A Disciple of Jesus, But Secretly

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 18-20; John 19:31-42


John 19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.

There were a number of the religious leaders who were secretly followers of Jesus. Normally they were somewhat frowned upon by the gospel writers, but in this case Joseph get's special mention because of this bold act of compassion for the body of Jesus. It's kind of ironic that a secret disciple who had been afraid to go public was the one who came forward to remove Jesus from the cross and prepare His body for burial while his 'public' disciples were hiding because for fear of the Jews.

It goes to show that we should never presume to know what's really going on in the hearts of people. We're often very quick to make judgments about people when there's no way for us to see what's inside. We're also prone to put people we think are spiritual 'giants' on pedestals only to find out that their feet are clay. It is God who knows the hearts and He is the one who will judge in the last day. I've said on occasion that we'll experience two surprises when we get to heaven; we'll be surprised by who's there and we'll be surprised by who's not.