War Cry - April, 2015 Page 29

The War Cry | APRIL 2015

ble teachings about hope, grace and
salvation. Together, Nicodemus and
Joseph prepared Jesus' body and
buried Him.

Being devout Jews and men of

financial worth, the two spared no
expense in the burial ritual. Nicode-
mus brought oils, spices and aloes
that he and Joseph used to prepare
Jesus' body for burial. The cost of
these items was likely high. All
four gospels record that the body

of Jesus was wrapped in linen. Mat-
thew adds that it was "clean" (mean-
ing new), and Mark reports that
Joseph had brought "fine linen."

The use of linen for burial cloth

was common practice. However,
fine linen was available only for
the very wealthy.

Mark, Luke and John call the

tomb "hewn out of rock," "new" and
"unused." Matthew 27:60 specifies
that Joseph laid the body "in his

new tomb which he had hewn out
of the rock; and he rolled a large
stone against the door of the tomb,
and departed."

Joseph's work was finished.
Joseph of Arimathea was a be-

liever. Although on the periphery of
discipleship, he allied himself with
another believer willing to risk sta-
tus, relationships and religious
affiliation in order to learn more
about Christ. As a result, Joseph
became a follower and contributed
at a vital time.

Each of us can ask ourselves

what we are willing to risk, how
much we are willing to learn and
with whom we align ourselves in
order to follow the teachings of
Jesus. It was Jesus who said to Jo-
seph's friend and spiritual mentor
Nicodemus, "For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begot-
ten Son, that whosoever believes
in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life" (John 3:16 KJV).

Lt. Colonel Danny Marrow lives in retire-
ment in Dunnellon, Florida

As a secret follower of Jesus,

Joseph associated with those closely

linked to Jesus

Himself, such

as Nicodemus,

whose visit with

Jesus led to

memorable

teachings about

hope, grace

and salvation.