October 2, 2020
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 Jewish leaders.  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.  At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.  Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
New International Version (NIV)
“Late is better than never.”  After Jesus died, two of the secret disciples of Jesus showed up.  Joseph of Arimathea offered a tomb to place Jesus’ body.  Nicodemus who had stayed in the shadows since he first met Jesus brought burial spices fit for a king.  They must have cost him a small fortune.  Great grief leads to lavish love.  Perhaps he felt guilty for not acknowledging his relationship with Jesus sooner.  They were late to declare their allegiance, but not too late.

“They wrapped him like a wound.”  So Andrew Peterson describes the preparation of Jesus’ body.  Then they placed him in the tomb.  And as he had at the beginning of the world, on the seventh day, God rested.  Where were the disciples?  Scattered.  Shattered.  Surely they struggled with the inconceivable loss of their Lord. 

John described secret disciples earlier as those who loved the praise of men more than they loved the praise of God.  One wonders what might have happened if they had publicly declared their allegiance to Jesus while he was alive.  Would that have been the occasion for more of the religious leaders to follow Jesus? 

To this day we care so very much what people think.  What if we went “all in” with our faith?  What if we moved beyond the bounds of polite religion to a powerful relationship with God?  What if we went public with our faith?  True.  Late is better than never, but it is never as good as now.  “Now is the acceptable time.  Today is the day of salvation” (1 Corinthians 6:1-2).  If we are secretly serving Jesus, perhaps we should let somebody else know.  For us, it is now, or it may be never.
Pray with me:         
Father, we thank you for all who serve Jesus today.  Forgive us for sometimes caring more about what people think than we do about what you think.  If there is some good that we may do for someone in your name today, please show us and give us the grace to put feet to our faith.  Help us to seize this moment and to offer this day in its entirety to you.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.
Join us in memorizing the Word.  Scripture for this week:    
Matthew 7:3-4
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
Our 2020 Every Day with Jesus readings will follow the Foundations New Testament reading plan.  Copies of the reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download your copy at REPLICATE.ORG 
We would love for you to join us as we read the New Testament through this year, five chapters a week.  In addition I will continue my long-standing practice of reading one Psalm a day through the year.  Use Robby Gallaty’s H. E. A. R. plan to study each chapter (also found at REPLICATE.ORG). Highlight verses which speak to you, explain what they mean in your own words in a journal, apply them to your own life, then respond by doing what God tells you to do.  
Joyfully, 
Duane 
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