The Rich

Old Testament prophecy fulfilled by Jesus.

He would be buried with the rich.

Joseph was wealthy and powerful. His hometown was Arimathea, but he lived in Jerusalem. He was one of the 71 members of the Sanhedrin. His position on this body of men who ruled over the political and religious, brought him great respect. Joseph had been proud to be one of the prestigious leaders in Jerusalem. Until recently.

For the past three years, there had been a lot of anger in the Sanhedrin over a rabbi from Galilee named Jesus. The man performed miracles, and taught as if He had authority, and continually gathered followers. Many people believed the man, Jesus, was the Son of God-the Messiah.

Joseph was a reasonable man, so he knew he needed to investigate the man Jesus. He found out all he could about the man from Nazareth. Then an unexpected thing happened to Joseph. He believed. Joseph understood deep in his soul that Jesus was exactly who He said he was. Jesus was the Messiah they had been waiting for. Joseph placed his faith in this Jesus of Nazareth.

The others on the Sanhedrin would not understand what happened in Joseph’s heart. Most of them had a hatred for Jesus that would only be satisfied with His death. Joseph feared what the others would do, decided it would be best to keep his belief in Jesus to himself.

On the Friday of Passover, the Sanhedrin gathered early. There was a lot of excitement about the criminal they had arrested. Then Joseph saw Jesus. Fear gripped Joseph and he was unsure about what to do as they questioned Jesus.

“Are you the Son of God, then?” they asked.

“Yes, I am,” answered Jesus. Luke 22:70.

That was it. At last, the Sanhedrin had forced the Galilean to admit that He thought He was the Son of God. Now they could go to Pilate and force him to have the man put to death.

Joseph watched the next few hours unfold. He felt helpless to do anything to stop it as they beat and crucified Jesus.

He had kept his faith in Jesus a secret. He hadn’t consented to the death of Jesus, but he hadn’t even tried to prevent it. Now the Messiah was dead. Joseph could not tolerate the idea that the Romans would throw the body of his Lord into a pauper’s grave. What should he do? Then it hit him. He would lay Jesus in the brand-new tomb he had built for himself.

Joseph wasted no time and went directly to Pilate. He had to gather up his courage before he asked Pilate if he could take the body of Jesus. Pilate agreed.

Joseph bought a linen cloth to wrap around Jesus. He hurried to Golgotha where the Son of God hung, suspended between heaven and earth. He didn’t expect to see any members of the Sanhedrin, but suddenly Nicodemus was there. Nicodemus too had kept his faith in Jesus a secret. There at the foot of the cross stood Nicodemus with burial spices to anoint the body of Jesus.

The two secret believers in Jesus took down the body of Jesus and prepared it for burial according to their customs. Joseph’s tomb was nearby and they placed the body of Jesus in the tomb where no one had ever been placed before.

Now the Sanhedrin would know what he and Nicodemus had done. Their faith was no longer a secret. As Joseph made his way home, he probably didn’t realize that he had just fulfilled a prophecy written by Isaiah hundreds of years before:

“His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death.” Isaiah 53:9.

Carla Killough McClafferty