Can the Right Perspective Make Us Bold Against Tragedies?
When tragedies come into our lives it is hard to stand up or to move. Despair, anxiety, and fear paralyze our hearts. It is hard to see beyond the tragedy. That seemed to be the case with the apostles that day. All but John were far away as they stood beneath the cross when Jesus died. There stood John, Mary and 3 other women. What next? How would they bury Jesus? Did they even have time to think of that? They were certainly not people of financial means. The body of those that died on the cross were usually thrown into one large common grave.
Out of the crowds came one unexpected disciple that boldly went before Pilate to request the body. That was Joseph of Arimathea. We do not know a lot about Joseph of Arimathea; but, we do know that he was a rich man. We also know that he was a member of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish legislation). We are told by John that he had been “secret about his discipleship” out of fear. Yet, he boldly stepped forward to request the body so that he could place the body of Jesus in a “tomb that had never been used.” All of this was very important to later prove the resurrection of Jesus. All had been meticulously orchestrated by God. So what in the midst of this tragedy caused Joseph of Arimathea to be so bold and Nicodemus to join him? The keys to his boldness is the same keys that we might hold fast to when tragedy hits our own lives. I want to share with you the four keys I found in scripture that explains his boldness and faith at that moment. The same 4 keys that can help you and I when tragedies come as well.
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