The power of the language of the cross

Friday, March 18, 2022

The power of the language of the cross

After that, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but in secret for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate for permission to take Jesus' body. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took the body of Jesus. Nicodemus, who had previously gone to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of about one hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes (about 33 kg). So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in bandages, with the spices, as is the custom of burying among the Jews. John 19:38-40

Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy man and an important member of the sanhedrin, the religious tribunal of the Jews. He is waiting for the kingdom of God. He did not approve of the death sentence pronounced by this court, because he is a disciple of Jesus, but without having ever dared to say so. When Jesus died, he found the courage to go to Pilate to ask him for the body of the Lord. Against all odds, Pilate grants her request. By this act, he exposes himself to be excommunicated from the synagogue and to be persecuted.

Nicodemus, another member of the sanhedrin - the only one who ever intervened on behalf of Jesus (John 7:50) - joins Joseph at Golgotha. Together, they put the body of Jesus in a new tomb that Joseph had had carved out of the rock.

The presence at the tomb of Joseph, a rich man, and of Nicodemus, a pharisee, is astonishing. Indeed the Lord had declared in speaking of the rich : I tell you the truth, a rich person will hardly enter the kingdom of God. I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:23-24). As for the pharisees, Jesus had forcefully denounced their pride, their hypocrisy, their neglect of the essential elements of the Law : I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 5:20).

Among the most difficult to bring into the kingdom of heaven, two are there at the tomb of Jesus : double victory of the Lord who said : When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to me (John 12: 32).

The word of the cross is for those who obtain salvation the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Source (Pleasing the Lord)