Are We Serving Jesus?

Introduction

We are at the cross, and this morning the cross is asking us — Are we willing to risk everything to follow Jesus? Are we willing to serve Jesus at great personal cost and sacrifice? Are we secret believers? Or are we secret unbelievers?

In a community and society like ours it is easy to be a Christian but not be a true follower of Jesus. It’s easy to hide our unbelief, to be a secret unbeliever. It is also easy to be a secret believer. We believe in Jesus but for whatever reasons we hide our faith. In both cases we do not live like followers of Jesus in all areas of our lives. Our lives are no different than the rest of the world.

Who are we and where are we at the cross? Are we serving Jesus? Let’s look at Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who took care of Jesus’ body and placed him in the tomb.

2. Joseph & Nicodemus

Mt 27:57-61; Mk 15:42-47; Lk 23:50-54; John 19:38-41

Now there was a man named Joseph, a prominent member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He was a rich man from Arimathea.

He himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. He was a disciple of Jesus but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders.

It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). As the evening approached Joseph went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.

With Pilate’s permission, Joseph came and took down Jesus’ body. Joseph bought some linen cloth. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of clean linen cloth. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.

At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. This was Joseph’s own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock.

Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, the Sabbath was about to begin, and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. Joseph then rolled a big stone in front of the entrance of they tomb, and they went away.

Who Were They?

Joseph and Nicodemus were prominent members and leaders of the Jewish society. They were both members of the Jewish council. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a teacher of Israel. They were both wealthy men. Joseph owned a family tomb that was cut out of rock. That’s a project that would have required workers and more than 50 days of work. Only very rich families could afford their own tomb cut out of rock. Joseph bought the linen for Jesus’ body. Nicodemus bought 75 pounds of very expensive spices. These men had rank, status, power and money.

They were also religious and pious men. Joseph was a good and upright man who was waiting for the kingdom of God. Nicodemus was a teacher of the law. He sought to understand the kingdom of God and visited Jesus to ask him questions. When the Jewish leaders tried to arrest Jesus Nicodemus indirectly defended Jesus by appealing to the Jewish laws. “Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ‘Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?’” (John 7:50-51).

They were also secret believers, followers of Jesus. Joseph followed Jesus secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. We know from John 12:41-43 that there were secret believers in Jesus. “Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.”

So Joseph and Nicodemus were secret believers until now at the cross. At the cross everything changed. At the cross something happened.

3. They served Jesus at great personal risk and expense

At the cross they risked everything. Everyone could see and everyone would know what they had done. This was a bold, public step of faith, honor, love and service. These two men risked losing their political position and power. The Jewish council would surely kick them out from the council after this.

They risked losing their status, fame and praise in Jewish society. They associated with a convicted criminal and blasphemer. I am sure they lost many friends, and even some business connections. So they risked and most likely lost some of their wealth.

They risked religious ceremonial uncleanliness. According to the Law, “Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days” (Num. 19:11). Someone who is unclean cannot participate in the celebrations of the Passover and Sabbath. And this is the day before the Sabbath. And this is not just any Sabbath, but the special Passover Sabbath celebrated once a year. I bet their families were not too happy when told that they could not participate in and celebrate the Passover and Sabbath with them. Just think about how disappointed you are when a family member cannot make it to Thanksgiving. Most likely some family members also rejected them because of what they have done.

Joseph and Nicodemus risked everything and lost a whole lot in order to honor and serve Jesus. At the cross they served Jesus at great personal expense and sacrifice. Joseph gave his brand new family tomb to Jesus. New linen was expensive. Nicodemus brought 75 pounds of spices. That costed him, an estimated 30,000 silver Greek denarii.

And so they prepared Jesus’ body according to Jewish burial customs.They gave Jesus a rich man’s burial, actually a royal burial. They must have believed that Jesus was the messianic king.

4. Loving Service

Why did they do this? Were they just pious Jews concerned about the Jewish law requiring that the corpse needed to be buried the same day or the land would be defiled and cursed? “If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole, you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.” (Deut. 21:22-23)

Usually the Romans would leave the bodies on the crosses for the birds to take care of it. However, they respected the Jewish customs and allowed the bodies to be taken down and buried. Jesus’ body would most likely have been buried with other criminals in a common tomb.

If the Law and the Sabbath were their concerns why would they risk ceremonial uncleanliness by touching Jesus body. As rich men they surely had slaves or servants whom they could have sent to take care of the whole matter. No, their actions, the risks they took, the expenses and sacrifices they made, speak of love, respect and honor for Jesus. The whole burial process was loving service.

To take Jesus’ body down and prepare it for burial was quite an operation, and they had only three hours to do all this before the Sabbath began. They could not have done this on their own. Most likely their slaves or servants helped them. They took the nails out of his feet. Lifted the cross beam down. Took the nails out of his hands. They washed his body. Next they carried his body to the tomb which was close by. There they wrapped his body in the linen with the spices in between. They placed his body on the ledge that was cut out of the rock in the tomb. Then they rolled the heavy stone (1,500-3,000 pounds) in front to close the tomb.

Obviously, like the other disciples they did not yet understand fully Jesus’ message about the cross and his resurrection. Perhaps they were disappointed that he did not bring God’s kingdom as expected. Yet, they believed in Jesus. Their actions speak of loving service. They loved Jesus. They honored and served Jesus to the end. They did so at great personal expense. They risked and sacrificed everything.

5. Are we serving Jesus?

Are we serving Jesus? Are we willing to risk everything to follow and serve Jesus?

Are we secret believers? We follow and serve Jesus only in church, in the privacy of our homes and inner rooms. But for the rest of our lives in the world out there we live and work as if Jesus does not exist. We live, work and play by the rules of the world, culture and society. We are not willing to risk our reputations for Jesus. We are not willing to pay the cost to follow, honor, worship, and serve Jesus out there in the world.

At school I am too concerned about my reputation with my school friends. So I remain quiet about Jesus. I store him away in the Christian locker of my heart until I need him or until I am alone.

At work I am too concerned about my job or career. So I let slide the sins and wrongs committed at work. I keep quiet about the mocking of God, Jesus, and Christians.

If we are secret believers, what is preventing us from confessing our faith and following Jesus openly everywhere? What fears are holding us back? What are we not willing to risk? What are we not willing to give up, what costs are we not willing to pay to follow Jesus boldly into and in the world? What is hindering us from standing up and speaking out for Jesus?

Are we secret unbelievers? We do church out of cultural habit. It’s a social game we are playing. But when we go home and the church doors close behind us, we close the doors also on Jesus and leave him behind in the church. That’s where he belongs. Jesus is not real and relevant for life here and now. He is an old-fashioned story to make us feel good, to serve our spiritual needs. Jesus is not Lord of my life. How can he be? Is he even real? So we go through the motions, but we remain in control of my life.

Or, as young persons we do the Christian thing because I don’t want to disappoint my parents and family. But in our hearts we don’t believe. Just wait until I am 18. Then I am going to do my own thing, live and enjoy my own life. Leave Jesus to the Jesus freaks.

Whether you are a secret believer or unbeliever I challenge you to come back to the cross. There is place for everyone at the cross, no matter who you are and what you have done. Rich and poor, old and young, men and women, drug addict, prostitute, murderer. At the cross there is forgiveness, salvation and new life. Repent. Believe in Jesus. Take the risk, give up everything. The reward, the treasure of new, eternal life that Jesus gives us, supersedes and is more valuable than any thing or treasure we are clinging on to.

How do we serve Jesus? We serve Jesus by leaving everything behind, by taking up our crosses daily, dying to ourselves, and following him, submitting to him as our Lord and Savior. We follow and serve Jesus by obeying everything he has commanded us.

The Great Commandment of love. We serve Jesus by loving God with our whole beings. We serve Jesus by loving others as we love ourselves. We serve Jesus by obeying the Great Commission. By being his witnesses everywhere and making disciples of everyone. We serve Jesus by living the radical kingdom lifestyle that Jesus showed and taught us. And as we live that radical life in the world we serve Jesus bey being the light and salt of the world.

We are standing at the cross, and with Francis Chan I want us to “take time to dwell and meditate on the impossibility of the cross. The almighty, all-knowing, all-powerful God who spoke the universe into being sent His Son to die a criminal’s death so we could be with Him forever. We get to dwell with Him forever! I don’t care how many times you’ve heard it; if that doesn’t cause you to fall on your face in worship, there’s something wrong!”

If that doesn’t cause you to follow and serve Jesus, giving up, risking everything, then something is wrong. We follow and serve Jesus out of reverence for who he is and what he had done for us. Out of worship, out of gratitude, out of love for the Lord. I want Jesus to be Lord of my life. I want to love and serve him. What about you?