Reflective Bible Study

Following Jesus’ death on the cross, a previously unknown follower of Jesus steps onto the scene. The gospel of Matthew tells us three key details about the man known as Joseph of Arimathea, but while we don’t know many more details about this disciple, the role he plays when finally entering the gospel story is incredibly significant.

All four gospels share about Joseph, and John even goes the extra step in his gospel of including another secret disciple, Nicodemus, in his narrative.

However, instead of focusing in on what John describes, Matthew’s gospel includes a unique interlude event between Jesus’ death and resurrection, and for this reason, we will look at Matthew’s gospel for this podcast episode. Our event can be found in Matthew, chapter 27, and we will be reading from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 57, Matthew tells us:

⁵⁷ That evening a rich disciple named Joseph from the town of Arimathea ⁵⁸ went and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate gave orders for it to be given to Joseph, ⁵⁹ who took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. ⁶⁰ Then Joseph put the body in his own tomb that had been cut into solid rock and had never been used. He rolled a big stone against the entrance to the tomb and went away.

⁶¹ All this time Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb.

Let’s pause reading here to draw our attention onto a couple of interesting details. This is the part of our event that all four gospel writers include, and we really only are given three relevant details about Joseph, the previously unknown disciple of Jesus.

The first detail I will mention is perhaps the least relevant to us living today. This detail is that Joseph was from Arimathea. Perhaps this was significant to people living in the region during the first century, but for our discussion happening over 2,000 years later, this detail is less significant.

The second detail, which comes a couple of verses later, was that Joseph owned a tomb that had never been used. This detail is significant because it was where he planned on burying Jesus’ body. In essence, Joseph planned on donating his tomb to Jesus. Whether Joseph believed Jesus would come back to life in a few days, or whether he was willing to give up his planned final resting place for Jesus to use, we see a unique but relevant gift to God in Joseph of Arimathea’s gift of a tomb.

The third detail is that Joseph was rich. This detail would be irrelevant except for the fact that he is introduced as being rich, which either implies that his wealth bought him influence with those in power in Judea, or that a portion of his riches were used to buy Jesus’ body from Pilate.

While all the gospel writers imply that Joseph simply asked for Jesus’ body, it would be irrelevant information to describe him as rich unless his riches were important to the narrative. I wonder if some of the Jewish leaders were upset with themselves for not asking for Jesus’ body themselves. While the request from anyone would have been considered out of the ordinary, Jesus’ enemies would have had ample reason for requesting Jesus’ body as Matthew soon points out.

Matthew, as well as several of the other gospels, point out that some women watched everything that happened, and while this is a side-note for our passage here, this detail becomes very relevant on resurrection morning.

After sharing the details about the women watching Joseph of Arimathea burying Jesus, Matthew goes on to describe something that none of the other gospels share. Picking back up in verse 62, Matthew tells that:

⁶² On the next day, which was a Sabbath, the chief priests and the Pharisees went together to Pilate. ⁶³ They said, “Sir, we remember what that liar said while he was still alive. He claimed that in three days he would come back from death. ⁶⁴ So please order the tomb to be carefully guarded for three days. If you don’t, his disciples may come and steal his body. They will tell the people that he has been raised to life, and this last lie will be worse than the first one.”

⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “All right, take some of your soldiers and guard the tomb as well as you know how.” ⁶⁶ So they sealed it tight and placed soldiers there to guard it.

These details are incredibly significant for us to pay attention to. Nowhere in any of the gospels is the idea even hinted that the disciples were planning on stealing the body to spread a lie that Jesus rose again. This concern originated directly with the chief priests and Pharisees.

This is important for us to pay attention to for two reasons. The first is that the religious leaders set themselves up for depending on this lie even when it could easily be disproved. Because they craft this lie before anything has even happened which might warrant them using it, they blind themselves to the possibility that there would be a much better story they could spread. While a resurrected Jesus is hard to believe, so is a group of soldiers sleeping on the job while what they are guarding gets stolen from behind a sealed heavy stone. Equally unbelievable is a group of untrained men overpowering a band of highly skilled soldiers.

But the second reason we should pay attention to Matthew’s event is much more significant than the first. The only reason there were guards at the tomb and not disciples was because the Jewish leaders had more faith in Jesus’ words than even Jesus’ followers had. The religious leaders paid attention to Jesus’ message about being resurrected on the third day, while it would seem that either the disciples missed this message entirely, or they had dismissed it because of their preconceived ideas about who the Messiah would be.

Roman guards posted at the tomb, while posted there at the demands of the Jewish leaders, become the most valid testimony of a resurrected Jesus that could have been asked for. If the guards wouldn’t have been present at the tomb, then no one would have witnessed the resurrection and Jesus’ disciples would have been just as confused as the religious leaders. Instead, we find a group of religious leaders with a lie premade for their worst possible fear, and a group of followers who are confused when learning about an empty tomb.

Joseph of Arimathea’s gift was perfectly timed because it gave everyone the ability to track where Jesus body lay, and the fact that He was resurrected. Had Jesus’ body simply been thrown into the dump of bodies or into the trash heap to be burned, there would have been no way to prove or disprove a resurrection because no one would have known where the original body lay.

The gift Joseph gives Jesus saves the Easter story, because it gave the followers of Jesus – women included – a place to look for Jesus at, it gave the Jewish leaders a place to seal and watch closely, and it gave the Roman soldiers a clear place to guard. Joseph’s gift led a group of Roman soldiers into being the first witnesses of a resurrected Jewish Messiah – and perhaps some of these soldiers were among those who beat and mocked Jesus just days earlier.

We have been forgiven because of what happened on Calvary, but it is up to us to accept the forgiveness God offers, and place our trust, hope, and belief in Jesus for our ultimate salvation.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open these challenges by saying, intentionally seek God first in your life. Also, accept God’s forgiveness and move forward in life trusting and leaning on Jesus for your salvation.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue intentionally prayerfully studying the Bible for yourself to grow closer to God and to help develop a better understanding of who He is and what He is like.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or lose sight of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

If you have ever wondered if Jesus tried to force His way into fulfilling prophecy, our passage for this episode sheds light on how unlikely this could be. In our last episode, we looked at how Matthew’s gospel records the time Jesus takes His last breath on the cross, and the amazing things that happened when Jesus gave up His Spirit.

To follow up what we looked at in Matthew’s gospel, John’s gospel records some other interesting details relating to what happened after Jesus had died. From John’s gospel, we discover some very difficult to reconcile prophecies that were fulfilled following Jesus’ death if you believe Jesus tried to force His way into fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah. In John’s gospel, we discover just how eerily accurate the Old Testament pointed towards Jesus as the Messiah.

Our passage for this episode is found in John’s gospel, chapter 19, and we will be reading it from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 28, John describes the moment Jesus dies by telling us:

²⁸ After this, when Jesus knew that everything had now been finished, he said, “I’m thirsty.” He said this so that Scripture could finally be concluded.

²⁹ A jar filled with vinegar was there. So the soldiers put a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick and held it to his mouth.

³⁰ After Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said, “It is finished!”

Then he bowed his head and died.

³¹ Since it was Friday and the next day was an especially important day of rest—a holy day, the Jews didn’t want the bodies to stay on the crosses. So they asked Pilate to have the men’s legs broken and their bodies removed. ³² The soldiers broke the legs of the first man and then of the other man who had been crucified with Jesus.

³³ When the soldiers came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs. ³⁴ However, one of the soldiers stabbed Jesus’ side with his spear, and blood and water immediately came out. ³⁵ The one who saw this is an eyewitness. What he says is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth so that you, too, will believe.

³⁶ This happened so that the Scripture would come true: “None of his bones will be broken.” ³⁷ Another Scripture passage says, “They will look at the person whom they have stabbed.”

In this passage, we discover three prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus’ time on the cross. Two episodes ago, when we looked at how John’s gospel describes the early portion of Jesus’ time on the cross, we discovered another prophecy that was fulfilled related to how Jesus’ clothing would be divided and gambled for.

Throughout the entire event of the cross, at least four prophecies concerning the Messiah were fulfilled, and only one of these four Jesus had any direct involvement in. It was predicted that He would say He was thirsty while dying and this fulfilled one of the Old Testament predictions. Jesus did step into the role of Messiah willingly.

However, earlier in John’s gospel, we learned that the dividing and gambling of Jesus’ clothing was predicted, and this was not something Jesus had any control over. And then we conclude this passage and learn that Jesus was stabbed instead of having His legs broken. This was not something Jesus could have directed, and the soldiers likely could not have cared less about whether they were fulfilling a Jewish prophecy or not.

Using an unscientific ratio from just this event, if 25% of the prophecies about Jesus were under His control while 75% of the prophecies were not, the amazing reality that Jesus fulfilled so much of the Old Testament predictions regarding the Messiah are overwhelming. This was not something Jesus could force His way into. Even if we were to flip the ratio and say that 75% of the prophecies were within Jesus’ control, the remaining 25% is impressive enough of an amount that we should take note.

Earlier this year, we looked at how Jesus’ betrayal was predicted, the price that was paid for this betrayal was also predicted, and how the money was used after it was returned was also predicted. All this was also outside of Jesus’ direct control, and it was orchestrated by people who should have known better if they wanted to keep Jesus’ life and death from fulfilling prophecy. Their ignorance, or simply ignoring the knowledge they did have, incriminates them because they play into prophecy’s hand.

During Jesus’ crucifixion and death, we discover another group of people who fulfill a section of Old Testament prophecies and we discover that this group wouldn’t know or even care that they were doing so. The Roman soldiers follow a surprisingly specific set of conditions that were prophesied centuries earlier, and any thought that they intentionally orchestrated it is ridiculous when we look at Jewish vs. Roman hostility towards each another.

All this fulfilled prophecy speaks to one simple truth: Jesus is God’s Son and the Messiah God promised to the world! This truth is simple to acknowledge, a little more challenging to accept, and impossible to fully understand.

John writes that he personally witnessed the details that are described here, and that he shares them so that those who follow Jesus and who want to know God better can believe like he believes in Jesus.

Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we discover the picture of History. History is God’s story, and the high point of God’s story is displayed at Jesus’ death and resurrection. The entire scriptures point us to pay attention to Jesus.

When we pay attention to Jesus, we discover who He truly is, and we can then put our faith, hope, trust, and belief in Him. Through the record of the cross, we discover how much God loves us and what He was willing to give to restore our relationship with Him. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we have the offer of a new, eternal life with God!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Always seek God first and intentionally focus on Jesus in your life. When looking at your life, your history, and your future, intentionally choose to see yourself in the big picture of history – specifically in the picture of God’s story. Our lives only make sense when we begin to see them through the eyes of Jesus’ sacrifice.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself and intentionally study the scriptures with the understanding that Jesus is the focus. Only when we place Jesus as the focal point of scripture will we begin to discover God’s amazing love for His fallen creation. Decide today that you will discover this truth for yourself by praying and studying the Bible for yourself.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

The passage we are focusing on for this podcast episode may be short, but the implications it shares are powerful when we pause and think about them. We have come to the morning of Jesus’ crucifixion, and are looking at an event that happens following Jesus being condemned to death, but before He begins the walk to the place where He will be crucified.

Three of the four gospels share this event, and for this podcast episode, we’ll look at Mark’s version of what happened. We can find this event in the gospel of Mark, chapter 15, and we will read it using the New International Version. Beginning in verse 16, Mark tells us that:

¹⁶ The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. ¹⁸ And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” ¹⁹ Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. ²⁰ And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

This is one of the cruelest parts of the Bible, and it has been reserved for describing how Jesus was treated by the ruling government of humanity. However, what the soldiers miss in their abuse and treatment of Jesus is that His very existence and self-sacrifice made Him worthy of being king. The Roman soldiers’ only picture of a king was the military king that Rome had in its emperor.

An empire focused on ruling through military strength could only see a neighboring king as a potential threat. If the neighboring king’s forces were weaker than the military empire’s, then the empire would attack, capture, and absorb the neighboring king’s territory. Only in a case where there were two kings of somewhat equal strength, could there be a co-existing set of kingdoms.

All the Roman soldiers saw in Jesus was a weak threat to their empire. Jesus didn’t walk like any leader they respected, He didn’t talk strategy like they talked strategy, and He was wholly uninterested in military conquests like they were. But what is interesting is that while they were mocking Jesus, they were actually speaking something very profound.

While Jesus was dressed up like an earthly king and they were hitting Him and spitting on Him, Mark tells us in verse 18 that they began calling Him, “King of the Jews”. This is significant because as God’s promised Messiah, Jesus would technically be King of the Jews – if He were only the Messiah for the Jews.

However, Jesus came as the promised Messiah for all humankind because He was promised and foreshadowed from the very first sin and sacrifice. In a subtle way, these Roman soldiers didn’t realize that even by mockingly claiming that Jesus was the King of the Jews, they were incriminating themselves because Jewish scriptures pointed to God’s Messiah being humanity’s eventual King.

While the Jewish leaders had rejected their King and handed Him over to the Romans to crucify Him, the Romans, who represented the broad group of gentiles living throughout history, also reject Jesus as their King. This is significant because while Jesus had a few followers, they were nowhere to be found which meant that they were not a threat – at least in the Roman government’s eyes.

However, as we are talking about this together, even though they don’t believe Jesus to be special or even significant, these Roman soldiers call Jesus a King, and Mark tells us that they fell on their knees and paid homage to Him. One synonym for the word homage is worship. Even if they didn’t worship Jesus from their hearts, we see evidence that they acknowledged Jesus’ role as King and His right to be respected and worshiped.

But did their admission mean anything if everything they did and said was rooted with the motives of hostility? That I cannot say for sure, but I am just sharing an interesting parallel that is worth us paying attention to.

When talking about hollow and shallow worship hurting God, I wonder how many of us today have ever fallen into this category of people. While we weren’t among the Roman soldiers who were actively hurting Jesus with their words and their actions, I wonder if we at times are not unlike these soldiers when we choose to bring hollow, shallow, and meaningless worship to God.

God desires our hearts, and there are remarkable similarities of cruelty between us and these Roman persecutors if we approach God with our hearts in worship only to pull away and return home still holding the gift He desires the most.

In this record of Jesus’ torture, I wonder if Satan had a hand in the empty worship that the Roman’s presented to Jesus – knowing that it would hurt Him and God on a spiritual level just like the hollow and shallow religion of the Jews at that time was nothing like what God had intended.

This all prompts me to wonder why Jesus would go through with a death with this much torture and pain when any death would appear to work. While tragic, Jesus could have written prophecy to describe a death from a heart attack in the garden while in prayer. However, I think that through the type of death Jesus chose, we are able to learn more about God and His character.

By dying in the way that He did, Jesus demonstrated to the entire world and universe how much God loves everyone He created. He chose humanity because we are the ones actively rebelling against Him, and we are the ones Satan had successfully blinded. Jesus came to show us how much God loved each of us, and through the torture on the road to death that Jesus was willing to face for us, we can see a glimpse of just how much we are valued by God.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

First, be thankful towards God for loving us through Jesus and for showing us how deep and amazing He loves each of us through the way Jesus chose to die. While Jesus could have written prophecy and history to include any type of death that could be imagined, when we look at how Jesus chose to die, it appears as though He picked the worst, most painful, humiliating death that humanity has ever invented.

Also, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself and pay special attention to the week of the crucifixion, because nothing in this week happened by chance – everything that we read was strategically planned out from the beginning of history. When we do study, we should prayerfully come before God and give Him our hearts in worship. After giving our hearts to God, we should be willing to submit our lives to Him and His will. While our physical heart stays in our body to pump blood through our veins and arteries, we should always leave our spiritual hearts with God, and any time we are tempted to take it back, we should remind ourselves of what Jesus did for us. In the big picture, a gift of our heart is the least we could do to say thank you for everything God has done for us.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or ignore where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

For the past three episodes, we have focused in on Jesus’ final moments on the cross, using Mark, Luke, and John’s gospels. For this episode, let’s look at the moment Jesus takes His last breath from Matthew’s gospel, and discover an event that only Matthew includes and an event that would make this weekend stand out in history as completely unique.

Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 27, and we will be reading from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 45, Matthew tells us that:

⁴⁵ At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ⁴⁶ About three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” ⁴⁷ When some of the people standing there heard him say that, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ One of the men ran at once, took a sponge, and soaked it in some vinegar. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus a drink. ⁴⁹ The others said, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰ Then Jesus loudly cried out once again and gave up his life.

⁵¹ Suddenly, the curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split open. ⁵² The tombs were opened, and the bodies of many holy people who had died came back to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after he had come back to life, and they went into the holy city where they appeared to many people.

⁵⁴ An army officer and those watching Jesus with him saw the earthquake and the other things happening. They were terrified and said, “Certainly, this was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ Many women were there watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee and had always supported him. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary from Magdala, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Did you catch the crazy detail that Matthew includes? While other gospel writers include the detail that the temple curtain rips in two, from top to bottom, only Matthew includes the detail that there was an earthquake right at the moment of Jesus’ death and that this earthquake resulted in the resurrection of many holy people.

We can speculate that the holy people who were raised were many of the Old Testament prophets, but really the text doesn’t give us any clue. All we know is that those raised were holy, or righteous, people who had died.

All this brings to focus an amazing truth: Jesus’ death brings life. Jesus’ death on the cross opens the way for all those who have died believing in and trusting Jesus to be raised to life when He returns.

However, this isn’t the only thing we can see that is amazing during the moment Jesus died. Matthew describes how an army officer, along with others present, were terrified during the earthquake, and at the resurrection of these people, this officer proclaimed that, “Certainly, this was the Son of God!” (v. 54)

Luke’s gospel describes this officer praising God and declaring that Jesus was indeed innocent. This is also powerful, given that this officer would have been present for plenty of deaths, crucifixions included, and nothing like this had happened before.

It’s also interesting to think that both thieves were still alive when Jesus died, so they would have experienced the earthquake as well and perhaps even seen some of those who were resurrected.

In this passage, we discover that the temple curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was split in two, specifically from top to bottom. While this would have occurred at the same time as the earthquake, I wonder if both were connected in any way beyond simply being two things that happened at the exact moment Jesus died.

We’ve already seen how the earthquake was connected with the holy people who were resurrected, but the temple curtain tearing is included in other gospels without the earthquake or the resurrections. Both Mark and Luke include the detail that the curtain was split in two and they do this without connecting this detail to an earthquake – which might mean that the curtain tearing from top to bottom was more significant than a group of dead people returning to life.

So then, what is so significant about this curtain split?

In the temple, there was a space where only one person, the High Priest, could go, and he could only go there one time a year. In this space, which is called the Most Holy Place, was the Ark of the Covenant, and formed into the lid of the ark was a special place called the mercy seat. The mercy seat represented God’s throne and the place where He sits in judgment. It’s worth noting that the place God sits in judgment is characterized and described with the term mercy.

A thick curtain separated the Most Holy Place and God’s presence from the rest of the temple because God’s Holiness consumes and destroys sin, and as sinners, we would be consumed because of our sins. The entire temple on earth shows us God’s desire to live among His people while also protecting them from His presence.

However, when Jesus died, the temple curtain tearing in two symbolized the end of the separation. The curtain now open symbolized that sinners can come before God and ask for forgiveness because Jesus’ sacrifice covers their sins. God’s justice and justness has not changed; God simply took the punishment we deserved and handed it to Jesus, who was able and willing to accept it.

The curtain ripping in the temple is one of the biggest literal and symbolic events that prove Jesus’ sacrifice was accepted by God. If the temple curtain had not split, Jesus’ sacrifice would not have been enough to end the separation between God and His people, and the hope we have in Jesus’ sacrifice allowing us to come before God would be in vain.

At the darkest point in history, while Jesus is dead, the curtain that split in two marks an accepted sacrifice and an accepted sacrifice is a hope and promise we can hold on to when we face dark places in our lives. Even if our faith is weak and people want to discount Jesus’ life, His death, and His resurrection, remember that God validated it all by ripping the temple curtain into two pieces, from top to bottom, which is something no human could do.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Always seek God first and place Him first in your life. If you stumble and feel as though you have failed God, remember that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on your behalf, and that He is more than willing to forgive you and accept you back when you come and ask. Because the temple curtain was torn in two, we know Jesus’ sacrifice was accepted, and because Jesus’ death caused holy people to live again, we can know that His death assures us of life – and it makes our promise of eternal life a reality we can count on!

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and be challenged by the Holy Spirit personally. While other people can give you ideas to think about, never let your relationship with God depend on someone else. Intentionally keep your connection with God strong through continual prayer and regular Bible study.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, chicken out of, or drift away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!