John 19:38-39 - Afterwards
Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus for fear of the
Jewish leaders, boldly asked Pilate for permission to take Jesus’ body down;
and Pilate told him to go ahead. So he came and took it away. Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night, came too,
bringing a hundred pounds of embalming ointment made from myrrh and aloes.
Jesus stumbled soon into His way to
Golgotha at the weight of His cross…..requiring another man…a simple bystander
to bear it the rest of the way. The soldiers continued to taunt and mock Him ….gambling
for His clothes at the foot of the cross.
Jesus maintained complete control throughout the whole ordeal. He picked a caregiver for His sweet mother…then
uttered His last words and He left this world to pay the heavy price for the
sin of the world.
Some people believed in Christ from the
moment they met Him. Many people maintained their worldly connection and
refused to believe in the power of Christ…even though they saw the great
miracles that God allowed Him to do. But there were at several people that were
changed forever in the last moments of Jesus’ life…..from the experience of
watching His physical suffering and the reaction of God to His creation.
There was the criminal that Luke spoke of
in His writings. He was so touched by
the presence of Jesus next to him that he believed …Jesus allowing Him access
to Heaven the very same day. Recorded in
Matthew 27 there was the Roman captain and His soldiers that gazed on the
afternoon’s happenings and believed that He surely God’s son when the
earthquake shook the world during His death. Then there were the two leaders….Joseph
of Arimathea and Nicodemus…who held back for fear when He was alive…but used
Jesus death as a catalyst to be bold and help bury Him properly.
It is a reminder that all of us come to
know Christ in different ways. Some of
us will learn of Him and develop deep relationships from the moment we meet Him. Some go the way of the world and meet Him in
the last moments of their lives. Some hold back in fear of how the world will
react to our decision to follow Christ…but eventually let go of the world and
completely surrender to God’ will for our lives. Each decision is unique….
precious to God and seen equally in His eyes.
What a great truth of God that it doesn’t
matter how or when you come to know Him. What matters is that you believe on
Him and the precious gift of salvation He provided through His death on the
cross and resurrection. Death bed
conversions are real….and so are all the other ways that God gets His children’s
attention so that they will believe on His son.
Father…thank you for the reminder that no
one conversion experience is the same. Forgive me for the times that I have
judged and refused to accept someone’s faith because of how they said it
happened. Help me instead look more at
the heart that was changed…like you looked upon the criminal on the cross next
to you…..so that more people will understand the deep love you had to give all
of us such a precious gift of eternal life. Amen.
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