57), a place which has been identified by some as the Ramah of' 1 Samuel 1:19, birthplace of Samuel the psophet, a few miles northwest of Jerusalem. Third, Joseph is described by Mark as “an honorable counselor” (15:43), that is, a highly re spected member of the Jewish Sanhed rin. Fourth, Luke presents him as “a good man, and a just” who had not con sented to the unlawful action of the Sanhedrin in condemning Christ to death (23:50, 51). Fifth, we are told by both Mark and Luke that he was one of those Jews who “waited for the kingdom of God” (Mk. 15:43; Lk. 23:91). Sixth, we learn from Matthew that he was “Jesus’ disciple” (27:57), and John adds the information that his discipleship was “secretly for fear of the Jews” (19:38). Seventh, the seem ing catastrophe of Jesus’ death seems to have increased Joseph’s courage, for Mark declares that he “went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus” (15:43), Eighth, it was Joseph who gave his own “new sepulchre” an#I “garden” to be the resting place of Him who in life had no place to lay His blessed head (Matt. 27:60; John 19:41). Finally, Joseph is joined by Nicodemus in tenderly laying away the body of the Lord with those respectful rites which were usual among the Jews (John 19:39-42). The fact that among the secret disciples of our Lord there were numbered two such influential members of the Sanhedrin demonstrates the powerful impact He had made upon the Jewish nation. 2. “When Joseph had taken the body” (v. 59). A , careful reading, of the four Gospel accounts reveals what seems to be a certain measure of haste in the burial. In John’s record we read, “There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand” (19:42). Our Lord died at mid-afternoon, and the prepara tion day would end at sunset. Since the first day of the Paschal Feast began at
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CENTENARY Testament In Modem English Translated by
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