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So far in our study of the drama of this scene on Golgotha’s Hill – we have watched two dramatic conversions to faith in Jesus Christ – two of the most unlikely converts to Christ that you can imagine.

First the dying thief – who at first had thrown every insult at Jesus, joining in with the religious leaders and his fellow revolutionary who was hanging on the other side of Jesus.

Over the course of a few hours, this particular revolutionary for the Jewish nation – a man who’d trusted in his dagger more than anything else, evidently studied the placard above Jesus’ head declaring the Lord’s divine royalty as the coming King.

Against all odds – and all the evidence – the grace of God opened his eyes to see that although Jesus was being crucified, He was indeed the King.

“Lord” – he said – no doubt to the mockery and derision of the crowd below him – “remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

He went from mocking Christ to making Christ his Lord and King.

The centurion had seen a lot of men die – according to history – 30,000 men had been crucified by the Roman Empire, in this region alone.

This centurion had seen a lot of men die – but he’d never seen someone like this Man die.

And as Christ placed His Spirit into the hands of God the Father and died, the Centurion made this great statement of faith – “Truly, this was the Son of God.”

Today, we place our faith in a resurrected Savior, but the thief placed his faith in a dying Savior, and the centurion placed his faith in a dead Savior.

But there’s another remarkable twist in the drama.

Another man will now step forward and place his faith in a buried Savior – this will become a shocking, development that will make headline news around this known world.

From within the ranks of Israel’s Supreme Court, one of their leading justices suddenly announces his allegiance to Christ.

His name is Joseph, from a little town called Arimathea, some 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem.

He’s about to come out of nowhere – he’s been spiritually hiding out even though he’s been out in public.

Nobody knew it – nobody could’ve imagined it –but he’s about to cross the point of no return.

Luke introduces him to us in his gospel account, at chapter 23, at verse 50. Luke writes:

Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man. Luke 23:50

Matthew’s account adds that Joesph was a rich man (Matthew 27:57).

So here you have a religiously devout man, committed to integrity – righteousness – doing good things – and he’s a rich man on top of everything.

In fact, he’s so well-connected to the halls of power that he’s about to be given a private audience with Pilate, the Governor of that region.

Joseph was a man with a respected reputation.

Luke wants us to know a couple of features about this man.

First: Joseph had this prominent position.

He was a member of the Council.

This is a reference to the Sanhedrin – the Supreme Court of Israel – often referred to as the rulers of the people.

Mark’s Gospel tells us that Joseph wasn’t just any member of the Sanhedrin – Mark writes in chapter 15, verse 43 that:

Joseph of Arimathea [was] a respected member of the council. Mark 15:43

One translation reads, Joseph was a prominent member of the council.

That Greek word respected or prominent can also be translated “noble”.

In fact, to this day, the Greek Orthodox church refers to Joseph as “the noble Joseph.”

^{Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou, The Crucifixion of the King of Glory (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2021), p.}

Joseph had become one of the most highly respected members of Israel’s Supreme Court.

When he spoke, people listened. When he gave his opinion in the Great Hall of Judgment, where the Supreme Court met, his words were carefully noted in the minutes.

He had great influence among the other members of the Sanhedrin.

Which adds to the regret he no doubt lived with at the death of Jesus – he had never why he had come to believe in Jesus.

One author wrote – just think how it would have lifted the heart of Jesus, if, in that hateful assembly, even one lone voice had spoken for Him. (Source: ^{William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke (Westminster Publishing, 1975), p. 290)}

But Joseph had remained silent.

But Luke does add this interesting comment -

[He] had not consented to their decision and action. Luke 23:51

He didn’t agree with their decision to crucify Jesus.

Now he either refused to vote – or more than likely, he was absent when that quickly convened council met early Thursday morning to find a reason to condemn Jesus.

Was Joseph back at his hometown? Was he hurrying to Jerusalem and his cart got a flat tire? He didn’t make it to the vote – we don’t know.

But what we do know is that he was not in agreement with the killing of Jesus.

But that still doesn’t mean he publicly defended Jesus. He might have been there in the Great Hall and quietly abstained from voting.

In John’s gospel account, we’re given some insight into a growing division inside the Sanhedrin.

We discover that Joseph wasn’t the only member of the council who had come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

John reveals the tragedy of this silent group of men in chapter 12 and verse 42 – John writes:

Many even of the rulers [Sanhedrin] believed in Him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue, for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. John 12:42-43

In other words, they didn’t want to lose their position – their seat in the synagogue – they status in society. They didn’t want anything to mess up their careers.

These are significant issues but look at the way the Spirit of God described it through John – it isn’t a pretty sight – they were more interested in the glory that comes from man than the glory that comes from God.

They wanted the applause of their culture –

they wanted the approval of their society –

they wanted to be appreciated by their world.

Had they confessed faith in Christ they would have been excommunicated from the synagogue, the very center of Jewish life and worship.

They would have been reviled and ridiculed at best and perhaps called into court as co-blasphemers at worst . . . threatened even with death.

Are they gonna risk all of that?

John writes, “They were not confessing it.”  The grammar indicates that they were shrinking away – more and more as time went on – from confessing their belief in Christ.

^{Fritz Rienecker & Cleon Rogers, Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament (Regency, 1976), p. 249}

This challenges the church today – are we becoming quieter about our faith in Christ, or more courageous?

John gives us a more personal insight into Joseph’s secrecy in chapter 19 and verse 38 where he writes:

Joseph of Arimathea … was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews. John 19:38

Joseph has become a disciple – a follower of Christ.

Joseph had evidently heard Jesus teach – he had witnessed one attempt after another failed attempts by the religious leaders to trip Jesus up.

He knew that the high priest’s primary motive for getting rid of Jesus had nothing to do with blasphemy – it was all about envy (Mark 14:1).

Jesus was stealing the High Priest’s thunder – his popularity.

Joseph knew about the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. It was an undeniable miracle that only God could perform.

Joseph knew the Sanhedrin wanted to kill Lazarus as soon as they could (John 12:10).

Joseph had realized that the Supreme Court didn’t want to ignore the evidence, they wanted to destroy the evidence.

But all these miracles and this teaching – they were all validating signs of the Messiah.

• And eventually, Joseph had come to believe that only someone with God’s authority could teach and heal and raise the dead –
• Jesus had to be the Anointed One, long prophesied –

Joseph finally makes up his mind – Jesus has to be the Messiah.

But now he can’t sleep at night . . . what’s he to do? Lose his position – his reputation – his status – his income – his life?

Should he come forward and announce his faith in Christ – or remain a secret disciple to the day he dies?

He evidently decides to keep quiet a little longer – he will wait a little longer . . . but he waits too long – Jesus is now dead.

But don’t miss the fact that to come forward now as a believer – it was more dangerous than ever.

The evidence is stronger than ever that Jesus was a false Messiah. A blasphemer. He’s dead.

And where are the Lord’s disciples? His most devout followers – they’re hiding too.

None of them came forward – not even to get Jesus’ body down from the cross!

John writes in chapter 20 that the disciples were hiding behind “locked doors for fear of the Jews”.

That’s the same phrase used for Joseph.

If we give Peter and Andrew and James and John a pass for hiding out, let’s not be too quick to lower the hammer on Joseph.

As one of the most prominent members of the Supreme Court, he’s got a lot more to lose than a bunch of fishermen.

Now we’re not only told that Joseph was holding a prominent position, but I want you to notice, secondly, that;

Joseph was living with kingdom anticipation.

Notice the following descriptive phrase from Luke chapter 23, the end of verse 51 – he was waiting for the kingdom of God.

He was literally longing for the time of spiritual renewal and national repentance and the rule and reign of God’s Anointed.

Luke wants us to know that Joseph was living with this expectation that Jesus Christ would fulfill the Messianic roll of overthrowing world rulers and establishing His kingdom on earth.

Like many Jews in his day and even to this day – who do not understand the difference between Messiah’s first coming, to suffer, and His second coming as sovereign.

Joseph had planned, no doubt all along to eventually come forward as one of Christ’s disciples . . . perhaps as soon as Christ established the throne of David, and His kingdom on earth.

He was waiting for that – He was anticipating the coming kingdom of God.

Perhaps he’d look in the mirror as he got ready each morning and whispered to himself, “One day soon:

• I’m gonna make my faith in Jesus my public testimony
• I’ll defend Jesus –
• I’ll tell the truth about what happened in the Sanhedrin – about their corrupt motives:
• I’ll be one of the Lord’s most faithful disciples!
• But . . . it isn’t the right time now . . .
• it’s too dangerous . . .
• I’ll let things settle down . . . I’ll just wait a little longer.”

What are you waiting for? Do your classmates know? Do your co-workers know?

Silence isn’t always golden, sometimes it’s only yellow.

But now everything has changed.

The cross of Christ became a crossroads for Joseph – that crisis point between secret Christianity and courageous Christianity.

It was, for him, the defining moment – the most noble moment of his life, to this point.

I have mentioned to you before about Lord Kenneth Clark, the internationally known host of the television documentary series called Civilization. It aired on the BBC in the late 1960’s and is still today considered one of the most highly influential series on Western civilization.

Clark viewed religion – especially Christianity – as repressive and limiting of personal expression. He viewed the Protestant Reformation as destructive.

He writes about visiting a cathedral where he had what he called an overwhelming religious sense of joy which seemed to clearly validate Christianity.

He wrote, however, that if he pursued it – if he allowed himself to be influenced by it, he would have to change; his associates, family and friends might think he had lost his mind. So he writes these tragic words in his autobiography, “I was too deeply embedded in the world to change course.”  (Source: ^{Vernon Grounds, “Changed Lives Are Possible” Our Daily Bread (10-01-05).)}

Well, let me tell you, Joseph is about to change the entire course of his life. His friends, associates and community are gonna think he’s lost his mind.

Because he’s gonna break his silence – he will be a secret disciple no longer. No matter what.

Back in chapter 23, Luke writes in verse 52:

[He] went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. Luke 23:52-53

Mark’s gospel adds that Joseph gathered up courage and went to Pilate (Mark 15:43).

He took a deep breath, he counted the cost, he decided to accept the consequences – and he did something absolutely unheard of.

To ask for the body of a crucified victim.

Roman law forbade burial for people who had been sentenced to death.

Tacitus, the first century Roman historian said that to be denied burial was universally regarded as the most humiliating indignity that could be done to the deceased because it meant that the corpse would either be left to rot on the cross, or left to be devoured by wild animals and birds of prey. (Source: ^{David E. Garland, Zondervan’s Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Luke (Zondervan, 2011), p. 939)}

One author wrote that Golgotha/Calvary – literally, Skull Hill – it had earned that nickname because it was littered with bones and skulls from previous crucifixion. (Source: ^{William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark (Westminster Press, 1975) ,p. 366)}

But Pilate agreed to give Joseph the body of Jesus – and that alone was again the work of God turning the heart of this Governor so that prophecy would be fulfilled.

But first, Pilate had to make sure Jesus was dead.

He ordered his soldiers to break the legs of these three men. To hasten death, this was the brutal practice.

The victim’s legs would be hammered until broken – then they would be pushed off the sedile (se DEE lay) – which gives us our word “saddle”.

This was that block of wood upon which the victim perched, which would prolong their suffering for days.

But when their legs were broken and they were pushed off the saddle, they would be unable to pull themselves up to breathe properly – within minutes they would be dead.

These soldiers confirm that Jesus was already dead – but to make sure they took a spear and thrust it under His ribs and into His heart.

In a matter of minutes, that converted thief is walking with Jesus in Paradise – in the garden of the King – as promised.

Now, if the Jewish leaders had their way, they would have taken the body of Jesus to the nearby Valley of Hinnom – a garbage dump where fires perpetually burned the trash, which included unclaimed bodies and criminal corpses – it was nicknamed the Valley of Corpses.

We can’t imagine the stunning news that a member of the Sanhedrin is taking the body of Jesus and burying Him with honor and dignity and respect and placing Him in his own family tomb.

When Joseph got Jesus’ body down from that cross, the news raced through Jerusalem.

When Joseph placed Jesus in his own newly carved tomb out of that limestone hillside – his commitment to Jesus was clear – it was no longer a secret.

This was front page news. The Jerusalem headlines would have read:

• Chief Justice follows False Messiah
• Turncoat on the Supreme Court

Let me tell you, there is no turning back for Joseph.  Secrecy has been shattered by this public act – Joseph will not allow Jesus to be burned like a criminal, he will be buried like a King.

John Phillips wrote that God the Father used a man named Joseph to guard the birth of the Messiah – He now uses another man named Joseph to guard the burial of the Messiah. (Source: ^{John Phillips, Exploring the Gospel of Matthew (Loizeaux, 1999), p. 528)}

On Sunday, the large stone will be rolled away from Joseph’s tomb, not to let Jesus out, but to let people in.

Everyone will have heard which tomb it was –

• It was that chief justice’s tomb –
• he buried him there –
• we know where it is –
• everybody would come to Joseph’s family tomb and see for themselves that the tomb was empty.

But don’t miss what would’ve meant for Joseph, and his wife and family – marriage was a requirement for a man to be on the Sanhedrin.

Life for him – and for them – would never be the same.

For one thing, because Joseph had come in contact with a dead body, he would have been ceremonially unclean, unable to celebrate the Passover.

I’m not sure he would’ve cared – he knew that Passover was now a shadow of past traditions and Jesus Christ, the final Passover Lamb, was now his only celebration.

But that wasn’t all he faced.

The Jewish leaders had already made it clear that any follower of Jesus would be barred from the synagogue (John 9:22).

So on this next Sabbath day, he would have found that he and his family were no longer welcome – they were permanently, physically, humiliatingly, turned away – as the congregation stared, and people whispered and children cried.

Joseph would have been dismissed from the Supreme Court by the High Priest. The threats he must have been given are not recorded, but this would’ve ruined his stellar reputation on the court – he would have lost his standing in the community.

As far as the religious leaders and the populace at large would have thought – one of the wisest, most respected men in the land had taken a stand for a false Messiah . . . a dead Messiah . . . a failed Messiah who now occupied his own family tomb. (Source: ^{R. Kent Hughes, Mark: Volume Two (Crossway Books, 1989), p. 214)}

Joseph must’ve lost his mind! But did he care?

Oswald Chambers wrote, “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else; but if you do not fear God you will fear everything else.” (Source: ^{Oswald Chambers in The Highest Good, quoted in Christianity Today, Volume 39, no. 1)}

When you observe the life of a man like Joseph, two truths emerge from this dramatic change in his life – perhaps the same truths that God wants to impart and implant into your own life today.

Difficult and unexpected events can open the door to gospel conversations.

Be alert and ready for it.

• It might be meeting someone while you sit in a hospital waiting room.
• It might be someone seated next to you on a plane or bus who opens up about some sudden change in life.
• It might be noticing tears a co-worker tries to hide
• It might be a neighbor, or classmate who open up, about the difficulties of life.

Those difficult events become open doors for you to take a stand and graciously point them to the truth of Christ.

Secondly, Silence in the past doesn’t mean you can’t stand for truth in the present.

Be willing and ready for it.

It might appear that Joseph had waited too long to identify with Jesus.

But in the providence of God, the timing was perfect.

His tomb would set the stage for not only proving that Jesus had died – and that Jesus was buried – but it would become the scene that would undeniably prove that Jesus had vacated the premises, leaving his graveclothes behind.

• I can see lines forming to see where Jesus had been placed.
• I can see people looking at the graveclothes that have been left behind.
• I can see Joseph out there handing out gospel tracts – telling people, “Yea, I put Him right there.”

But don’t miss it; even before the resurrection, Joseph is a different man!

This cross – Pilate’s palace – the tomb – this changed everything!

He went from the sidelines of caution to the front lines of courage.

Even now, this has changed everything about his life.

While Joseph disappears from scripture, tradition has him partner up with Philip, the early church deacon and evangelist from the Jerusalem church.

Joseph was trained and eventually sent as a missionary to modern day England. He eventually settled in Glastonbury where he served the Lord for the rest of his life. (Source: ^{Barclay, p. 290)}

We do know from church history is that the first Christian church in England, was established in Glastonbury. (Source: ^Ibid)

And it traces its history to the ministry of Joseph from Arimathea – this noble man, who stepped forward for Christ.

It’s never too late to stand for Jesus – to take a stand for the truth of who He is and what he’s done for you.

As we face a new week, let’s be alert – and willing – to be a little more like Joseph of Arimathea – let’s be like him and move:

• from secrecy to publicity about our faith
• from silence to service, openly sharing what Jesus means to us.