Doing What Has to Be Done

Holy Saturday


John 19:38-42

After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

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Takin' care of business and working overtime

"Takin' Care of Business" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive written by Randy Bachman from "Bachman-Turner Overdrive II (Yes, that's Keith Moon introducing the clip)

The Lord is dead. Dead. He's not in a coma. He's not asleep. He's not faking it. He's dead. So there's nothing left to do. Actually there is one thing to be done, the Sabbath is coming and he has to be put into a tomb. They won't get it done in time, but they have to do as much burial preparation as they can before sunset.

If this isn't bad enough, Jesus doesn't even have a "they" to prepare him for burial. His apostles and disciples have scattered. Their Lord was on a cross, it would be only human to want to find a place to hide. If they had come out they could have been invited to share his death sooner rather than later. Somebody has to do what has to be done. Somebody has to take care of business.

Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate for the body. According to Luke's gospel, Joseph was a member of the Jewish ruling council. John tells us he feared the Jews so he was a secret disciple. This actually served Jesus well since he could come for the body without raising suspicion. Nicodemus also came. This is the same Nicodemus who was told that he must be born again. He came with about 100 pounds of burial spices and aloes. Someone also made sure the linen was there to wrap the body. Together they took the body to an empty tomb, which according to Matthew's gospel belonged to Joseph.

It had to be done. The rulers of the temple wanted all three men off the cross before sunset so the nation could celebrate the Passover in peace. Joseph and Nicodemus had to work overtime to make sure it got done.

There was no joy. There was no hope. There was only fear of what would come next. If Emmanuel, God with us, can be killed then all bets are off. Someone might have the thought in the back of their mind that the resurrection would come, but today that thought was a million miles away. Today was a work day.

There are days when the resurrection seems like it's a million miles away, but guess what--it's not. It's coming. The resurrection is coming. But today, while all seems hopeless, we still gotta take care of business. And it's hard. God knows it's hard. That's why God is with us, Emmanuel. Even when we don't think God is present, Emmanuel. Especially when we think we have been forsaken by God, Emmanuel.