A belated post of last Sunday's sermon. I have never preached on Joseph of Arimathea. Very interesting how the the four gospels have slightly different spins on who he was and how he did what he did.
“Waiting and Preparing” August 16, 2020, SAPC, Denton; Mark 15:42-47; Richard B. Culp
Mark 15: 42-47 When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. 45 When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Then Joseph[l] bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body,[m] wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body[n] was laid.
Introduction: We continue in our preaching series, “people Like Us.”
this week we meet Joseph of Arimathea, a minor, but important character in the biblical story. His story is found in all four gospels.
The lack of stories about him in the Bible is more than made up by the legends and stories told about him in other places and other times, including being linked to the search for the Holy Grail.
But we will stick to the biblical story this morning.
Three things we notice about Joseph of Arimathea.
Move 1: First of all, Joseph of Arimathea was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God..
a. Not sure if that is a description of who he was before the crucifixion or after Christ had died.
1. If describing who Joseph was before the crucifixion, we understand it to tell us that Joseph was a believer and follower of Christ.
2. In fact, the Gospel of Matthew confirms this in its description of Joseph as a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 27:57).
3. he would have been an unusual follower of Christ because he was also a respected member of council - one of those who had a place of authority.
4. as we hear the story of Jesus, we get the feeling that most of the authorities did not like Jesus, did not see him as the Messiah, did not like his threat to their power.
5. But Joseph of Arimathea is on the list of those who had followed Christ and found their hope in him, despite his being in a position of authority.
b. But, we might also wonder if this waiting expectantly also describes how Joseph was acting after the crucifixion, and of course given that the gospel was written after the resurrection fo Christ, if it describes how Joseph acted after the resurrection.
1. If so, we see in Joseph someone who after watching Christ die on the cross, still held out hope that God would act.
2. If so, we see in Joseph someone who after seeing Christ resurrected believed the power to resurrect and do a new thing to be the way in which God would continue to be at work in the world.
c. what does waiting expectantly look like?
1. Old Testament scholar Elizabeth Achtemeier writes,“…faith, according to the Bible, consists in waiting for God to act -- waiting with the expectation that he will act; acting with the assurance that he will keep his word; trusting that the future will indeed bring that which he has promised.”
2. Joseph lives out his faith by waiting expectantly.
d. We do a lot of waiting these days - waiting for quarantine if we have been exposed to someone with coronavirus; waiting for a vaccine; waiting for the pandemic to end; waiting for good news.
1. there is a weariness to our waiting.
2. Joseph invites us to reshape our waiting into waiting expectantly for God to act.
Move 3: Which leads to the second thing we notice about Joseph - waiting expectantly leads to Joseph preparing.
a. Literally, preparing a tomb for the body of Jesus.
1. Joseph has something to offer - a tomb.
2. Depending on which Gospel story you read, it is Joseph’s own tomb or he had the means to buy a tomb.
3. Joseph giving his tomb to bury this man whom he has been following.
4. I find that a powerful, intimate act of giving and caring.
5. Years ago when I was just out of college, I was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Corsicana, TX. Before they signed me up to teach Sr. High Sunday school, I attended what I suppose was the Pastor’s Class.
Not sure what we studied, but as I recall there were not many of us in the class. I’m not sure my attendance record was that good either. the minister did have had a wonderful Scottish accent, so it was fun to listen to him.
One week the minister told us the story about getting a call from the local funeral home. A man had died with no family, no resources, nothing to his name. The funeral home was going to take the body and bury it at a grave donated by the city. No funeral plans, unless the minister wanted to come and do something.
The minister told us about going to the cemetery to say a few words of hope and resurrection and give a prayer as no one but the those digging the grave and the undertaker stood by.
But, the minister made a powerful statement on his belief that everyone deserved a burial. A commitment lived out by the ministers here at St. Andrew in years past and in our present time.
6. When I had this story about Joseph taking Jesus’ body to a tomb he had donated and then wrapping him in linen and placing the body in the tomb, and finally rolling the stone over the opening, I am touched by his commitment to take care of Christ’s body.
b. Joseph was also preparing for God to act.
1. not sure he knew he was doing that, but he was.
2. His act of burying Christ in the tomb and rolling the stone over its entrance sets the stage for what will take place in a just a few das.
3. God will act. The stone will be removed. the tomb will be empty. Sin and death will be overcome by resurrection.
4 Joseph has prepared for this moment.
c. Our calling is to prepare the world for God to act.
1. sometimes we may have no idea how God is going to act, but God meets our preparation by doing a new and sometimes amazing thing.
2. I remember a story George Stephanopoulos spent Christmas, 1984 in a refugee camp in the Sudan. In the middle of the camp, Ethiopian villagers constructed a small church made of sticks and cardboard. Priest swept out the floor for Xmas services where Christians later gathered. In the midst of a hopeless situation, an act of faith and hope.
3. Joseph reminds us of our calling to be those disciples who move forward in the world preparing as best we an for God to act.
Move 3: Finally, we notice the Joseph went boldly
a. The Gospel of John says Joseph went secretly to ask for Jesus’ body, but I like Mark’s depiction - Joseph body going to Pontius Pilate and asking for Christ’s body.
1. Boldy acting on his faith in the face of Jesus’ death.
2. Joseph body revealing that he is a follower of Christ who cares what happens to his body.
2. Boldly acting among those who thought the crucifixion of Christ had put an end to his ministry and his impact on the world.
b. It occurs to me that we could use some boldness in our lives today.
1. Boldly proclaiming that we are waiting expectantly for God to act.
2. boldly proclaiming that even in the midst of pandemic, God is at work in our midst.
3. Boldly looking to how God is calling us to act in this moment.
c. Do not mistake acting boldly with dismissing or ignoring the reality in which we live.
1. Joseph did not ignore the fact that Jesus was dead - he just acting boldly in the face of his death.
2. wE are not asked to act like life is not tough right now or that we are desperately searching for answers, but we are still called to act boldly as followers of Christ.
Conclusion: We do not know what Joseph does after the resurrection; we just know what he did in the moment.
We cannot know how the future will play out for us; but we know our calling in the moment to boldly and expectantly wait and prepare.
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