38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away His body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
Throughout the Gospel of John, he repeats the call to believe in Jesus as the only means of salvation. A key verse we looked at last week was 19:35 - “that you also may believe,” and in 20:31 he writes, “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
Today we are looking at two examples of saving faith which we find at the foot of the cross - the accounts of Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the ruling council of Jews, the Sanhedrin, and Nicodemus, a Pharisee we first met in John 3.
These two men, who had previously kept their faith in Jesus a private matter, now bear a living testimony as to how the power of the cross can turn sinners to salvation in Jesus Christ.
In our world which is becoming increasingly hostile to the Gospel, can we really afford to fly under the radar, as it were, when it comes to being bold about our faith? As we will see, the stories of Joseph and Nicodemus challenge us.
There are many Christians who say their faith is a very personal thing, and they are absolutely correct.
Faith in Jesus Christ is a personal matter, but when we read the Bible, we find that our faith is not to be a private matter, as Jesus taught in Matthew 5:14-16.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
There are many people who believe in Jesus as their Saviour and Lord, who genuinely consider themselves to be faithful disciples of Jesus, but you’d never know it, unless you asked them. Some people are naturally shy, while others are extroverts, but there are many reasons that so many keep their faith private, as well as personal.
In Jesus’ day, and in the early years of the church after Pentecost, the main reason to keep faith in Jesus a private matter would be fear of persecution. Life revolved around worship and the synagogue, so openly confessing faith in Jesus Christ almost certainly resulted in becoming a social outcast.
In John 9, Jesus healed the man born blind, but instead of being filled with joy, his parents were fearful. “The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ His parents answered, ‘We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.’ (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.)” (John 9:18-22)
We see something similar in the days leading up to Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion in John 12:42-43. “Many even of the authorities believed in Him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”
John tells us in verse 38 that Joseph kept his faith secret “for fear of the Jews.” Joseph knew that his fellow rulers would turn on him if he made it public knowledge that he believed in Jesus. He knew that some who professed faith in Jesus were being expelled from the synagogue, becoming virtual outcasts from Jewish society. And he knew about the plot to kill Jesus, a plot that also threatened the lives of His closest followers, so there was no doubt that if Joseph openly professed his faith in Jesus, the repercussions could have been severe.
In one way or another, every believer in Christ must face the fear of reprisals from the world. In some parts of the world, Christians face the fear of arrest, imprisonment and even death for their faith in Christ.
The great irony in the so-called “western world” is that many are boldly and proudly proclaiming every sick kind of sexual perversion and are being hailed as brave heroes who need to be affirmed and celebrated for their perverse lifestyles, but so many professing Christians, for fear of what people will say and do, are keeping their faith not only personal, but private too.
We need to be aware of the cost of true Christian discipleship.
In chapter 3 we meet Nicodemus for the first time. We’re told in the opening verses that he was a Pharisee, but he went to Jesus “by night.” Nicodemus wanted to know more about this mysterious man who had performed miracles, even acknowledging that Jesus came from God. It’s been said many times that the fact Nicodemus approached Jesus during the hours of darkness was not only that he feared persecution from his peers, but it was also a picture of the state of his heart. Nicodemus had yet to confess faith in Christ, and was confused by Jesus’ teaching that he needed to be born again. But at least he went to Jesus. At least he made a start on his journey to saving faith in Christ.
The next time we encounter Nicodemus is in chapter 7, where Jesus stood up in the temple during the Feast of Booths, publicly proclaiming who He was, and we pick up the text from verse 40. “When they heard these words, some of the people said, ‘This really is the Prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Christ.’ But some said, ‘Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?’ So there was a division among the people over Him. Some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him. The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, ‘Why did you not bring Him?’ The officers answered, ‘No one ever spoke like this man!’ The Pharisees answered them, ‘Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.’ Nicodemus, who had gone to Him before, and who was one of them, said to them, ‘Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?’ They replied, ‘Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.’” (John 7:40-52)
Nicodemus still wasn’t quite there yet, but now he was bold enough to advise his fellow Pharisees to show a little restraint. He knew the Pharisees wanted Jesus dead, but he had the courage here to speak out and remind them that law required that anyone accused of a sin was at least entitled to explain himself first.
By asking Nicodemus in verse 52, “Are you from Galilee too,” the Pharisees were essentially asking if he was also one of Jesus’ disciples. We are not told what Nicodemus’ answer was, but the question is left kind of hanging, and unanswered, because at this point no one really knows just what Nicodemus believes about Jesus. To his credit, he does take something of a risk. There is progress, albeit very small.
Going back briefly to chapter 3, Jesus said to Nicodemus in verses 19-20, “This is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”
This is who Nicodemus was before coming into the true light, who is Jesus Christ. Nicodemus is each of us before coming to faith in Christ. Like us, Nicodemus loved the darkness, and wickedness. He didn’t want Jesus, the Light of the World, to expose his own wickedness.
What John is doing is reminding us of the inadequate type of faith Nicodemus had at first. Both Nicodemus and Joseph had a faith with the same flaws all sinners have in the early stages of our walk with God. We love our sin, and we fear persecution.
But now, suddenly, we see a dramatic change in these two men. As always, context is important. We mustn’t forget the circumstances surrounding Joseph’s bold approach to Pilate that afternoon. The day was full of tension, and Pilate had probably had enough by now, having to deal with the baying of the crowd, and the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who were determined to have Jesus put to death, even though He was innocent.
Pilate was probably fed up with the whole affair by now, and would’ve been glad it was all over, only for Joseph of Arimathea to come knocking on his door, asking permission to remove Jesus’ body for burial.
Just think about it - Jesus had just been executed, so if there was ever a time to hide your commitment to Jesus, it would be now.
He was dead, and the movement He had begun had seemingly come to an abrupt and tragic end. Surely, this was the moment to just walk away and forget the whole thing, but Joseph and Nicodemus didn’t do that. They were probably risking their lives by approaching Pilate that afternoon, but they did it anyway.
Leon Morris wrote, “It is not without its interest that, whereas the disciples who had openly followed Jesus ran away at the end, the effect of the death of Jesus on these two secret disciples was exactly the opposite. Now, when they had nothing at all to gain by affirming their connection with Jesus, they came right out into the open.”
There is an important detail in verse 39. We’re told that Nicodemus brought 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes so that the body of Jesus could be properly embalmed in accordance with Jewish custom. That’s nearly 35kg - way more than was usually used. In fact, this amount of spices for a Jewish burial was only used for a king, but by now, Joseph and Nicodemus knew that Jesus was the true King of kings, and so they gave Jesus a burial fit for a king.
You’ll remember from last week that it was common practice for the Romans to leave the bodies of their crucified victims on the cross long after death, as a powerful deterrent to everybody who might be contemplating challenging Roman authority, so there is an important question we need to ask.
How did Joseph and Nicodemus know to prepare for Jesus’ burial? Common criminals were at best, buried in large tombs with other criminals, and in the worst cases, if crucified, their bodies would be left to decay on the cross. Jesus was executed as a common criminal, so why should His burial have been any different? Why was He even buried at all?
When Nicodemus first approached Jesus back in chapter 3, we know that he was impressed with His miracles and His teachings, but he just could not grasp the concept of being born again. He asked Jesus in verse 4, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus then went on to teach Nicodemus all about the second birth. In chapter 5, Jesus said to the Pharisees, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40). Nicodemus was a Pharisee, so it is safe to assume that he was there when Jesus said this, so it is clear that Nicodemus did indeed search the Scriptures.
We looked at the way Nicodemus defended Jesus in chapter 7 earlier. The Pharisees said to him in verse 52, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” Well, Nicodemus did search and see.
As a Pharisee, he would have known the ancient Scriptures almost by heart, but now the Spirit of God moved on him, and Nicodemus was convinced that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed Israel’s Messiah, the Son of God.
As Nicodemus and Joseph searched the Old Testament, they would find the messianic prophecies and found that many of them had been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. They would see Him as the Lamb of God who would be sacrificed at Passover. Jesus had already told Nicodemus that He would be lifted up in John 3:14, talking specifically about how He would die. For centuries the Passover lambs were slaughtered at about 3pm on the Day of Preparation, the day before the Passover, so now, knowing that Jesus was the true Lamb of God, Nicodemus and Joseph knew not only how Jesus would die, but when. The Gospel accounts all record that Jesus died at about the ninth hour, which was 3pm.
They would also have been familiar with Isaiah’s prophecy in 53:9, “They made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death.” This is how Matthew introduces us to Joseph: “When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.” (Matthew 27:57)
Only rich people could afford private tombs in those days, and Joseph had prepared Jesus’ tomb for this very purpose, as John writes in 19:41. “In the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.”
This is a detail about the burial of Jesus which is easy to miss. Nicodemus and Joseph, under the sovereign guidance of God, had prepared everything in advance for this day, and it would have taken a long time for them to make the necessary preparations. With mechanical diggers, we can dig a grave in a matter of minutes today, but tombs in Jesus’ day were carved into the sides of hills or mountains with primitive tools, so we can only speculate how long it took Joseph to have Jesus’ tomb ready.
Also, the sheer volume of the burial spices Nicodemus bought weren’t readily available. There was a lot of it, and it cost a small fortune, so he would have ordered and purchased everything long before Good Friday.
And when Jesus died, when He cried, “It is finished,” they were ready, and they went to work. They boldly identified with Jesus at a time when He seemed like a failure and His cause was hopelessly defeated, and there was also a tremendous personal cost to them, apart from the money they had spent.
They were Jews, and by touching a dead body, they defiled themselves. Now they were ritually unclean, meaning they would not be able to participate in the Passover celebrations, but Nicodemus and Joseph knew that for them, Christ had replaced the Passover, because He was the true Passover Lamb.
So what can we learn from the stories of Nicodemus and Joseph?
Maybe we have been a lot like them in ways we’re afraid to admit. We can say we believe in Jesus and that we are committed to Him, but is there evidence in our lives which shows that? Do our non-believing friends and family know beyond any doubt that we are Christians? It’s very easy to stand up in church on a Sunday morning and say boldly, “Jesus Christ is Lord,” but what about out there, where people need to hear it most?
Do our friends, our family and our work colleagues know that we are disciples of Jesus Christ, or do we stay under the radar for fear of upsetting people or being ridiculed and persecuted for our faith?
These are important questions, because Jesus has commanded us to share the Gospel. In the Great Commission at the end of Matthew’s Gospel He says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
We can’t be secret disciples like Nicodemus and Joseph once were. Sooner or later, just as they did, we are going to have to publicly profess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that confession may cost us.
The good news is that the boldness we need to take a stand for the truth is not something that we need to work at. Instead, it is something God does for us as He draws us to Himself.
John 12:20-26 says, “Among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honour him.’”
And in verse 32 Jesus says, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
When Jesus hung on the cross, that did something to Nicodemus and Joseph. They, by the grace of God, were drawn to Him, and now they came all the way into the Light. No sooner had Jesus died on the cross than Joseph forgot his earlier fears and went to Pilate, the most powerful and fearsome man in the land, asking for Jesus’ body. No sooner had Jesus died on the cross than Nicodemus was there to bring a tribute fit for a king that everyone could see.
The fear was gone.
We never hear from either of them again. We don’t know if they were immediately persecuted for their faith, or if they faithfully served the church for many more years. What we do know is that they, like countless other faithful disciples of Jesus Christ down the ages, were bold enough to stand for the truth and to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord.
There is something about Jesus’ death on the cross, that draws people to Him. The cross is the central message of the church, so when you find yourself in a situation where you are given the opportunity to share your faith, always, always, point people to the cross, and what God did for them there.
Charles Spurgeon said, “Is it not a remarkable thing that all the life of Christ did not draw out an open avowal from Joseph? Our Lord’s miracles, His marvellous discourses, His poverty, and self-renunciation, His glorious life of holiness and benevolence, all may have helped to build Joseph in his secret faith, but it did not suffice to develop in him a bold avowal of faith. The shameful death on the cross had greater power over Joseph than all the beauty of Christ’s life.”
This is why it is so important in our witnessing to emphasise the death of Christ to atone for our sins.
It is the Holy Spirit who will convict the lost of their sin and of their need for a Saviour. Our job is to simply tell them about the cross. When you talk about Jesus, make sure you talk about the cross. Jesus died on the cross for their sins, as a sacrificial lamb, in their place. That is the most important thing the lost need to hear.
James Montgomery Boice writes, “Notice that in His burial Jesus is already taking the first step toward that exaltation at God’s hand that is now His, from which He shall come forth in power at the end of the age. There was a day when men cursed and laughed and hated and spit upon Him. There was a day of humiliation, but that day is now past. It ended with His death. Now even in His burial He is attended with love as those who have the means to care for His body and bury Him honourably wait upon Him. It was prophesied. Isaiah tells us that although He was to die in the company of the wicked He was to be attended by the rich in His death. Besides, this is now followed by resurrection victory and the ascent to heaven.
The Christ you are asked to follow is not a humiliated Jewish preacher but the Lord of glory. Indeed, He does not merely ask you to come to Him; He commands it. He tells you to turn from your sin and come to Him openly for salvation. Will you do that? Will you come? ‘The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.’” (Revelation 22:17)
Homegroup Study Notes
Read John 19:38-42
When we first meet Nicodemus (see John 3:1-2) and Joseph of Arimathea, we are told that even though they had faith in Jesus, they kept their faith to themselves.
Why did they do this, and how is our own story similar? What is a “secret disciple?”
Read Matthew 5:14-16
Discuss the differences between a personal faith in Christ, and a private faith in Him.
Why do you think there was such a dramatic and public change in both Nicodemus and Joseph?
Read Isaiah 53:9
It was highly unusual for crucified victims to be buried, so what is the significance of the fact that Jesus received such an extravagant burial, remembering that He was laid in a new tomb, and the volume of burial spices used were far in excess of the usual quantities used?