38 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. 39 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.e] 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 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. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
John 19:38–42
Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus. He followed “at a distance“, making sure not to make his faith public. Nicodemus was also a closet follower of Jesus. He was the Rabbi who came to Jesus at night so that other Jews would not see him. I don’t think it is any coincidence that these two found each other. They must have found substance in the faith of one another. And, now, together, they find themselves responsible for probably one of the most significant events in all of history and in humanity, the burial of Jesus.
This private encounter was made without an audience, without official oversight, or even with the 12 disciples present. No one would suspect that two men who were not public with their faith would end up being the ones who finalize the death of Jesus. Was their faith worthy of such a task since they were afraid to tell others? My opinion is that their faith was indeed worthy. They had a deep faith in Jesus. They remained ever present, waiting to be used by God.
Is keeping a secret or lying OK? We often say “The end justifies the means” which we use to reference in a negative way about a situation in which we disapprove. But, there are Biblical references where this is OK, the woman who lied about the spies, Abraham lying about Sara. Another example is that Jesus kept who he was secret until the right time and in fact told others not to tell of his miracles. In our time, missionaries lie to smuggle Bibles into another country or work undercover in a country that does not allow witnessing. The means does justify the end, when in the end, God is glorified.
Jesus did say that if you deny me before others, I will deny you before the Father. The question then is asked, did these two deny Jesus? To answer this, we must ask ourselves what is the point of Christianity? If we read the New Testament, the point is simple. Faith in Jesus Christ which is outline in Romans 10 which tells us to have belief that God rose Jesus from the dead and by this we become justified. Jesus’ teachings moved away from the legalistic Pharisaical teachings of the day. We must be careful to understand how the concept, “to deny Christ”, would look within our heart. A man does so in his heart, not just verbally. These two may have been secret in their faith, but they never denied Christ.
Here is the application for us, we must use wisdom and the Holy Spirit to guide us when to profess our Christianity. Proverbs says not to throw Perl before swine. We should not be looking for an argument. But, as Paul said, we must be ready to give an answer. Are you prepared to give an answer for the faith that is within you? In everything there is a time. A time to keep your faith secret, a time to shout it from the roof tops. But most of all, Jesus’ greatest strength was to reach out to the hurt, to see a need and be a blessing. Just like Jesus, Joseph and Nicodemus waited for the right opportunity to serve. We can do the same.
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