Making Time for God

71. Hope

It's me again God,

As a child, I was always very moved by the story of Jesus' death. After observing Good Friday, it always felt strange when on Easter Saturday, life went back to normal with everyone being busy enjoying the long weekend by perhaps going away to the country or attending our famous Royal Easter Show or weekend sport. It almost seemed inappropriate, given the fact that Jesus had died!

However, here we are, for the first time ever in living memory and no one can go away! The Easter Show was cancelled weeks ago. There's no football, very limited shops are open now and people can't visit friends or family for the usual Easter get togethers. In my neighbourhood there are so many people going for walks —practically the only thing they are allowed to do!

Right across the world, I'm sure it is very similar, although in some countries, there is great sadness as so many people have lost loved ones to Covid-19 and thousands more are still very ill!
It's a very surreal experience to be living through, especially with the normal rhythm of daily routines being altered by restrictions aimed at saving lives. Staying home has given me more time to meditate on how You had planned to save lives too! I need to take a closer look at the rest of the events as they unfolded.

After Jesus died on the cross, it was important that his body be taken down and buried straight away, in accordance with Jewish laws at the time of Passover. It must have been a very surreal time for all who knew Jesus, as shock and grief would have been mixed with fear.

There is no sign that His closest friends appeared to help at this stage. Your Word doesn't say what they were doing but we can only imagine they would have been broken hearted and filled with regret at the way they deserted their friend. Their sudden loss and subsequent flood of emotions for the One they had spent so much time with, would have been very difficult to navigate as they hid away.

Perhaps they feared the authorities would catch up with them! Perhaps they had heard a few details from those who had been present at the crucifixion. Maybe they wondered where their Lord was now. If they had heard the conversation Jesus had with one of the thieves crucified alongside of Him, maybe they would have been reassured that He was in Paradise:

"Jesus answered him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.""
‭‭Luke‬ ‭23:43‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I guess it's not surprising to find that the one who stepped up to take on the important role of burying Your Son, was someone who had not been previously mentioned in the gospels.

"It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid."
‭‭Mark‬ ‭15:42-47‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Reading the four gospel accounts, it's clear that Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus, as he feared the Jewish leaders. It appears he had been on the council but had not spoken up boldly when Jesus was arrested. Perhaps, like the other disciples, he was feeling some regret too and had found a way to help himself through it. Now that Jesus was dead, we see he boldly went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. He laid Jesus in a new tomb that he had cut from stone.

John's gospel account also mentions Nicodemus as being the one who assisted Joseph in this task. He was also a member of the council and Jesus had spoken with him before. It clearly would have been a task for more than one man!

"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."
‭‭John‬ ‭19:39-40 NIV‬‬

I wonder as Nicodemus prepared Jesus' lifeless body for burial, did he recall their earlier conversation about being born again? As He looked back at the body of His Lord in the grave, before turning to go home, did he hear these words:

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.""
‭‭John‬ ‭3:14-15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Perhaps there was some hope in the hearts of all the disciples who surely remembered Jesus' words:

"And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.""
‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It was a time for waiting.  Just as we wait filled with hope, after a seemingly lifeless seed is buried in the ground, there finally comes a day when suddenly it springs to life! It then grows and produces many more seeds. This was something else that Jesus had touched on with His disciples:

"Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."
‭‭John‬ ‭12:23-24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As I wait to celebrate Jesus' resurrection tomorrow, I am so blessed to have this time to think through all the little details. It's good to be able to take my eyes off what is going on around me in the world, to see Your great rescue plan and how it came into effect. Thank You Jesus for being obedient all the way to the Cross! You reversed the effects of Adam's sin in the garden:

"For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous."
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Father, I can't wait until tomorrow to praise You for the fact that I have been made righteous through Jesus's death and resurrection! No I will praise You today for Your wonderful love and grace that was so evident in the gift of Your Son to us all.  You stepped in at just the right time in history and brought hope to mankind. Father, please fill us with hope today, that even in the midst of the world's most dire circumstances, You will hear our prayers for help and deliverance. Encourage our hearts afresh this Easter, as we look to You.

"Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us."
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:5‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

In Jesus' Name,
Amen.