CityLight Church’s One Year Bible Reading Plan
Tuesday, May 31st, 2016
2 Samuel 17:1-29
John 19:23-42
Psalm 119:129-152
Proverbs 16:12-13
For full text click here: http://bit.ly/1rvP5hF
Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby. – Jn 19:41-42
Joseph and Nicodemus were prominent Jewish leaders. They were both members of the Sanhedrin, and their social standing and livelihood were dependent on the status they held. They both believed in Jesus, but they kept their faith hidden: Joseph was a secret disciple (v 38), and Nicodemus quietly visited Jesus at night (Jn 3:2). Joseph and Nicodemus would have been expelled from the Sanhedrin if they were found out. Yet after the Cross, none of that mattered.
Jesus’ death empowered Joseph and Nicodemus to act boldly. Imagine the scene as Joseph carried Jesus’ dead body to the tomb, and Nicodemus followed with “one hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes” (v 39)! How could they go unnoticed? They would have been declared ceremonially unclean for touching a dead body and carrying Jesus to His temporary resting place; yet they risked their livelihood to request the body of Jesus and anoint Him for burial. Joseph gave up his tomb for Jesus, and Nicodemus spent a fortune on spices. Both men made significant offerings to honor Jesus, and even risked death to lay Him in the tomb, because of everything Jesus had done for them.
God gave everything for you – just as He did for Joseph and Nicodemus. It is a small request, then, for God to ask us to honor Him with our lives, since He has already given His for us! Jesus’ death shouldn’t leave you the same. It should empower you to do things that would otherwise be impossible. Before His death, Joseph and Nicodemus were afraid to act. Yet after His crucifixion, they became so bold that inaction was an impossibility.
Are you willing to risk it all for Jesus?
Prayer:
Father, make me bolder. Make me more courageous. Give me the strength to take courage and call on Your name!
Archives
See commentary from this day in 2014: http://intelligentcharismatic.com/day-151-give-it-up/
See commentary from this day in 2015: http://intelligentcharismatic.com/day-151-give-it-up-2/
© Michael D. White, 2016. All rights reserved.