SERMON XII.

JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA.

MATT. XXVII. 57, 58.

WHEN THE EVEN WAS COME, THERE CAME A RICH MAN OF ARIMATHEA, NAMED JOSEPH, WHO ALSO HIMSELF WAS JESUS' DISCIPLE. HE WENT TO PILATE, AND BEGGED THE BODY OF JESUS. THEN PILATE COMMANDED THE BODY TO BE DELIVERED.

AMONG the dark things of the ancient Scriptures to the mind of a pious Jew, no doubt this prophecy respecting the Messiah was mysterious and perplexing: "And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death." A celebrated Jewish infidel rejected the prophecy of Isaiah chiefly on account of the remarkable coincidences between its prophetic descriptions of Christ's death and the actual circumstances of it, proving, as he contended, that a description so minutely exact, must have been written by an eye-witness.

The allusion, in this prophecy, to the death and burial of Christ, contains, seemingly, a contradiction; and there was, indeed, a strange contrast between his

death and his burial.

"He made his grave with the wicked." The word " grave" is here used in an extended sense for a place of death; the passage may, therefore, be paraphrased thus: He was joined both with the wicked, and with rich men, in his death and burial. Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man, and also an honorable councillor, a member of the great Jewish council, the sanhedrim. In burying Christ, he was assisted by another honorable man, a ruler, Nicodemus. "And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight." We infer that he was rich.

Behold these eminent men fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah. That dark passage is made clear, and the reason annexed to the prophecy is also explained. These two rich men and rulers knew that he was a good man, that "he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." The burial of Christ by these two men of reputation, was a testimony that he was all that he claimed to be, and no impostor. These incidental proofs that the Christian religion is from God, were arranged by its great Author, to convince and persuade men.

There are three things which are placed in a strong light by this interesting transaction - the burial of the Saviour by Joseph, assisted by Nicodemus.

I. THE BURIAL OF THE SAVIOUR BY JOSEPH AND HIS FRIEND IS AN INTERESTING ILLUSTRATION

FAITH.

OF

In

Christ was numbered with the transgressors. the opinion of the multitude, his character as an impostor was proved by his inability to deliver himself from his enemies. 'He saved others, himself he cannot save.' 'If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe. on him.' If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.' Little did they think that he bore their insults in silence because he was, in that hour, while suspended on those nails, making atonement for their sins, as some of them, there is reason to hope, learned afterward, at the day of Pentecost, when, with an eye of faith, they looked on him whom they had pierced, and mourned, and were in bitterness for him, as a man is in bitterness for a first-born. Though Joseph belonged to the council which condemned Christ, it is said of him, "The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them." He had accepted the evidence that Jesus was the Christ. The popular fury had not affected his faith. He knew whom he believed. The sight of his Saviour blindfolded, spit upon, arrayed in mock royalty, holding a reed for a sceptre, and finally bearing the accursed cross, then nailed to the tree, and more than all, crying, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken

me? did not shake the faith of this man. We wonder not that any disbelieved, but the wonder is that any maintained their confidence. Such was the confidence of Joseph in the Saviour that he went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus for interment, which of course he would not have done, had he supposed that Christ was not all which he professed to be. It seems as though his faith had rather increased than lessened, amid the terrible events of that day; for it inspired him with a desire to manifest his attachment to his Lord and Master by honoring his body. It would have been sufficient, in the view of many, to have believed on Christ privately, to have been a Christian at home, and to have kept his opinions to himself. Joseph made a public profession of his faith. Before the whole people of the Jews, and in the presence of that Roman governor' who delivered Christ to be crucified, and who tried to wash the stain of that guilt from his soul by washing his hands, he took the dishonored form of Jesus from the cross and buried it.

He stood before the Roman governor. Notice the manner of his address. It is said that he went in boldly unto Pilate'; but though inspired with this great moral courage, still, it is said, he "begged" the body of Jesus. He knew his place as a subject. He did not revile the heathen governor, nor in any way behave himself unseemly. Calm and dignified in his

faith and confidence, he respectfully makes his request: Grant me the body of the man who has been crucified between the thieves. Surely this was the triumph of faith, and, like his divine Master, this Joseph, in the presence of Pontius Pilate, witnessed a good confession.

To be a Christian seems, perhaps, to some of us, as difficult and impossible as it would have been to some, at the crucifixion, to do what Joseph did, and which, in their view, was a great reproach to him. What would have induced a scribe or priest to give the Saviour a reputable burial ? The answer is easy: Faith, like Joseph's. It was because Joseph believed, that he made this act of confession. The apostles, when they were charged not to speak any more in the Saviour's name, said, "We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." So, when we believe with all the heart, we shall not be hindered by trifles or great difficulties from professing Christ. Any man among us, however far he may now be from religion, may soon be seen confessing his divine and crucified Redeemer. The grace of God can make any man so strong in faith that he will long to profess, before all on earth and all in heaven, as Joseph did, that he is not ashamed of Christ. If our desires and faith were greater, we might oftener see wonderful instances of conversion, and of consecration to Christ.