Memorise:
That I
may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his
sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. Philippians 3:10
Read:
John 19:38-42
38 And
after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for
fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus:
and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
39 And
there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and
brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.
40 Then
took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as
the manner of the Jews is to bury.
41 Now
in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new
sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
42
There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the
sepulchre was nigh at hand.
Message
From
the beginning of the New Testament Church, identifying with Jesus takes dogged
determination. Jesus Himself said it in Mark 8:34:
“And
when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto
them, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me.”
In the
above passage, Jesus Christ demands total commitment from His followers.
Whoever will not totally put himself under the Lordship of Christ does not
belong to him. John 8:31-32 says:
“Then
said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, if ye continued in my word,
then are ye my disciples indeed: And ye shall know the truth and the truth
shall make you free.”
Identifying
with Jesus is identifying with the Word from above. In the Bible reading for
today, we read about two secret disciples, Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus
who came forward to claim the body of Jesus for burial. This is noteworthy,
because it must have taken very important personalities to go to the governor
to demand the body of a ‘condemned criminal’. On the other hand, it must have
taken someone who did not only love the so-called criminal but also believed in
his innocence, to go through the trouble of asking for Christ’s body and
burying it.
Identifying
with Jesus has to do with believing and living by His ideals. Many so-called
born-again Christians have become so nominal that the Word of God is of no
effect to their lives any more. Some pastors have tuned the Christian faith to
a mere vocation. One wonders whether they mean to go to the same heaven that
apostles like Paul worked hard for. Our Lord Jesus Christ said to his
disciples:
“If the
world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the
world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world but I
have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”
John 15:18-19
John 15:18-19
Therefore
beloved, let us take the yoke of Jesus Christ upon ourselves with all
seriousness and steadfastness. We will all make it to heaven in Jesus’ name.
Action
Point:
Decide
to follow Jesus all the way in spite of the hostility of the world around you.
BIBLE
IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 1:1-2:12 and Proverbs 4:32-15:10
AUTHOR:
Pastor E. A. ADEBOYE
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