Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. -John 19:38 (NIV)I know, I know, its been like a month since I last blogged. Please forgive me for my absence. Yesterday in our Sunday School class, we discussed John 20. For some reason, my attention was drawn to the passage prior in John 19 (in my Bible it is directly above John 20 on the same page) and specifically verse 38. You read the verse at the beginning of this entry. The sentence I want to focus on today is the "Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews." I think a lot of believers can relate to that sentence.
Joseph of Arimathea is best known for providing the tomb for our Savior (granted it was only a temporary need - Praise God!!). Because he was able to do this, we can safely conclude that he was a wealthy man at the time and perhaps a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin. Therefore, he had a lot to lose, in the worldly sense, if fellow Jews found out that he was a follower of Christ. There are many in the Body of Christ today that are just like Joseph. Despite the freedoms we have in the United States and other countries around the world, many of us find ourselves in F.E.A.R., or False Evidence Appearing Real, when it comes to sharing with others our beliefs. Fear is not of God, but of the evil one. Satan loves to leverage fear to keep the church from growing, and to keep Christians from sharing their experience, strength and hope they find through Christ with others.
I have certainly suffered from my share of fear about sharing my faith. I didn't have to fear my life as Joseph my have, but I did have fear about losing my livelihood since my testimony has many things that are so counter cultural to where I work. Again, that was False Evidence Appearing Real. Once I placed my Faith (the opposite of fear) in God for the results and took a step of courage, I was able to share my story. I was able to keep my secrets out in the light where they could not grow. No one laughed at me. No one mocked me. No one ceased being my friend. In fact, most of them were encouraged by my testimony. And most importantly, I grew closer to God through Christ in the process.
Some of you reading this might be thinking, "Yeah, that's nice for you but still, I have this atheist boss at work...." or you may be thinking, "what will my friends think of me if I tell them I believe?". Have faith. Remember, it takes a bit of courage. Even if you still struggle with that there is good news for you. God is still using you to accomplish His purpose. Look at Joseph, because he kept his faith to himself, he was able to secure the body of our Savior from Pilate. I'm not sure if one of the eleven would have been able to take Christ's body for burial. So God used Joseph's secret faith for His Glory. Of course, we come to discover that prophecy is fulfilled and the grave was defeated on the third day when Jesus was Resurrected! Amen!
So if you are trusting in Christ secretly, know that God is still using you. I encourage you TODAY to take a small baby step, like Joseph did, and do something in faith that will begin to tell others Who you work for and Why you have Hope and Peace. You may be surprised as to how much God will do for you in what you cannot do for yourself. God met Joseph right where he was at. While the bible does not say, some writings from the era suggest that Joseph began preaching in Gaul with Phillip. Joseph was not living his faith in secret then.
On this, the day after we celebrate Christs' Resurrection, ask yourself, "How much am I letting my faith infect all areas of my life?" and then ask yourself, "If my friends were asked if I were a Christ follower, what would they say?"
God bless you abundantly today!
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