Out of the shadows …

It seems with each passing year, there are more and more insightful, studious, and even scientific and medical descriptions of the grotesque flogging and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

“Horrific” is not adequate to describe what Jesus experienced in laying down His life as a sacrifice to save humanity.

The poignant question for us today is how to respond to the Savior of the world making such a great sacrifice for us. The answer is like that shown in scripture – to come out of the shadows.

At least, that was the response of two men who knew Jesus. Seeing His sacrifice, their response was to come out of the shadows.

Let me explain.

The men I’m referring to are Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.

Joseph is described in the Gospel of Matthew as a rich man who was a follower of Jesus (Mt.27:57), a fellow identified in the Gospel of Mark as “an honored member of the high council, waiting for the Kingdom of God to come” (Mk. 15:43). But it’s John who reveals that Joseph was a man hiding in the shadows as he writes that Joseph was “a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders),” John 19.38.

Being a rich man, and a man of stature (member of the high council), in the eyes of the world Joseph had “a lot to lose” alienating himself by publicly identifying as a disciple of Jesus.

But that was before Jesus sacrificed His life to redeem ours.

After that, Joseph could no longer remain in the shadows. Instead, Mark 14:43 says he “took a risk” by publicly stepping out to ask Pilate for the body of Jesus so he could bury Him. Such public action would, at the least, identify Joseph as a “Jesus sympathizer,” if not an actual disciple, and that could be a dangerous thing to do at that time.

But Joseph wasn’t the only man hiding in the shadows.

It’s in John’s gospel that we’re informed Joseph didn’t act alone: “With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night …” (John 19:39a).

Many Christians will be familiar with Nicodemus from a well-known nighttime rendezvous with Jesus early in His ministry:

“There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. ‘Rabbi,’ he said, ‘we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.’ Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God,” John 3:1-3.

Joseph may have been a rich man of public stature, but Nicodemus even more so. He also was a religious leader, a Pharisee, and someone Jesus referred to as “the teacher of Israel” (John 3:10) —- not just any religious leader, but the most prominent Jewish teacher to all of Israel. And Nicodemus wasn’t just rich, he was a wealthy man. According to one extra-biblical source, the Talmud, Nicodemus was one of the three most wealthy men in Jerusalem. It was estimated the combined wealth of the three men could keep the city running for 21 years.

Nevertheless, Nicodemus joined Joseph in seeking the body of Jesus for burial.

Both men, in the eyes of the world, had a great deal to lose, but after seeing the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, both men put everything on the line by coming out of the shadows.

If Jesus was willing to suffer and die for us, the very least we can do is come out of the shadows and live for Him.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” Matthew 16:24-26.

Scotty