Serving and Opposing a Dead Saviour (Matthew 27:57-66)

When we put ourselves into the shoes of the disciples on the evening of the day when Jesus was crucified, what thoughts could have come to our minds? Perhaps we would be tempted to say that all was now pointless, that there was no point in serving Jesus any more. I suppose one way of trying to express this feeling would be to ask ourselves, ‘What would we do if we were the only Christian left?’ That may seem unlikely, but while the big picture does not include such a scenario, many small pictures in our lives may include it. We may be the only Christian in our family, or in our street, or in our class in school, or in our place of work, and despite what we have done and prayed the situation has not changed. In such circumstances, we can be like those disciples who had to react to what had happened to Jesus when he was crucified.

Contrasting responses

One wrong response would be to imitate his disciples, those whom he had taught for three years, and indeed taught them about what would happen to him when he was arrested. They knew better, or should have done, but on this occasion they were very bad examples. At that moment they did not want to be identified publicly with Jesus and had abandoned him.

In contrast to them, Matthew mentions two examples of persons who chose to show their dedication to Jesus. Those examples are Joseph of Arimathea, who asked for the body of Jesus, and the two women who watched what was happening to the body of Jesus. Two questions arise from these examples. First, why does Matthew omit the names of others who accompanied Joseph (Nicodemus) and the women? I suspect it may be because they initiated what took place regarding themselves. Second, would Joseph and the women have known each other? Given that Joseph is described elsewhere as a secret disciple, and that he moved in very different circles to the woman, it is very likely that they did not know one another. And it can often be the case that when people do things for Jesus they meet those who prior to then they did not realise were believers.

The man of the moment
It is often said that God has his man or his woman for the task he has in mind. We can see that this is the case when big advances are made in the kingdom of God. From our own Scottish history we need only consider the examples of John Knox or Thomas Chalmers (there are many more in addition to them). Or from the history of missions, there are the examples of William Carey and Hudson Taylor (there are many more in addition to them). Or from the area of contributing to social concerns, there are the examples of Lord Shaftesbury and George Muller (there are many more in addition to them).

But it is also the case when little things happen in the kingdom of God. The Lord burdens a person to speak to someone and that individual gets converted. No doubt, those of us who are believers have had such encounters, whether it was being the recipient of such an activity or being the person who was sent to speak to another individual. The important detail is to be available for the Master to use.

The task here was to take care of the body of Jesus after he had died. As far as Joseph was concerned, there were several factors that made his involvement quite surprising. An obvious issue was that there could have been problems in getting permission from Pilate to take the body, as Matthew mentions. The problem here would be one of identification with a known rebel because that was how Jesus was regarded. Pilate could have assumed that Joseph was involved in a plot to make Jesus king.

Another issue would be connected to his social standing as a prominent person among the Jews. What would his fellows think of him getting involved in such an activity? They would have regarded Joseph as taking leave of his senses in doing what they regarded as a pointless act.

There is a verse in the Old Testament ritual that could have been a tremendous comfort to Joseph at this time when he touched the dead body of Jesus. Normally, touching a dead body disqualified a person from religious duties for a while. Yet with regard to the Passover, a special permission was allowed, as we can read in Numbers 9:9: ‘Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the Lord.’ Probably, Joseph was aware of that gracious permission. One thing we can say is that the Lord knew that such a verse would have been applicable to the case of Joseph. I suppose we can see in this verse an example of how the Bible gives guidance even in unexpected places. Joseph, if he had wanted, could have kept the Passover a month later, and by that time he would have known that the One he had buried was now alive forevermore.

The man for the task was Joseph. It is very likely that no one would have expected him to take down the body of Jesus. But God was able to lead Joseph’s heart and he found himself doing what no one expected.

It is also said that God leads his people to give sacrificially at special moments. Joseph was a rich man and could easily have purchased a tomb for Jesus. And since he was a rich man, he probably had a suitable tomb for a person of his social class. Yet instead of buying a cheaper tomb for Jesus, he used the very good one he had planned for himself and laid the body of Jesus there. Here is an example of someone giving to Jesus an item or an amount that he had planned to use on himself. In doing this, Joseph was like Mary of Bethany in giving something valuable to the Lord. She gave valuable ointment and he gave a goodly tomb.

Pilate also experienced his decisions being arranged by God. No doubt, Joseph was praying earnestly for divine intervention as he approached the governor to ask for the body. His prayer was answered, and Pilate did what Joseph wanted, and what God willed should be done. It is the case that prayer should accompany all that we do for Jesus.

No doubt at that time Joseph was known for many things. People would have been interested in his views on all kinds of political matters, and many would have come to him to use his influence as a ruler to get things done. Whatever his contribution to such things, they are all forgotten and all he is remembered for is what he did for the body of Jesus. This is a reality we all face.

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,

If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee

The dedicated women

The Lord was also active in the hearts of the two women that Matthew mentions, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. Although they had not grasped that Jesus would soon rise from the dead, they still had a warm heart for him and were very interested in what happened to his body. That focus was a sign that God was upholding them in their time of great sorrow and disappointment.

We are told that they sat opposite the tomb, no doubt watching what Joseph had done for the body of Jesus. How grateful those two women would have been for this wonderful Christian action of Joseph. Their sadness at what at happened to Jesus would have been helped in a small way by what they saw Joseph doing. Have you ever sat with appreciation as you watched the activities of another believer? I doubt if they said to one another, ‘Is that Joseph not very forward in doing that? Surely he could have left it to one of the disciples.’ Such a response would have been very sinful. But they did not have it. Instead they knew that because of the action of Joseph they could do something for the dead body of Jesus because they planned to anoint him once the Sabbath was over. They would not have had that intention if Joseph had not done what he did. Here is an example of building upon the work of one another and helping one another engage in activities for Jesus.

The obvious lesson for us is that God will be at work in our hearts and in the hearts of all we meet today as well as the many millions we will not meet. He will have his own aims as he does so.

The men making the wrong plans
At some stage on that Sabbath the chief priests and the Pharisees realised that they had to take immediate steps to prevent a possible interruption into their plans of discrediting permanently the name of Jesus. They had to prevent his disciples removing his body and telling people that he was alive.

Since the two chief priests were associated with the Sadducees, the fact that they once again joined with the Pharisees, a group that the chief priests despised, showed that groups hostile to one another can combine against Jesus and his cause. The words of the psalmist in Psalm 2, later cited in Acts by Peter, show what God thought of their attempts.

Yet their concern is also a rebuke to the disciples in a sense because unlike the disciples they recalled that Jesus said he would rise again. Sometimes it is surprising to discover how much of the words of Jesus are known by his opponents. They do not grasp the proper meaning of what he said. But the little that they were aware off caused them to engage in certain actions. And if that was the case for them, how much more should it be the case in the lives of those who love the Lord and understand his Word. They should be swift to spring into action and obey his commandments.

Pilate agreed that they could place a group of guards at the tomb. Maybe he humoured the Jews and gave them what he would have regarded as an unnecessary action. Perhaps he wanted to prevent the disciples causing a disturbance because that could have problems for him as the governor. Of course, we know the guard was futile. We also know that instead of the disciples spreading false rumours about the body of Jesus, the Jewish leaders later arranged for the guards to spread a rumour that Jesus had not risen (Matt. 28:13-15). Sometimes those who oppose the gospel find themselves doing the wrong actions that they accused falsely the actions of believers. People with such ideas should beware the God of providence.

Whatever the motive of Pilate, his giving permission showed the limits of his power. Nothing could prevent Jesus rising again from the dead. And in the attitudes of the high priests and other religious leaders, we see the spiritual enmity that often exists in such people to the mission of Jesus.

We can surely see in the actions of Joseph and the women how the Lord was at work, even at that difficult moment, to bring blessing into their lives. And we can be sure that he can use us for his glory if we are willing to be used by him, no matter how dark circumstances seem to us.