“Joseph of Arimathea,” Luke 23:50-56

Luke 23:50-56


Pastor Tom Johnson, March 20, 2016

Joseph is from the town of Arimathea. He is a religious leader and a member of the council. He is wealthy. He has a powerful influence in the community. He was there when the council conspired to arrest Jesus. He saw the 30 pieces of silver given to Judas to betray Jesus. He heard the chief priest say that it is necessary for one man to die for the nation. He was witness to the misuse and abuse of power by these leaders. Joseph tried to speak up. He and his colleague Nicodemus said that it was not a good idea to target this Jesus of Nazareth. It was a better idea to let God sort out the confusion through time and patience. A lie cannot live forever, they said. But once the wheels of justice—or wheels of injustice—begin toward the arrest, mock trial, flogging, crucifixion, and death of Jesus, there is nothing Joseph of Arimathea can do. He must come to grips with this tragic miscarriage of justice.

Joseph is good and righteous. He follows the path of non-violent resistance. He obeys God rather than the corrupt power of humankind. He courageously confronts Pontius Pilate under whom Jesus has greatly suffered. Joseph gets Jesus’ Body off the cross. He removes his Body from the spectacle that was meant to shame and humiliate him—to mock and despise Jesus as King. He ends the message to the world that this is what happens to people who confront the power of Rome and the religious authorities.

Even Jesus’ disciples, acquaintances, and own family stand off at a distance. Judas regrets his betrayal and despises himself. Peter is afraid to associate himself with a Jesus. The few who are there are overcome by shock and disbelief. The crowds are there for the spectacle. This is entertainment for them. People are morbidly drawn to the grotesqueness and perversion of the cross. They cried out, “Crucify, crucify him!” And there thirst for blood is quenched. This morning we are at an advantage to all participate in the Gospel reading. We participated in the words of the crowds, the council, Pontius Pilate, Judas, and the soldiers. We all got to experience the truth of the crucifixion—all humanity is guilty. We all crucified our Lord by our fallen human condition. Our sin put Christ on the cross. Even Joseph of Arimathea—as good and righteous as he is—fails to protect and preserve innocent life. He may not be totally aware of it now, but it is all our failure to love God and our neighbor in thought, word, and deed.

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing!” Jesus’ word of forgiveness not only reminds us of the radical mercy and grace of God. It also aptly describes the mayhem—no one knows what they are doing. We do not know we are crucifying the Lord of glory! We do not know that his death is a death-blow to death itself. We do not know that this was God’s plan all along—to overcome sin, death, and evil through the Cross of Calvary. And then there is Joseph of Arimathea—a man of God.

Joseph is not perfect or without sin. But he is the one who leads the way through the Cross and grave. He is described as “waiting expectantly for the Kingdom of God.” Even though he does not fully know what he is doing, he moves forward by faith and not by sight. He participates in the death and burial of Jesus with his own hands and resources. He does so at great personal cost and personal risk. He embraces Christ’s suffering and death as he embraces his body to remove the nails and lower him reverently to the ground. He covers his Body with a pall. He wraps him in clean linen to show that he is untainted by sin and corruption. Joseph puts Jesus’ Body in a tomb that is freshly carved out of solid rock. No other bodies have been buried there. It is probably carved out for Joseph himself. Joseph makes Jesus burial his own. Jesus is buried in the place and in the stead of Joseph. Joseph carries Jesus’ Body to the tomb and lays him there like a seed planted in the earth which will grow into the Tree of Life. He serves Jesus sacred Body as he has always served—in eager expectation of the Kingdom of God. Joseph is a priest who foreshadows the High Priest Jesus. He leads the way to Jesus death and burial.

Like him, we participate in the death and burial of Jesus. “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:4). “If we have been united in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Rom 6:5). Jesus dies and is buried in our place and in our stead. This is what happens when we put our faith and trust in Jesus. Like Joseph takes Jesus into his arms, we take his Body into our hands and mouths. We put his Blood to our lips. We courageously confront the powers of evil and darkness within us and around us in the world. We embrace Christ’s suffering and death. We participate in the work of the Cross of Calvary. We do so, like Joseph, waiting expectantly for the Kingdom of God. We are baptized into his death. We share in the sacrifice of the Body of God’s eternal Son. We do so in eager expectation of the reign of God. This is the authority and power above all spiritual and earthly authority and power.

This is the victory over death and the grave that will break through our sin. The gates of hell itself will not be able to withstand the advance of the Lord of Hosts. Joseph of Arimathea may not know it now, but the Kingdom is about to break through. The tomb he so courageously and generously gave will soon no longer be needed.