When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
It’s easy to judge others, isn’t it? We see someone with more expensive belongings than us and we think, “ugh, how materialistic are they?” We see those with less than us and we think, “well, they don’t work very hard.” This is ugly, but unfortunately, sometimes it’s true. There’s an uglier judgment than this, though.
We see other Christians who aren’t as vocal as us about Christ and who do not put our discipleship journey on display for others to see, and we think, “wow, they aren’t very good Christians.” We see those who are more vocal than us about Christ and we think, “wow, they’re really driving people away.”
This kind of judgment is not helpful, and rarely is the one who judges accurate.
It would be easy for others to look at Joseph of Arimathea and think, “wow, he’s wealthy. What a materialistic guy. I’d bet he isn’t passing through the eye of the needle” (Matthew 19:24). John 19:38 tells us that Joseph was a secret disciple for fear of the Jews. What kind of disciple hides for fear of the Jews?
All of them.
We see in this passage that while Joseph hid for fear of the Jews while the disciples followed publicly, Joseph went public when the eleven closest disciples went into hiding.* During the riskiest time in the story of Jesus, Joseph stepped up.
We never know what God is calling others to do; we never know His purposes for His people. When we look to the left and the right and we see others whose path is not our own, we must cheer them on toward Christ, no matter where they are in their journey. We never know where we will be or where they will be during the most difficult and dangerous of times.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to repent for judging others. Perhaps He is calling you to come out of hiding for Him. Maybe He wants you to encourage someone toward Him today.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a water break… we all get thirsty.
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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 728–729), and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt Mt 27:57–66).) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).