Dunbar United Church of Christ - March 28, 2010

I I chose a passage from the passion narrative that we usually don’t look at too closely. it’s the last scene when Joseph of Arimathea asked permission from Pilate to take down Jesus’ body from the cross and bury it. He’s mentioned in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and is described as “high ranking” (Luke), rich (Matthew), and honorable (Mark). But why should we remember him? He’s just a minor player in this story, isn’t he?

II. Joseph took Jesus’ body and laid it in his family tomb -- where no one had been laid before. It was a new tomb. First, if this tomb was near Jerusalem, or in the city, it was a expensive.

But that’s not all. It was a new tomb and if Joseph put Jesus there -- according to the Jewish purity laws, he would have to seal the tomb permanently -- could not use it for his family or for himself -- because the body of a crucified man pollutes the tomb. Joseph sacrificed the family tomb for Jesus.

III. Joseph was rich though. He could buy another tomb -- no big deal. But think about what he did. The group he belonged to -- the Jewish Council -- was the one responsible for killing Jesus. What do you think it did to Joseph’s standing to have defied the council he sat on so openly?

You never took a crucified person down from their cross to burry them --- it was against the religion -- it was against the law. And here’s a man who was breaking a law that he at one time enforced. We don’t know what happened to Joseph after he did this act of disrespect and defiance. But we can imagine.

For the sake of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea sacrificed much more that a family tomb.

IV. And here we are now, on Palm Sunday, maybe considering what sacrifices we make for Jesus. Would we sacrifice our good reputation for Jesus, as Joseph did? Would we sacrifice our place on the council, or in the community?

Jesus healed many people, and often in ways that broke the law: he touched the unclean, and worked on the Sabbath. He told stories where the enemies of Israel were the heroes -- stories of people, like the good Samaritan, who paid with their own money for the healing of others.

Would we pay from our money -- our taxes -- so others who can’t pay can be healed? Would we sacrifice even the choice of which doctor we use so someone who had no doctor could have one?

Would we help pay for a poor person’s education loan? Would we sacrifice our income -- even our freedom -- for the well-being of others?

V. Some politicians have been calling this kind of thing socialism. It’s not -- it’s Christianity. This is what Jesus did every day.

Why do you think the cross was so important to Jesus? Because it meant sacrifice for the well-being of others. That’s the heart of the Gospel.

Giving up our lives, our luxuries, our taxes -- even our freedom -- for the well-being of others -- is the key to the kingdom of heaven. The key to heaven is a cross -- sacrifice. And that’s the terrible truth of the good news according to Jesus Christ.