Who Would’ve Thought?!
By Pastor Steve Peich
John 19.38-42 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.
When I think of Good Friday, I often find myself not only reflecting on the brutality Jesus experienced, but also on the other characters involved in that last week of His life. One of them was a prominent Pharisee named Nicodemus.
When Jesus first met Nicodemus, it was during a private conversation at night – presumably so no one would see this Jewish leader getting too friendly with this troublesome Rabbi. No doubt, in being a Pharisee, Nicodemus was a smart guy. However, as smart as Nicodemus may have been as a “teacher of Israel” (John 3.10), he is utterly baffled by Jesus’ directive to him that he must be born anew.
What is interesting is that as much as Nicodemus fumbles his way through his dialogue with Jesus, the Lord is patient with him and does not write him off. Moreover, though bewildered and befuddled early on, Nicodemus must have kept seeking more.
You see, although he was confused by the words of Christ early on, Nicodemus apparently kept listening, kept trying to understand, and even started to believe. For as we see in John 19, Nicodemus was bold enough to jeopardize his reputation and standing as a member of the highest Jewish ruling council in the land – the Sanhedrin – in order to care for Jesus’ battered and bloodied body. Such an act of love and commitment in the face of a dead body – not a risen one - should not be overlooked.
Now on top of this, the Scriptures say that Nicodemus brought about 75 pounds of expensive, aromatic ointments to anoint the dead body of Jesus. Scholars agree that such an amount was not only worth a truck load of money, but it expressed the depth of his devotion because he was literally giving Jesus a royal burial. Though once perplexed and cautious, he is now one of only a few people who bravely and openly express the highest form of honor to Christ.
I can relate to being a secret seeker of Jesus who took a while to get it. Several years ago I discovered a journal I kept for a summer as a 16-year-old kid. In it I talk about my foolish escapades of degenerate, delinquent behavior. However, and this is the weird thing, I also wrote about the reflections I had from what I was reading in the gospel of John. Yes that’s right, I was stealing stereos, getting drunk, smoking weed - and reading the gospel of John! Furthermore, I had hidden my Bible reading from my family, my friends – everyone.
Through college the ignominious behavior continued, as did my secret reading of Scripture. My behavior and my spiritual longings were so contradictory that it just boggles my mind today.
Part of my point in sharing these details is this: if you saw me at that stage of my life, what would you think of my future with Christ? Would you have thought: “This guy is going to be a pastor someday,” or would you have gotten fed up and given up on my spiritual journey?
You know, it was in the context of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus that Jesus uttered some of His most famous words: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3.16).
“The world” in the gospel of John is not simply a reference to our little green and blue planet; it was a metaphor for all that resisted and was antagonistic toward the Kingdom of God. Yet it was this very world – and all the dope-smoking, confused, thickheaded guys from Jersey that make it up – that Jesus loved and for whom He gave His life. May you know and experience this Easter His persevering love for you and the life changing power of His grace.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for a love that perseveres and sees more in me than my sin and foolishness; a love that would go to the cross for even the worst of us. Give me the power and ability to see others in the way You see them and use me to help them in their journey with You. To You be all the glory. Amen.
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