Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who . . . had not agreed to their plan and action. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid.
Luke 23:50-53
How often do we change our mind about some course of action we were going to follow, either as an individual or a part of a group?
The gospel of Luke is the source of this excerpt from the crucifixion narrative. Luke was one of the more prolific biblical authors. In addition to his canonical gospel, Luke is credited with being the author of the book of Acts that tells about what went on in the early Christian church after Christ's ascension. Luke was different from the other Disciples. He was a learned man, a physician, and a Gentile.
Joseph ("of Arimathea" although no settlement of that name has been found) was a man of importance in the Jewish community, a member of the Sanhedrin, the group of influential Jews who advised Pilate (including counseling Pilate to crucify Jesus only days previously). Joseph had asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. When it was taken down, it was wrapped in a clean linen cloth and interred in the new-hewn tomb. And the heavy stone door was rolled shut. It was such a momentous weekend with the Sabbath and feast of Pentecost. that it was planned to make final decisions for the body in the following week.
But when the tomb was opened that first Easter Morning, Christ had gone.
John Henderson
